Sherlock Holmes The Legend Begins
About a month ago I searched for "clean reads for teens". This series was suggested. My thirteen-year-old loves it and will be starting book four soon.
Fourteen-year-old Sherlock finds himself being carted to an uncle and aunt's home for the summer because his father is being shipped off to India, his mother is ill, and his older brother Mycroft is too busy. At first the rambling house and property seem like a prison (with a leering, nasty housekeeper, Mrs. Eglantine, always hiding in the shadows). Then Sherlock encounters Matty, an orphaned boy who travels along the canels with his horse and boat. Together the boys unearth a diabolical plot to kill British military men. A once lonely Sherlock finds a few friends (even a girl he is attracted to!) and fast-pace adventure. The amount of times Sherlock encounters the villians and must fight them was unrealistic to me! I thought, "Not again!". But this factor did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the story. Mr. Lane is a superb writer.
Constant action and suspense. Readers will want to read this novel in one sitting. The characters are well-developed and likable.
*Highly recommend for junior high and older. See warnings
Warnings: violence (intense fight scenes, descriptions of blood and injuries), murder (the boys by accident kill two men plus other murders performed by the villians), detailed descriptions of the ones who die, Sherlock notices Virginia's tight riding gear blouse-nothing is mentioned beyond that statement, a few h***s-comparing a situation to the place
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