by Andrew Lane, 311 pages, Grades 6-9
Maybe you have heard of Sherlock Holmes the grown man who solved impossible crimes with his sidekick Watson, but did you ever wonder what he was like as a teenager?
Death Cloud is the first adventure of the teenage Sherlock. He is not yet officially the mastermind he will become, but you can see his mind already has those keen sensibilities that make him the superior detective he is as an adult.
“‘You came in Father’s carriage,’” the young Sherlock tells his older brother when he sees him.
“‘How on earth did you deduce that, young man?’
Sherlock shrugged. ‘I noticed the parallel creases in your trousers where the upholstery pressed them, … Father’s carriage has a tear in the upholstery that was repaired rather clumsily a few years ago. The impression of that repair is pressed into your trousers…’”
Brilliant deduction! But can he solve the mysterious murders taking people around him in a cloud of death while being pursued by the criminals themselves? Is the teenager up to the task?
Connections: If you like a good mystery you might also enjoy Heist Society, by Ally Carter, or Montmorency: Thief, Liar Gentleman?, by Eleanor Updale.
By Michaela MacColl, 367 pages Grades 7 & Up
by Dene Low. p. 196 Grades 5-8
by Siobhan Dowd, p. 323 Grades 5-8