Sherlock is now 15 and "stepping out" (dating, in the 19th century way) with Irene--they go to the theater together, etc. When the famous magician Hemsworth is arrested and charged with murdering his rival, Nottingham, Irene implores Sherlock to investigate and clear his name, because Hemsworth had promised to give Irene a job singing with his act. Hemsworth certainly had the motivation to kill Nottingham, because he stole Hemsworth's wife away from him. But Sherlock's not so sure--how did the magician manage to kill Nottingham in such a way that nothing is left of him but a few grisly chunks of flesh and a lot of blood? It almost looks like Nottingham was eaten by a beast--but surely the "fire-breathing dragon" of Hemsworth's famous stage act is just a marvelous magician's trick? It can't possibly exist in real life...or can it? I loved this installment of the series because Sherlock is maturing, and getting to have more of a personal life with Irene (although, what's this? There is also the lovely Beatrice, the hatter's daughter, to vie for his affections! What's an awkward future detective to do?). And the glimpses behind the scenes of 19th century theatrical life are fascinating. And, there's a terrifically exciting fight and chase scene that I don't want to spoil for anyone! And, as usual, Sherlock's eccentric mentor Bell puts in some funny appearances. ( )

I'm trying to recreate this review, because I seem to have got rid of the book and deleted the record with the review, and I can't find a backup copy of on my computer. So this is not as helpful or detailed a review as it should be. Sorry!

Anyway, I remember enjoying this book reasonably well, although it wasn't a keeper. I had trouble believing that the 15 year old Sherlock Holmes in this book would grow up to be the man in the Doyle novels, but he and Irene were engaging, and the action was non-stop. The evocation of Victorian London and the theatre world seemed good to me, too. The mystery itself has not stayed with me - even reading other reviews brings it back only vaguely, so I'd say that it was not the strong point of the book. I hadn't read any of the previous books in the series, but I don't recall that being a handicap. On the other hand, I'm not inspired to seek them out, either.

Back for his fifth mystery, Young Sherlock Holmes has his work cut out for him. When a magician called Hemsworth is arrested for the murder of another magician and the disappearance of Mrs. Nottingham, Hemsworth’s ex and the murdered magician’s current wife , Sherlock decides to investigate. The police aren’t too thrilled with him poking his nose where it doesn’t belong. With little to no evidence to support the police’s murder theory and a near impossible laboratory that holds all the information, Sherlock may be over his head. Will he succeed?

The characters are likable and Sherlock seems pretty true to the original Doyle character. References to the original Holmes author and some of his mysteries are entertaining and engaging. The plot is well-developed and has lots of twist and turns that will keep the reader guessing the true ending to the mystery. Readers who like adventure, historical fiction, and mystery will enjoy reading this book. ( )

My biggest impression is that this is definitely a stereotypical children's book in every sense of the word. I say this because I have read many of the same kind which have astounded me with its uniqueness and ability to go beyond. However, I feel like this book fell short of that and remains on very safe grounds.

Although the 5th book of a series, this book can be read as a stand-alone. The author makes sure you are kept up to date, more or less, with the facts from previous happenstances. In this book, Sherlock and Irene are trying to determine the innocence of Alistair Hemsworth, a magician. His things were found neatly plopped next to a few bits of flesh and someone's spectacles. Somehow, this was enough to convict him but Sherlock believes there is more to this story.

I see this a lot in boy detective stories and this one is no better: the adults (though mainly the police) are dumbed down in order to make Sherlock seem smarter. They use circumstantial evidence to arrest a man but cries foul when Sherlock uses circumstantial evidence of his own (although less obvious ones). I also feel that if you changed the character names to something more mundane, there would have been no difference to the story. In other words, I can hardly believe that this boy is a young Sherlock Holmes. Aside from two paragraphs about a fear of boredom, I see nothing of the "master detective". There was no snarky comeback at the police's idiocy, no obsession over puzzles, no strange need to describe every detail of how he came to his conclusion, not even a smidget of the power of deduction, and no indication that he is any smarter than an average kid, despite every other character telling me so. I understand that some leeway should be given since this is supposed to be about his childhood and how he was shaped but not every single personality trait of the infamous man would realistically appear from some traumatic event. The case itself is hardly a mystery as well. I guess I would spoil it if I reveal it but there is no intellect involved. Someone found something and that was that. The twist wasn't even surprising.

Now don't get me wrong. This was a decent book, although it stays comfortably within the boundaries of its genre. The case was interesting and I like Irene Doyle. I felt like she, at least, was a strong and distinctive character. Scuttles was also pretty endearing although it got a bit annoying near the end.

Still, the book was nothing to rave about. Although it used Sherlock Holme's big name, the book didn't actually do anything with it. I would recommend this book to children just getting into detective stories. However, any hardcore Sherlock fan would be disappointed. I would like to note that there is one more book called "Becoming Sherlock", where things apparently get a lot grimmer. If I ever get around to reading it, I will have to see if it'll make me eat my words and prove that this boy really is Sherlock.

Received in a giveaway in return for an honest review ( )

I don't think this book was really meant to be read on it's own. That's not a criticism! I think that if I had read the previous four books I would have developed a relationship with the protagonist, but since this was the fifth book in the series I found it a little hard to relate to Peacock's Sherlock Holmes. There was a lot of information threads in there, but they weren't complete enough for me to catch up to the story (not a criticism! I get that it would be tough to recap four books in a short amount of time, and given that this is meant for young adults, it would have to be brief!).
For someone who is not familiar with the original Sherlock Holmes or with mystery/detective stories in general, and who has read the series from the beginning, I think that they would really enjoy The Boy Sherlock Holmes. It is a great taking off point into the genre. If I ever got the chance, I would, after the series is complete, spend a nice weekend reading the lot, and if I had a niece or nephew showing interest in the genre I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this collection.
And of course...I absolutely adored Scuttle! ( )