What do you think?
Rate this book
Andrew Tillet, Sara Wiggins & Inspector Wyatt #1
The Case of the Baker Street Irregular
Brought to London under mysterious circumstances by his tutor, a young boy seeks the help of Sherlock Holmes when his tutor is kidnapped and he himself is threatened with the same fate.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
18 people are currently reading
422 people want to read
About the author
Robert Newman
37 books12 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Mr. Newman, who was born in Manhattan, began his career as a writer for radio shows. In 1944, he was in charge of the radio portion of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's re-election campaign. He also wrote ''Search for Tomorrow'' and ''Peyton Place'' episodes for television.
From 1973 to 1988, he wrote books for young people, including ''The Case of the Baker Street Irregular,'' published by Atheneum in 1978, and many novels.
Mr. Newman, who was born in Manhattan, began his career as a writer for radio shows. In 1944, he was in charge of the radio portion of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's re-election campaign. He also wrote ''Search for Tomorrow'' and ''Peyton Place'' episodes for television.
From 1973 to 1988, he wrote books for young people, including ''The Case of the Baker Street Irregular,'' published by Atheneum in 1978, and many novels.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
September 23, 2017
ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS EVER>
read 5 times. . .
9.22.17
Just finished reading this again. Still one of my fave books of all time. This is probably reaching being read 10 times. Enough Sherlock to have me on the edge of my seat. but satisfied with a quick read.
read 5 times. . .
9.22.17
Just finished reading this again. Still one of my fave books of all time. This is probably reaching being read 10 times. Enough Sherlock to have me on the edge of my seat. but satisfied with a quick read.
April 25, 2011
A fantastic series that I loved as a kid and still holds up for adults. Well-written, engrossing mysteries with engaging characters and just enough of Sherlock himself to whet the appetite for investigation and adventure.
March 8, 2013
A quick read that includes the famous Baker Street detective Sherlock Holmes.
September 24, 2011
This was a book that I had read when I was much younger and was glad to find that I enjoyed it just as much as an adult. I know I understood it a lot better having recently read the Origanal Holmes stories by Doyle.
I think that the adventures of a young man named Andrew Craigie ties in really well with the case that Holmes is working on and those of you who read it solely for the Holmes element won't be disappointed. References to Doyle occur frequently in the conversations between Holmes and Watson.
Though speaking from experiance when A kid reads this all they really care about is what's happening to the children.
When I read this as a child I had no idea that it was the first book in a series. Thanks to Goodreads now I do and I will be sure to read the rest of them.
I think that the adventures of a young man named Andrew Craigie ties in really well with the case that Holmes is working on and those of you who read it solely for the Holmes element won't be disappointed. References to Doyle occur frequently in the conversations between Holmes and Watson.
Though speaking from experiance when A kid reads this all they really care about is what's happening to the children.
When I read this as a child I had no idea that it was the first book in a series. Thanks to Goodreads now I do and I will be sure to read the rest of them.
December 18, 2009
Best Sherlock Holmes I have ever read aside from the originals. I loved how amazingly rich the case was , it was a refreshing Delightful Read.
March 10, 2013
this is an amazing book for people who like mystery and suspense
April 20, 2020
First in a series, which I hope to read in its entirety, this is an orphan's experience in London where he meets the famed Sherlock Holmes and helps solve a mystery while finding his own truth.
November 29, 2020
Really enjoyed reading this one to Matthew! Several twists and turns and a great ending.
November 6, 2015
*Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance, during Sherlocked. (October - December 2015)
Andrew arrives in London from Cornwall with his guardian Mr. Dennison. Andrew is overwhelmed by the great metropolis bustling around him. He and his guardian have a small room near Baker Street where they are staying. After they settle in they walk around the neighborhood and Andrew gets a glimpse of the great detective himself, Sherlock Holmes! The next few days Mr. Dennison is busy and Andrew doesn't see much of him. The young lad is starting to know the area and befriends a young girl who goes by the name Screamer and whose brother is one of Sherlock Holmes's Baker Street Irregulars. They spend a great day at the zoo but then everything changes for Andrew. He sees his guardian, Mr. Dennison, bundled into a carriage against his will by a cabbie with a broken nose. His landlady is very helpful and they report the incident to the police, but soon Andrew's steps are dogged by the man with the broken nose and he takes refuge in the poorer areas of London. Beaten and stripped in an alleyway, Screamer, her brother, and their mother, Mrs. Wiggins, take Andrew in. But Andrew knows he is a burden on this poor family and happily takes any jobs he can get. One comes down from the great detective himself. Andrew is to lead a blind fiddler around town for a few days. Little does Andrew know at first that the blind fiddler is Sherlock Holmes and that their work together might solve not only the theft and forgery of some paintings, the disappearance of Mr. Dennison, but also find Andrew a home. It's all in a day's work for the world's greatest consulting detective!
My younger brother's bookshelves growing up consisted of Dr. Seuss, The Berenstein Bears, and magic books. There would occasionally be a book that didn't fit into these three categories, a book for school or a video game guide, but that was a rare occurrence. Some time last year the two of us were clearing out a few random boxes that contained stuff from his old bedroom, and yes, we did find old Christmas candy, the less said about that the better... but we also found this book I had never heard of, The Case of the Baker Street Irregular. It went into the pile dubbed, "Stuff That is Now Mine." Because seeing that book I had an idea. An idea that morphed into Sherlocked. That night I sat down at my computer and started making a list of all the books I had or wanted to read that were inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation, Sherlock Holmes. From middle grade reads written by Eve Titus to continuations written by Anthony Horowitz to loving parodies written by Neil Gaiman, within a few short minutes I had a list of almost twenty books and that got me thinking about how much Sherlock Holmes has been a part of my life in one form or another. From movies with cartoon mice to watching PBS with my mom, Sherlock has always been there for me. My three-month long Sherlocked extravaganza was born then and there and I knew that one of the books I read would have to be The Case of the Baker Street Irregular.
The Case of the Baker Street Irregular is a book that is painfully middle grade. What do I mean by that without being overly critical. Yes, laugh all you want that I'm worried about being overly critical. But I did enjoy the book, it's just that the author has some issues that are common in older books written for a younger audience (cough, L. Frank Baum, cough.) Primarily he talks down to his audience. He dumbs things down to make his audience get the concepts, but to a painful degree. The book is peppered with that dreaded concept of "teaching moments." He seems more concerned with educating his readers than creating a thrilling story that just happens to educate. This lends an overall flatness to the book. There is no fluctuation with excitement or danger or even mystery. The book plods along with it's slow snail pace and it's not until you accustom yourself to this that you can enjoy the book for what it is, not what it isn't. Newman is obsessed with locations and maps and characters muddling along through the morass of London in a way that does more to confuse than aid the reader. It isn't until Holmes in disguise is working with Andrew that the book finds it's legs. Before this moment it's two stories running tangentially that you are just waiting to connect. The book is also clever in that their working together isn't spelled out for you till the end. You know what's going on, but you're not 100% sure, and this is truly the only mystery the book affords that is worth your time.
What bothered me most about the book was the Baker Street Irregulars themselves. Ignoring the fact that the title of this book annoys me because of the singular versus the plural, the Irregulars aren't handled right. It felt to me like Newman didn't want to handle the actual social status of a street urchin in Victorian England because it would create too much of a disconnect with his readers so he made characters that would resonate more with kids today, couching the book in terms a young reader would get. In other words, see the "dumbing down" of above. So instead of true street urchins we have Mrs. Wiggins and her two children that are acceptably poor but not destitute. No, no, and no again. The Irregulars don't have families! Well, they might have siblings in their gang but NOT parents to go home to at night. This is some sort of rose-tinting of the Victorian era that is unacceptable to me. It somehow lessens what the Irregulars are. They are a force to be reckoned with because they have eyes and ears everywhere, they are always watching, not going home to their mom and dad at the end of the day! This is why in the new adaptation, Sherlock, that he uses a homeless network. The homeless problem of today with it's ubiquitousness is equal to what the street urchin epidemic was in Victorian times. They are everywhere so we have learned to tune them out. I just feel that for a book that liked it's "teaching moments" that to not handle an actual problem that is still ongoing in different forms is sloppy writing. Not to mention it just pissed me off and was totally against canon!
