Picture it. The market town of Farnham. A street in the higher end of town scattered with passerby’s making their way to and from their chosen destinations. A young boy in search of a scrap of food to stave off the hunger gnawing at his gut steps down an alley and witnesses a curiosity the likes of which he has never seen. A strange black cloud seems to be emanating from a window of a tenant house…and then disappeared up and over the rooftop of the adjoining building. Peculiar activity for a cloud and yet there is no time to ponder this fact as the silence of the morning is pierced by a scream of pure terror. What pray tell has happened to illicit this cry and is it connected to the mysterious cloud apparition? A mystery in the making and as the death toll begins to pile up; the curiosity of one inquisitive young visitor to these parts is piqued. Who is this young soul? The greatest detective in the making, one Sherlock Holmes…at least he will be once he finishes his schooling. The game is afoot! Are you ready?

The author’s treatment of Sherlock’s actual character falls right in line with the image readers are familiar with around the world....just in his growing stages. His love of conjecture that when honed becomes a valuable ally when all obvious explanations have been exhausted. His penchant for violin music eventually becomes a soundtrack of sorts to allow his mind to wander over the minute details of a case. His ability to discern what others can not developing with each and every human interaction. Speaking of which, let’s talk characters...

There are many players of which to take note whether they star in a pivotal role or not, but a few outshine the rest. First and foremost of course we have Sherlock Holmes. Though a mere boy in age, his intellect burns as brightly as a candle in the darkest night…even if he does have a bit of growing up to do still. Then there is Matty Arnatt. He is a gypsy boy of sorts, though orphan currently, and makes his ends meet by filching what he can when he needs to as well as having the uncanny ability to not only show up just in the nick of time but also to disappear without leaving so much as a foot print in the dust. Mr. Amyus Crowe with great skills and vast knowledge but they seem a bit unorthodox for your average tutor....odd, but handy later on. As for the "baddies", one is kept guessing as to the very nature of the beast or villain they are dealing with and while I won’t go naming names to spoil your fun, I will say this…be prepared for a few surprises.

To summarize, a wonderful book for younger teens through adults that love a good mystery with all the danger and adventure one could shake a fist at if they were so inclined. It’s rough and tumble action scenes combined with the quieter serene ponderings make for a journey readers won’t soon forget. Can't wait for book two! Happy reading.... ( )

Fourteen year old Sherlock Holmes learns that he is not going home from school for holiday like he always does; he is spending the summer at his Uncle Sherrinford and Aunt Anna Holmes’s estate. Upon arrival he meets the mysterious Mrs. Eglantine, the housekeeper, whom his brother Mycroft warns him about in a letter with the ominous words, “She is no friend of the Holmes family.” Mycroft also secures a tutor, Amyus Crowe, for Sherlock who is American and happens to have a lovely daughter about his age. What he believes will be a boring summer with relatives he hardly knows turns out to be anything but when a dead body appears on the estate and Sherlock stumbles upon it. He learns from his new friend Matty that another body was found in the village and before the death was discovered he saw a “death cloud” or shadowy mass fly from the window. The boys begin to investigate and the danger and suspense build quickly. Glimmers of the deductive skills seen in the grownup Holmes appear in the teenager encouraged by Crowe. His amazing abilities to get out of any danger are also foreshadowed here. Some readers might find the murder plot and subsequent captures and escapes hard to believe but it is great fun, nonetheless. Readers will look forward to the sequels where some remaining questions will be answered like whey Mrs. Eglantine is no friend of the Holmes family. ( )

Entertaining story of a young Sherlock Holmes. ( )

This imagining of the early life of Sherlock Holmes -- including a tantalizing glimpse at the origins of his opium addiction -- is a nice bit of play. Sherlock is not a smart-assed, know-it-all teen; rather, he is separated from his family for a summer and is uncertain of the role he plays in his cold uncle's house, and he looks to his older brother, Mycroft, for solace and direction. Refreshingly, he's portrayed as a human teen with human abilities and insecurities, including an unarticulated crush on his tutor's daughter. The story moves along at a nice pace, although several sub-plots are introduced and abandoned (maybe meant as red herrings?), which is frustrating. And the ending SERIOUSLY strains credulity, but we're meant to believe that Sherlock has simply exercised the powers of deduction for which he was so celebrated. Later.

All in all, an afternoon well spent for fans of mysteries and of Sherlock Holmes. And if you liked it, another adventure is set to be published later in 2011, although it may not make it across the pond for several months following that... ( )

Not perfect, but I admire the guts it takes to try to imagine Sherlock Holmes at the tender age of fourteen. We have a not so smug and confident young man with absent parents and a distant, but beloved, older brother. Sent to spend the summer with an Aunt and Uncle he's never met before, he finds adventure when Matty Arnow, a young man of simular age but very different circumstances, asks Sherlock for help. Add to that the mysterious tutor his brother sent, an American with unique set of lessons to teach. One of the things I liked about this book, the author tried to explain where one of those pecular interests that Sherlock has as an adult, in this case bees, originated from. ( )