What do you think?
Rate this book
The Last Telegram of Mrs Hudson
Not yet published
Expected 5 Jan 27The first in a new mystery series that reimagines Sherlock Holmes's mother and her lady's-maid-turned-investigative-partner.
'Some problems simply merit solving, Mrs Hudson'
Heart-broken, widowed, and penniless, Katherine Hudson never wished to become a lady's maid to the eccentric Violet Holmes, mother of a precocious seven-year-old Sherlock. To keep her beloved family out of the poorhouse, Hudson trades her telegraphic career for a job in service, just like the one that cost her father his life. She quickly discovers, though, that working for the recently widowed Lady Holmes demands far more than learning the latest hairstyles. Instead, she engages in a most scandalous and unladylike investigations.
With a talent for spotting lies and a heart as big as her mouth, Hudson despises everything Lady Holmes stands for, but a village boy is missing and the clock's ticking. And when someone forges the signature of Hudson's deceased husband and a body shows up on the Holmes estate, the police try to pin it all on her.
To stay out of jail, save the missing boy, and protect her family, Hudson will need to dodge her budding feelings for Lady Holmes and survive long enough to unravel the secret her father may have died to protect.
The Last Telegram of Mrs Hudson is the first in a fun, fast-paced and feminist historical crime series, perfect for fans of the The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes, the Miss Clara Vale Mysteries by Fiona Veitch Smith and Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull.
'Some problems simply merit solving, Mrs Hudson'
Heart-broken, widowed, and penniless, Katherine Hudson never wished to become a lady's maid to the eccentric Violet Holmes, mother of a precocious seven-year-old Sherlock. To keep her beloved family out of the poorhouse, Hudson trades her telegraphic career for a job in service, just like the one that cost her father his life. She quickly discovers, though, that working for the recently widowed Lady Holmes demands far more than learning the latest hairstyles. Instead, she engages in a most scandalous and unladylike investigations.
With a talent for spotting lies and a heart as big as her mouth, Hudson despises everything Lady Holmes stands for, but a village boy is missing and the clock's ticking. And when someone forges the signature of Hudson's deceased husband and a body shows up on the Holmes estate, the police try to pin it all on her.
To stay out of jail, save the missing boy, and protect her family, Hudson will need to dodge her budding feelings for Lady Holmes and survive long enough to unravel the secret her father may have died to protect.
The Last Telegram of Mrs Hudson is the first in a fun, fast-paced and feminist historical crime series, perfect for fans of the The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes, the Miss Clara Vale Mysteries by Fiona Veitch Smith and Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull.
368 pages, Paperback
Expected publication January 5, 2027
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Did Not Finish
July 6, 2026ARC was too poor to be able to enjoy the book.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Advertised as the beginning of a series this is an overall fine albeit slightly flawed beginning.
The premise of the book is a heroine, recently widowed at a young age, moving back home and trying to help her (also widowed mother) provide for her several younger siblings. While looking for employ, she finds herself thrust the world of Lady Holmes - mother of Mycroft and young and inquisitive Sherlock - and begins working has her maid-turned-investigative partner.
Together the two women uncover and investigation, hindered both by the constraints of the patriarchic society at their time and a corrupt system.
The following contains some mild content spoilers. But to give you and overview of the....
...the Good:
- I enjoy spunky and feisty heroines that are required to think outside of the box. This book has two of them.
- The plot has some twists and turns and some action that I enjoyed
- I genuinely started to care for the heroines and their families which to me always indicates they are written sympathetically and with detail
- there were different themes woven into the story, like the status and expection of women and int relation to that the role of widows in Society (there are three widows featured prominently, Mrs Hudson, her mother and Lady Holmes, who has also lost her husband)
- A sapphic romance - I enjoy seeing more historical novels featuring queer couples. Just because queerness was invisible at the time it doesn't mean it didn't exist.
...the Mediocre
- I'm not the biggest fan of piggybacking onto the popularity of Sherlock Holmes and similar classics. I also don't think this book needed it. Then again I'm not sure if other readers would connect with the kid and his mother the same way if they didn't have the Holmes name. For me it wasn't necessary but I will keep and open mind and see if the author is going anywhere with this.
...the "Bad" - deliberately put in quotation marks since nothing about this book was truly terrible.
- I found it a little repetitive. The main character keeps circling around very similar thoughts for the entirety of the book. This is accurate to the human experience, if we are working through something we tend to think it over. However, I didn't need this as a reader. I ended up taking a little break about halfway through the book and that helped me.
- The main characters don't really seem to have any flaws at all. There is a conflict that results from our narrating character misunderstanding and misinterpreting a situation but none of this really qualifies as a flaw. I understand there is already plenty of struggle in this book but I would have liked some "blemishes" and "imperfections". As a result, I find the characters to be a bit two dimensional. The sides of "good" vs "bad" are quite clear cut.
