Rohan Gavin

An enjoyable middle grade mystery with just a hint of the supernatural, Knightley and Son introduces readers to Darkus Knightley, devoted son and aspiring detective who's been patiently waiting for his father to wake up. It seems that four years earlier, celebrated detective Alan Knightley fell into a deep sleep while investigating an organization so shadowy, he was the only one convinced of its existence. In the meantime, Darkus has committed to memory all of his father's cases, which show more proves extremely helpful when Alan finally wakes and, shortly thereafter, finds all his files stolen. Father and son must then work together to uncover the terrible power behind a bestselling book that seems to compel readers toward mindless acts of crime.
Stand back, Holmes and Watson! Out of the way, Hardy boys! Here's a new, modern duo that mystery fans will surely enjoy getting to know. show less

Knightley & Son introduces Darkus, a tweed-loving 13-year-old with a mind like Holmes, and his private-eye dad, Alan—just waking from a mysterious four-year coma. When an ominous book triggers a criminal conspiracy, this unlikely duo team up to unravel the case and rebuild their bond. With dry humor, clever twists, and nonstop action, the book is a rousing caper that keeps readers guessing—and laughing—page after page. My students devoured it, especially those who love smart mysteries show more and family dynamics. show less

This never really came to life for me. The story was interesting enough that I might give the sequel a try in case it's one of those series that gets better as it goes, but if you're looking for a really good quirky mystery, I would recommend the Skulduggery Pleasant series over this one.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review - thanks!

Ten Second Synopsis:
Darkus Knightley uses all his considerable powers of deduction to assist his father in foiling an international (and slightly paranormal) crime syndicate.

2.5 stars.

Fairly harsh star review there, I know, but I had a few problems with this book. Firsty, I found the characters in dire need of fleshing out. None of the characters here felt real as I read. Darkus - show more boy-genius with quite remarkable powers of investigation and deduction. How did he get them? Tilly - very clever girl, hair dye afficionado, seems to take being booted off the case remarkably well for someone who claims to have a vendetta out against the crime guys. The hair dye thing gets mentioned almost every time Tilly comes into view - but it just seems like it's been tacked on to make her seem a bit quirky, rather than giving any real insight into who she is. So in general, the lack of real character development really distracted me from getting into the meat of the story.

The second thing that put me off the book was the highly convenient plot twists that just kept occuring. The characters seem to have this incredible ability to overcome almost any problem as soon as it presents itself - a number of characters related to the investigation who have not been seen or heard from for years suddenly pop up, as if summoned, just when they are needed. In the end it was all too simplistic for me, given that the actual crime being investigated was really quite complicated and had a number of facets to it.

Essentially, after a lot of anticipation for this book, it was a let-down for me. There are going to be more in the series, apparently, but I won't be amongst those hoping to lay my paws on them.

Recommended for those who really like middle-grade mystery, and can overlook the simplistic penning of characters and plot twists. show less