"Master Sherlock Holmes, I perceive," says a dark-haired, tough-looking boy at the head of a dirty gang who are smaller copies of their leader. He is dressed in a worn-out long black coat with tails, a dark stovepipe hat is perched at an angle on his head, and he carries a crude walking stick in his hand. "I think you're sitting in our spot."
I am embarrassed to tell you that it has taken me two years to sit down and read this widely acclaimed new series, and then I read all three in one day. I am not a mystery reader and have never read the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, but I am delighted to begin to know him in this first book in The Boy Sherlock Holmes stories. The preface tells of a murder which results in the awakening of a sense of justice for a young boy whose life will be spent seeking a reckoning for evil deeds. Victorian times were not kind to many and the Holmes were first-hand recipients of the disfavor felt for those who did not strictly obey its rules. When Sherlock’s mother married beneath her means and to a Jewish man, at that, she was disowned by her family and then punished. Her father made sure that Wilber Holmes was unable to find a teaching job in the university. Thus, the family lives in a ramshackle part of London, barely eking out a living for themselves and their son. Sherlock’s concern over his appearance, his disdain for injustice and his uncanny observation skills are a constant reminder of the man that he will become. His daring and his bravery grow as he seeks justice for a young Arab, who is blamed for the murder mentioned in the preface. Sherlock knows he didn’t do it, and that is all he needs to know. You will not be able to put this book down once you begin reading and you will quickly seek the book which chronicles ‘His 2nd Case’…Death in the Air (Tundra, 2008). That is just what I did and I will tell you about it next….
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