Overall, I would say this has potential and is a fun and easy read. Language wise it rolls nicely for me as well. There is room to improve on the potential and I'll be curious to see how the series continues.
The premise of the book is a heroine, recently widowed at a young age, moving back home and trying to help her (also widowed mother) provide for her several younger siblings. While looking for employ, she finds herself thrust the world of Lady Holmes - mother of Mycroft and young and inquisitive Sherlock - and begins working has her maid-turned-investigative partner.
Together the two women uncover and investigation, hindered both by the constraints of the patriarchic society at their time and a corrupt system.
The following contains some mild content spoilers. But to give you and overview of the....
...the Good:
- I enjoy spunky and feisty heroines that are required to think outside of the box. This book has two of them.
- The plot has some twists and turns and some action that I enjoyed
- I genuinely started to care for the heroines and their families which to me always indicates they are written sympathetically and with detail
- there were different themes woven into the story, like the status and expection of women and int relation to that the role of widows in Society (there are three widows featured prominently, Mrs Hudson, her mother and Lady Holmes, who has also lost her husband)
- A sapphic romance - I enjoy seeing more historical novels featuring queer couples. Just because queerness was invisible at the time it doesn't mean it didn't exist.
...the Mediocre
- I'm not the biggest fan of piggybacking onto the popularity of Sherlock Holmes and similar classics. I also don't think this book needed it. Then again I'm not sure if other readers would connect with the kid and his mother the same way if they didn't have the Holmes name. For me it wasn't necessary but I will keep and open mind and see if the author is going anywhere with this.
...the "Bad" - deliberately put in quotation marks since nothing about this book was truly terrible.
- I found it a little repetitive. The main character keeps circling around very similar thoughts for the entirety of the book. This is accurate to the human experience, if we are working through something we tend to think it over. However, I didn't need this as a reader. I ended up taking a little break about halfway through the book and that helped me.
- The main characters don't really seem to have any flaws at all. There is a conflict that results from our narrating character misunderstanding and misinterpreting a situation but none of this really qualifies as a flaw. I understand there is already plenty of struggle in this book but I would have liked some "blemishes" and "imperfections". As a result, I find the characters to be a bit two dimensional. The sides of "good" vs "bad" are quite clear cut.
Overall, I would say this has potential and is a fun and easy read. Language wise it rolls nicely for me as well. There is room to improve on the potential and I'll be curious to see how the series continues.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
(2.5 rounded up)
Thank you to Netgalley for an eArc!
The Last Telegram of Mrs Hudson is a nice little spin on the traditional Holmes and Watson story. I enjoyed getting to know these iterations of Hudson and Lady Holmes, and I think it's safe to say the author did their due diligence in researching the original Sherlock Holmes lore.
I'm still swooning over Lady Holmes. There's just something so tantalizing about an emotionally repressed and socially inept detective character, and I've always longed to see that presented in a woman exactly as it's commonly done in men - and this does it perfectly. I wish we sat with that strangeness and emotional disconnect a little longer, but I suppose every book has to end, and every main character has to develop.
The mystery itself wasn't terribly inspired. It wasn't predictable necessarily, but I found that more because everything felt too loosely connected rather than any masterful kind of plotting. This is a story better read for the characters or the vibes rather than a unique and complex mystery. The antagonists also ended up being almost comically evil and foolish - let me reveal to you in this moment everything I've ever done wrong!
Still, this was a fun romp, and I don't think it's possible to go too wrong with a sapphic Lady Holmes and Hudson story! I recommend this for anyone looking for a quick, fun, digestible Victorian mystery.
Honorable mention to the insult "power-hungry little toad" which I would like to adopt into my everyday vernacular.
Thank you to Netgalley for an eArc!
The Last Telegram of Mrs Hudson is a nice little spin on the traditional Holmes and Watson story. I enjoyed getting to know these iterations of Hudson and Lady Holmes, and I think it's safe to say the author did their due diligence in researching the original Sherlock Holmes lore.
I'm still swooning over Lady Holmes. There's just something so tantalizing about an emotionally repressed and socially inept detective character, and I've always longed to see that presented in a woman exactly as it's commonly done in men - and this does it perfectly. I wish we sat with that strangeness and emotional disconnect a little longer, but I suppose every book has to end, and every main character has to develop.
The mystery itself wasn't terribly inspired. It wasn't predictable necessarily, but I found that more because everything felt too loosely connected rather than any masterful kind of plotting. This is a story better read for the characters or the vibes rather than a unique and complex mystery. The antagonists also ended up being almost comically evil and foolish - let me reveal to you in this moment everything I've ever done wrong!
