I really enjoyed the previous book in this series, THE SECRET FIEND, but this, the fifth in the "Boy Sherlock Holmes" series, seemed long to me. It simply lacked the tension that kept me turning pages in THE SECRET FIEND, and I found myself setting it aside to read other books. In this installment, one magician (Hemsworth) is suspected of murdering another (Nottingham), who happened to have stolen his wife away. Only bits of Nottingham are found, and no one knows how Hemsworth did it. Against his resolve to stay out of detective matters until adulthood, Holmes agrees to look into the case at the prodding of Irene Doyle, who has been offered a chance to sing in Hemsworth's show.
The solution was telegraphed from the beginning, which accounts for some of the slack in the tension. Wondering what on earth happened is always more engaging than waiting to find I was right. This book was also heavy on the love-triangle angle, which isn't particularly interesting to me. Angsty teenaged Holmes infatuated with two very different young ladies just doesn't hold my interest.
Even if it isn't Peacock's best, young Holmes is still very readable, and I'll be reading the conclusion to the series, BECOMING HOLMES, next.
My review of THE SECRET FIEND is right here.
Source disclosure: I received a review copy of this book courtesy of the publisher.
Monday, March 25, 2013
THE DRAGON TURN by Shane Peacock
I really enjoyed the previous book in this series, THE SECRET FIEND, but this, the fifth in the "Boy Sherlock Holmes" series, seemed long to me. It simply lacked the tension that kept me turning pages in THE SECRET FIEND, and I found myself setting it aside to read other books. In this installment, one magician (Hemsworth) is suspected of murdering another (Nottingham), who happened to have stolen his wife away. Only bits of Nottingham are found, and no one knows how Hemsworth did it. Against his resolve to stay out of detective matters until adulthood, Holmes agrees to look into the case at the prodding of Irene Doyle, who has been offered a chance to sing in Hemsworth's show.
The solution was telegraphed from the beginning, which accounts for some of the slack in the tension. Wondering what on earth happened is always more engaging than waiting to find I was right. This book was also heavy on the love-triangle angle, which isn't particularly interesting to me. Angsty teenaged Holmes infatuated with two very different young ladies just doesn't hold my interest.
Even if it isn't Peacock's best, young Holmes is still very readable, and I'll be reading the conclusion to the series, BECOMING HOLMES, next.
My review of THE SECRET FIEND is right here.
Source disclosure: I received a review copy of this book courtesy of the publisher.
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