But the truth is if you can't get Holmes and Watson right then just don't write about them. Go big or go home. The genius of Eve Titus is that she was able to capture the language of Conan Doyle so perfectly that even a book written for very young children had that spark necessary to interest readers in the world's number one consulting detective. Newman doesn't get Holmes and Watson right at all and therefore is forced to make everyone else so bloody boring that Holmes and Watson are interesting by comparison. I don't think the correct way to interest someone in books is to make your story so boring in parts that their only alternative is to read the original work to get the point you were trying to make. While I've never been 100% on board with the quality of Conan Doyle's writing, when you see someone else fumbling simple descriptions and settings, not to mention the dreadful dialogue, you realize that perhaps you've underestimated Conan Doyle all along. And it's not just the set-up that failed for me, it's that the characterizations were so wrong. Watson was lippy and took control versus being obsequious. Holmes actually bothered to explain things as they were happening instead of reveling in the great reveal at the end. With all that was wrong you are probably confused as to why I liked the book. It's because of the seismic shift half-way through when Holmes is undercover with Andrew. Holmes was quiet and terse and secretive, and FINALLY Holmes. While after this little interlude Holmes went back to being wrong, and dare I say, melodramatic, because Holmes himself couldn't think of a more condemning word, that short interlude made the book worth everything else.
And I haven't even come to the crimes perpetrated in the book. Conan Doyle has a way with creating crime. He created stories that appeared mysterious and convoluted til the end reveal when it all made sense. In a nutshell they baffled while NEVER being illogical. The ending always fit with everything that came before. It's like if you were doing a puzzle but didn't have a picture of what you were working on. Once you finish it the picture is clear and everything fits together. Newman apparently didn't get this memo on how to craft a mystery. The crimes perpetrated in these pages are too convoluted and illogical. They are full of unnecessary red herrings and twists just to cover up their failings. But I seriously can not even when it comes to the illogical. I am quite literally baffled by the stupidity and lack of sense. Let's just look at the theft of the paintings. So their owner Lytell is short on money. Keep in mind short on money means he NEEDS money. Therefore to get money he is auctioning off several famous paintings. These paintings are stolen from the auction house and replaced with forgeries. Now if the thieves then went on to sell these paintings on the black market it would make total sense. Instead they ransom the paintings back to Lytell. So let me get this straight. Lytell doesn't have money, so you steal his paintings he was using to get money and then demand money of him? WHAT THE HECK! If he didn't have the money in the first place how would he have money now? Not to mention that this involves so much more work than necessary with trying to deceive Holmes and finding a decent forger. OK, now I'm starting to wonder why I liked this book... I think it might be the reverse effect of "Last Good Book I Read." Meaning I was reading a lot of shitty comics so this looked good in comparison. So maybe skip this one after all? But read the part where Holmes is undercover, that's fun.
Andrew arrives in London from Cornwall with his guardian Mr. Dennison. Andrew is overwhelmed by the great metropolis bustling around him. He and his guardian have a small room near Baker Street where they are staying. After they settle in they walk around the neighborhood and Andrew gets a glimpse of the great detective himself, Sherlock Holmes! The next few days Mr. Dennison is busy and Andrew doesn't see much of him. The young lad is starting to know the area and befriends a young girl who goes by the name Screamer and whose brother is one of Sherlock Holmes's Baker Street Irregulars. They spend a great day at the zoo but then everything changes for Andrew. He sees his guardian, Mr. Dennison, bundled into a carriage against his will by a cabbie with a broken nose. His landlady is very helpful and they report the incident to the police, but soon Andrew's steps are dogged by the man with the broken nose and he takes refuge in the poorer areas of London. Beaten and stripped in an alleyway, Screamer, her brother, and their mother, Mrs. Wiggins, take Andrew in. But Andrew knows he is a burden on this poor family and happily takes any jobs he can get. One comes down from the great detective himself. Andrew is to lead a blind fiddler around town for a few days. Little does Andrew know at first that the blind fiddler is Sherlock Holmes and that their work together might solve not only the theft and forgery of some paintings, the disappearance of Mr. Dennison, but also find Andrew a home. It's all in a day's work for the world's greatest consulting detective!