Still, this was a fun romp, and I don't think it's possible to go too wrong with a sapphic Lady Holmes and Hudson story! I recommend this for anyone looking for a quick, fun, digestible Victorian mystery.
Honorable mention to the insult "power-hungry little toad" which I would like to adopt into my everyday vernacular.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The prose is gorgeous, the characters are compelling, and the mystery had me hooked!
I don't often find books from a widow's POV, and the author does a wonderful job of showing women navigate a world that's condescending towards those who have experienced extreme loss. Feminist themes were thoughtfully woven throughout!
I also really enjoyed the glimpse of what a young Sherlock Holmes might look and act like, and this side character did not disappoint!
The mystery is complex, building from what at first feels like smaller cases and escalates to a web of lies and secrets that kept me guessing. I was reading at a park with my e-reader and audibly groaned when my device died unexpectedly around the 82% mark. I immediately went home to charge it so I could keep reading and get to the bottom of the case.
The romantic tension between Lady Holmes and Mrs. Hudson was really well done, and it was so easy to ship these two. I'm excited to see what this author writes next!
I don't often find books from a widow's POV, and the author does a wonderful job of showing women navigate a world that's condescending towards those who have experienced extreme loss. Feminist themes were thoughtfully woven throughout!
I also really enjoyed the glimpse of what a young Sherlock Holmes might look and act like, and this side character did not disappoint!
The mystery is complex, building from what at first feels like smaller cases and escalates to a web of lies and secrets that kept me guessing. I was reading at a park with my e-reader and audibly groaned when my device died unexpectedly around the 82% mark. I immediately went home to charge it so I could keep reading and get to the bottom of the case.
The romantic tension between Lady Holmes and Mrs. Hudson was really well done, and it was so easy to ship these two. I'm excited to see what this author writes next!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Katherine Hudson, newly widowed and penniless, returns home to help her mother with providing income for the family and caring for her younger siblings. She never wanted to be a lady's maid, especially not to the eccentric Mrs. Holmes (mother to Sherlock) but the pay is more than she could possibly earn doing any other work that is available to her. Mrs. Holmes, whom Katy comes to know as Violet, wants Katy's help in looking into the disappearance of a local boy. Their investigation gets them into some difficult situations, and Katy doesn't know whether or not she can trust Violet.
Katy and her family are likeable characters, but Violet Holmes got on my nerves. She could not seem to give a straight answer to any question, and her talking in riddles grew tiresome after a while. Too many convenient circumstances led to an improbable conclusion of the mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Katy and her family are likeable characters, but Violet Holmes got on my nerves. She could not seem to give a straight answer to any question, and her talking in riddles grew tiresome after a while. Too many convenient circumstances led to an improbable conclusion of the mystery.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Last Telegram of Mrs Hudson by Mattea Orr is the story of the relationship between Mrs. Hudson and Violet Holmes. When Mrs. Hudson's husband dies she is taken in by her mother and has to find a job to support the family. She ends up taking on a position as Ladies Maid for Mrs. Holmes and they find they have a prickly relationship. The characters are well drawn but I just got tired of Mrs. Hudson's always being so down. It is an interesting premise, for sure and the relationship between the child Sherlock and Mrs. Hudson is well done but it just seemed to go on and on and on. I will try the next one to see if the author gives her a spine but just can't recommend this one.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3.5 stars rounded down.⭐
An interesting and fun perspective on Mrs. Hudson and the Holmes family. The Last Telegram of Mrs Hudson tied in nicely with the grown-up version of Sherlock Holmes we have come to know and love. The writing was in times beautifully poetic and transported me back in time.
The mystery itself was fast-paced and took place over a couple of days, but was unfortunately slowed down quite a bit by the repetitive thoughts and musings of Mrs. Hudson. Too often it felt more like reading a romance novel than a (historical) mystery novel.
An interesting and fun perspective on Mrs. Hudson and the Holmes family. The Last Telegram of Mrs Hudson tied in nicely with the grown-up version of Sherlock Holmes we have come to know and love. The writing was in times beautifully poetic and transported me back in time.
The mystery itself was fast-paced and took place over a couple of days, but was unfortunately slowed down quite a bit by the repetitive thoughts and musings of Mrs. Hudson. Too often it felt more like reading a romance novel than a (historical) mystery novel.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
WOW. This was SOOOO good!!! I started last night and had to spend my entire afternoon finishing because I was just that hooked. This story is so beautifully written, so well told, SO engaging…I genuinely loved it. And I can’t wait for the next one!!
Thank you tremendously to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the early access!
Thank you tremendously to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for the early access!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This book sounded good, but it just didn't work for me. It seemed to wander, and I had trouble following the story. The two main characters were interesting, but I really couldn't tell what their relationship was. It just wasn't the book for me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
review to come
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews