The Adventures of Sherlock Bones: Case File #1 Doggone

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The Adventures of Sherlock Bones: Case File #1 Doggone

by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Edition: ebook, 2017

Synopsis: The Adventures of Sherlock Bones turns snooping on its floppy ear when one day, Dr. Jane Catson, a surgeon injured in the Cat Wars has an afternoon nap interrupted by a most unusual occurrence.

On the front lawn of her home, rather loud footsteps disturb her peace as Sherlock Bones, a Great Dane in a deerstalker claiming to be the greatest detective in the world arrives.

After a quick critical examination of the intrusive dog whose enormous body blocks the entire sun from view, Catson has her doubts. But that’s not all. The monstrously-sized creature makes an even more astonishing claim. He has come to live with her!

Before Catson can collect her thoughts into an intelligent rebuttal, Sherlock Bones has made himself quite at home, inventing things like a jetpack for her Castilian housekeeper-cook, a turtle named Mr. Javier and placing his gigantic food and water dishes next to hers.

But there’s no time for protest. The great detective and Dr. Catson have caught themselves their first case: A suspiciously dead human in a nearby abandoned building. Can Sherlock Bones and Dr. Catson crack the case before the killer strikes again? Or will their differences get in the way of solving Case File No. 1? One thing’s for sure, that would be a doggone shame.

In a world where animals and humans converse, Dr. Jane Catson is expecting to nap her way through life after the Cat Wars. The unexpected arrival of a Great Dane by the name of Sherlock Bones shakes up her world with a murder mystery.

This new release reached me just in time for my Holmes Month. Like most of the books for this month, it is more for younger readers.

It is a rather clever retelling of the Holmes story that kicked off Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet. The mystery was recognizable, and the characters rather fun. With the two main characters as animals, they were amusing with their cat/dog interactions.

There were a few points that didn’t make much sense to me. Sherlock Bones’ determination that the why of the murder wasn’t important at the end, and the impetuous nature of a dog seemed unlike the spirit of Holmes. Personally, I think Holmes as a cat would have been more appropriate, though the pun of ‘Watson with ‘Catson’ wouldn’t have worked. And why was Catson a girl?

Not a bad read for younger readers and I look forward to the second book.