Fire Storm: Sherlock Homes: The Legend Begins

Gr 7 Up—This fourth book (Macmillan, 2013) in the "Sherlock Holmes: The Legend Begins" series picks up with 14-year-old Sherlock and his good friend Matty on a dangerous rescue mission. Amyus and Virginia Crowe have disappeared from quiet Farnham, seemingly without a trace. One small clue is uncovered: the head of a rabbit left behind in a burrow. Sherlock reasons that Amyus and Virginia are on the run to Edinburgh ("head-in-burrow"), Scotland. With his ever-increasing abilities at observation and deduction, Sherlock charges after the Crowes and faces his scariest foe yet, a vengeful American set to murder Virginia. While the violence within the story is often excessive (and this one describes bear baiting and dog fighting), the plot moves steadily along as the reader is caught up in the complexities of several story threads: the resolution to housekeeper Mrs. Eglantine's snooping, the disappearance of the Crowes and Sherlock's unbreakable loyalties to those he loves and cares for. James Langton's narration is excellent with skillful English, Scottish, and American accents.—Suzanne Dix, The Seven Hills School, Cincinnati, OH