The Boy Sherlock Holmes

Series · 6 books · 2007-2012

By Shane Peacock

Books in series

Eye of the Crow

2007

Sherlock Holmes, just 13, is a misfit. His highborn mother is the daughter of an aristocratic family, his father a poor Jew. Their marriage flouts tradition, makes them social pariahs in the London of the 1860s; and son Sherlock bears the burden of their rebellion. Friendless, bullied at school, he belongs nowhere and has only his wits to help him make his way. But what wits he has! His keen powers of observation are already apparent, though he is still a boy. He loves to amuse himself by constructing histories from the smallest detail for everyone he meets. Partly for fun, he focuses his attention on a sensational murder to see if he can solve it. But his game turns deadly serious when he finds himself the accused, and in London, they hang boys of thirteen.

Death in the Air

The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His Second Case

2008

After the harrowing experience of losing his mother while solving a brutal murder in London’s East End, young Sherlock Holmes commits himself to fighting crime … and is soon involved in another case. While visiting his father at the magnificent Crystal Palace, Sherlock stops to watch a remarkable and dangerous trapeze performance high above, framed by the stunning glass ceiling of the legendary building. Suddenly, the troupe’s star is dropping, screaming and flailing, toward the floor. He lands with a sickening thud just a few feet away, and rolls up almost onto the boy’s boots. Unconscious and bleeding profusely, his body is grotesquely twisted. In the mayhem that follows, Sherlock notices something that no one else sees—something is amiss with the trapeze bar! He knows that foul play is afoot. What he doesn’t know is that his discovery will put him on a frightening, twisted trail that leads to an entire gang of notorious criminals. Wrapped in the fascinating world of Victorian entertainment, its dangerous performances, and London’s dark underworld, Death in the Air raises The Boy Sherlock Holmes to a whole new level. Be sure not to miss Eye of the Crow, The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His First Case.

Vanishing Girl

The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His Third Case

2009

The third case in the compelling Boy Sherlock Holmes series is full of as many twists and turns as the backstreets of Victorian London. When a wealthy young girl vanishes as if by magic in Hyde Park, Sherlock is once again driven to prove himself. In a heart-stopping race against time, an innocent boy’s survival depends on Sherlock’s ability to solve the mysterious puzzle of the Vanishing Girl. As complex as the maze that protects the missing girl’s hiding place, this case takes Sherlock racing to the countryside, the coast, and into the lair of a menagerie of exotic, dangerous creatures. Haunted by memories of his shattered family, goaded by his enemies, driven to heal the fragile relationship between him and the beautiful Irene Doyle, Sherlock makes an almost fatal mistake. In the end, his brilliant powers of deduction and the steadfast eccentric Sigerson Bell save the day. Soon, very soon, the world will come to know him as the master detective of all time. From the Hardcover edition.

The Secret Fiend

2010

It is 1868, the week that Benjamin Disraeli becomes Prime Minister of the Empire. Sherlock's beautiful but poor admirer, Beatrice, the hatter's daughter, appears at the door late at night. She is terrified, claiming that she and her friend have just been attacked by the Spring Heeled Jack on Westminster Bridge and the fiend has made off with her friend. At first Sherlock thinks Beatrice simply wants his attention, and he is reluctant to go back to detective work. He also believes that the Jack everyone fears is a fictional figure. But soon he is suspicious of various individuals, several of them close friends. Set at a time when many in England were in a state of fear because a Jew was running the country, Shane Peacock presents a compelling story filled with an atmosphere of paranoia and secrets and surprises played out on late-night London streets. Sherlock gets drawn deeper and deeper into the pursuit of the Spring Heeled Jack, whose attacks grow in number until it seems that there are Jacks everywhere. The Secret Fiend is the fourth book in Shane Peacock's award-winning Boy Sherlock Holmes series, combining brilliant storytelling with fascinating historical detail and a mystery worthy of one of the greatest sleuths in English literature. From the Hardcover edition.

The Dragon Turn

2011

Summer 1869, and Sherlock Holmes and his friend Irene celebrate her sixteenth birthday by attending the theater to watch a celebrated magician make a real dragon appear on stage. It is the London sensation. Sherlock and Irene meet the magician, Alistair Hemsworth – just as he is arrested for the murder of his rival, The Wizard of Nottingham. It seems that traces of the missing Wizard’s blood and his spectacles were found in Hemsworth’s secret studio. Hemsworth has a not only is the Wizard his rival, but he also caused a scandal when he lured Hemsworth’s wife away. But is Hemsworth guilty? Sherlock has his doubts, and soon, so does the reader. With humor and plot turns as dizzying as a narrow London lane, Shane Peacock invites his readers into a fascinating world, and a fresh adventure with one of literature’s favorite characters. The Boy Sherlock Holmes series is an international success with readers and reviewers alike.

Becoming Holmes

The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His Final Case

2012

The surprising and shocking conclusion to the unique BOY SHERLOCK HOLMES series. Becoming Sherlock is the final book in Shane Peacock's award-winning Boy Sherlock Holmes series, combining brilliant storytelling with fascinating historical detail, and a mystery worthy of one of the greatest sleuths in English literature.

Author

Shane Peacock

Author · 15 books

Shane Peacock was born in 1957 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, one of four brothers. He attended school in the northern town of Kapuskasing, Ontario, before attending university, where he studied History and English literature. A biographer, journalist, and screenwriter, he is also the author of eighteen novels, a picture book and three plays, and has been won and/or been nominated for numerous awards including two Arthur Ellis Awards for crime fiction, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for historical fiction, the Violet Downey Award, the Libris Award, seven times honored with Junior Library Guild of America selections, and has been on three shortlists for the Canadian Children's Literature Award, and one for the Governor-General's Award. His books have been published in 20 languages in 18 countries. He and his wife, journalist Sophie Kneisel live in Cobourg, Ontario and have two daughters and a son. Series: * The Dylan Maples Adventures * The Boy Sherlock Holmes The Dark Missions of Edgar Brim The Seven Series Awards: Arthur Ellis Award ◊ Best Juvenile (2008): Eye of the Crow The Arthur Ellis (2013) The Violet Downey Award The Libris Award The Geoffrey Bilson Award The Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award Anne Izard Storyteller Choice Award Junior Library Guild of America Selection (7 times) Governor-General's Award (shortlist) TD Canadian Children's Literature Award (shortlist)