The Case of Emily V is the combination of Emily's diary entries while in therapy with Sigmund Freud, Freud's case notes as he delivers them to a weekly meeting of his colleagues, and then followed by the case of the missing British diplomat being tracked down by Sherlock Holmes. It happens that the diplomat is the godfather and guardian of Emily and Emily killed him. The murder is no surprise, she writes about it in her diary and also the reason why. The problem is will she be caught and prosecuted or will Holmes and Watson understand and leave it "unsolved".
The interleaving of the diary and case notes with the narrative works very well. The time period is splendid as women were just beginning to realize they'd gotten a raw deal and wanted more rights and freedoms. Emily and her friend Sara are women of their times. They know where they stand in society and they also know what they want and that they have to balance their desires with what will be accepted. And they know what mask to put on to manage to have what they want and to seem to be what society at their level demands.
As for the psychoanalysis with Freud, well it gave me a lot of laughs since we know from Emily's diary what really happened and we know from the case notes what he's disbelieved and ignored as hysteria on the part of Emily. Or, maybe it was just funny to me because I majored in psychology and I never did think Freud understood women -- he only understood his society's view of women through his own prejudices, but then he was a man of his times too.
As for Holmes and Watson, they're spot on if you've read all the Arthur Conan Doyle books. All in all this is a wonderful pastiche and might have been story, that brings Freud, Holmes, and Watson together. I thought it was a wonderful way to pull off the story.