The 100-Year-Old Secret

June 1, 2008
Gr 4-7-Detective stories derived from the adventures of Sherlock Holmes are well represented in juvenile literature from Donald Sobol's "Encyclopedia Brown" series to Nancy Springer's "Enola Holmes" mysteries. Welcome 12-year-old Xena Holmes and her brother, Xander, Sherlock's great-great-great grandchildren, newly arrived in London from Florida. They are playing a favorite game, guessing people's occupation by appearance, in front of their hotel when a strange man delivers a note written in disappearing ink directing them to the Dancing Men Pub. There, through a set of tests, their famous relative is revealed to them, and they are given his "Unsolved Cases" notebook. Xena, intrigued by it, soon finds a case with modern relevancea missing portrait by Nigel Batheson, whose other works are being displayed in a nearby gallery. The siblings are off and running through a plot laced with references to the original stories and using similar devices, including a red herring. The main characters are observant, bright, and gifted with powers of deduction. Watson's great-great-great grandson, Andrew, is integral to the plot. Some clues seem to be obvious, but they can lead to a wrong conclusion. A well-paced beginning to a new series."Kathryn Kosiorek, formerly at Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2008
After moving from Florida to London with their parents, 12-year-old Xena Holmes and her younger brother, Xander, are surprised when a mysterious stranger presses a note into Xenas hand, mutters It fades fast, and hurries away. They follow the notes puzzling instructions (written in rapidly disappearing ink) and discover that they are not only descendants of Sherlock Holmes but also the heirs of his notebooks and his unsolved cases. Researching 100-year-old clues, they attempt to solve a mystery involving a missing painting. The setting sets up some interesting scenes as the children explore their new city and find, among other things, that even familiar words can have unfamiliar meanings. In a nice gender-stereotype reversal, 10-year-old Xander is the child who disarms adults with his winning smile, while Xena is more likely to keep her wits about her. Although not always completely convincing, the first book in the Sherlock Files is a fast-paced, entertaining mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)