Secret Letters

August 20, 2012
After losing both parents, 16-year-old Dora finds a letter that reveals her real father was Sherlock Holmes. Dora determines to become a detective like him, but when a chance mystery involving her cousin takes her to London, she discovers that Holmes is dead. Though saddened, Dora is emboldened to prove the apple does not fall far from the tree. Soon, her cousin's rather benign mystery lands Dora in the middle of a much bigger oneâthe daughter of an earl has been kidnappedâand into the path of the handsome young detective Peter Cartwright, once apprenticed to her late father. Together, the two investigate the kidnapping, with Dora posing as a maid in the earl's house to gather clues. In a mystery with twists, the threat of danger, and a dramatic resolution, debut author Scheier offers a tenacious heroine determined to rise above the restrictions of her gender to claim her legacy. Upbeat, witty prose results in a fun beginning to what looks like the first of more adventures for this young pair of investigators. Ages 12âup. Agent: Irene Kraas, Kraas Literary Agency.

May 1, 2012
Sherlock Holmes' secret daughter goes on the case in this tepid Victorian whodunit. Twelve-year-old Dora Joyce learned of her illustrious parentage the night before her mother died of the same fever that had just killed the man she thought was her father. Now 16, the girl has been reared by her aunt, who despairs of her niece's unladylike tendency to "notice things." When her married cousin finds herself being blackmailed with letters written to a now-dead lover, Dora leaps at the opportunity to meet the famous detective. Alas, she arrives just after he has been killed fighting Moriarty, but Peter, the attractive young man who delivers this news on the doorstep of 221B Baker St., is himself a detective. A bit of eavesdropping in Peter's office quickly leads to Dora's involvement in a case that places her cousin's blackmailer at the heart of another mystery, that of the disappearance of a young gentlewoman. In the guise of a servant, she infiltrates (with credibility-straining ease) the country estate where the suspect works as a valet in the hopes of cracking both cases. The danger inherent in any Holmes-derived story is that it will not measure up to its inspiration, and this is the case here. Dora and Peter's frequent attempts to out-Holmes each other grow tiresome, as do Dora's embarrassingly swoontastic thoughts about Peter. Moreover, the third-degree burns she suffers impede her only when the narrative remembers them. Pass on this; revisit either the original or Nancy Springer's engaging tales of Sherlock's little sister Enola. (Historical mystery. 12 & up)

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Starred review from June 1, 2012

Gr 7-9-Inquisitive and adventuresome, 16-year-old Dora wants desperately to escape the confines of her 1887 aristocratic life, hoping to follow in the footsteps of the famed Sherlock Holmes, whom she suspects is her biological father. When a cousin is blackmailed, Dora happily agrees to accompany her to London in hopes of enlisting Holmes to solve the case and also to verify his paternity. Her plans are dashed when she learns of Holmes's death; however, when an attractive 17-year-old detective, Peter Cartwright, invites her to assist him in searching for a kidnapped heiress, Dora jumps at the chance. Well-paced and filled with cliff-hanger chapter endings, Scheier's first novel is teeming with details of Victorian England that enrich both plot and character development and attest to the differences between those living "upstairs" and "downstairs." The restricted lives of women of both classes and the wholesale freedom allowed men are particularly underscored. Dora is a fully realized heroine who matures from being a dewy-eyed innocent into an observant assistant, relying on her wits and quick thinking. Peter is also well developed (if rather confident for one so young), and, although he is smitten by Dora's uniqueness, their story never descends into romantic claptrap. Difficult vocabulary is generally explained in context, and the tale is filled with aspects of criminology-code breaking, secret messages, disguises, trysts, kidnapping, and, of course, murder-that are sure to excite CSI fans. This novel, part-romance and part-detective story, begs for a sequel.-Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, formerly at LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2012
Grades 7-11 Sixteen-year-old Dora Joyce collects secrets like stamps and is more interested in solving local crimes than in the latest fashions of the season. So when her cousin's love letters are stolen and held for ransom, Dora accompanies her to London to enlist the help of detective Sherlock Holmeswho, coincidentally, may be Dora's biological father. Dora's dreams of meeting him are dashed upon arrival: Sherlock Holmes has been killed in Switzerland. What now? Well, it turns out that there's an enigmatic and handsome former-Sherlock apprentice waiting in the wings, and he enlists Dora's help in solving a case involving a kidnapped heiress. Scheier's debut wonderfully captures the flickering gaslights and sooty fireplaces of Victorian England, and the plot, an ode to all things Sherlockian, paces nicely, with enough twists and turns to keep even seasoned mystery-loving young readers hooked. The subplot about the cousin's missing letters never feels vitally important to the events at hand and is forgotten from time to time, but no matter. With secret codes, illicit love affairs, disguises, deception, and murdernot to mention an intriguing leading man and feisty, smart heroinewhat's not to love?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)