My younger brother's bookshelves growing up consisted of Dr. Seuss, The Berenstein Bears, and magic books. There would occasionally be a book that didn't fit into these three categories, a book for school or a video game guide, but that was a rare occurrence. Some time last year the two of us were clearing out a few random boxes that contained stuff from his old bedroom, and yes, we did find old Christmas candy, the less said about that the better... but we also found this book I had never heard of, The Case of the Baker Street Irregular. It went into the pile dubbed, "Stuff That is Now Mine." Because seeing that book I had an idea. An idea that morphed into Sherlocked. That night I sat down at my computer and started making a list of all the books I had or wanted to read that were inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle and his creation, Sherlock Holmes. From middle grade reads written by Eve Titus to continuations written by Anthony Horowitz to loving parodies written by Neil Gaiman, within a few short minutes I had a list of almost twenty books and that got me thinking about how much Sherlock Holmes has been a part of my life in one form or another. From movies with cartoon mice to watching PBS with my mom, Sherlock has always been there for me. My three-month long Sherlocked extravaganza was born then and there and I knew that one of the books I read would have to be The Case of the Baker Street Irregular.
The Case of the Baker Street Irregular is a book that is painfully middle grade. What do I mean by that without being overly critical. Yes, laugh all you want that I'm worried about being overly critical. But I did enjoy the book, it's just that the author has some issues that are common in older books written for a younger audience (cough, L. Frank Baum, cough.) Primarily he talks down to his audience. He dumbs things down to make his audience get the concepts, but to a painful degree. The book is peppered with that dreaded concept of "teaching moments." He seems more concerned with educating his readers than creating a thrilling story that just happens to educate. This lends an overall flatness to the book. There is no fluctuation with excitement or danger or even mystery. The book plods along with it's slow snail pace and it's not until you accustom yourself to this that you can enjoy the book for what it is, not what it isn't. Newman is obsessed with locations and maps and characters muddling along through the morass of London in a way that does more to confuse than aid the reader. It isn't until Holmes in disguise is working with Andrew that the book finds it's legs. Before this moment it's two stories running tangentially that you are just waiting to connect. The book is also clever in that their working together isn't spelled out for you till the end. You know what's going on, but you're not 100% sure, and this is truly the only mystery the book affords that is worth your time.
What bothered me most about the book was the Baker Street Irregulars themselves. Ignoring the fact that the title of this book annoys me because of the singular versus the plural, the Irregulars aren't handled right. It felt to me like Newman didn't want to handle the actual social status of a street urchin in Victorian England because it would create too much of a disconnect with his readers so he made characters that would resonate more with kids today, couching the book in terms a young reader would get. In other words, see the "dumbing down" of above. So instead of true street urchins we have Mrs. Wiggins and her two children that are acceptably poor but not destitute. No, no, and no again. The Irregulars don't have families! Well, they might have siblings in their gang but NOT parents to go home to at night. This is some sort of rose-tinting of the Victorian era that is unacceptable to me. It somehow lessens what the Irregulars are. They are a force to be reckoned with because they have eyes and ears everywhere, they are always watching, not going home to their mom and dad at the end of the day! This is why in the new adaptation, Sherlock, that he uses a homeless network. The homeless problem of today with it's ubiquitousness is equal to what the street urchin epidemic was in Victorian times. They are everywhere so we have learned to tune them out. I just feel that for a book that liked it's "teaching moments" that to not handle an actual problem that is still ongoing in different forms is sloppy writing. Not to mention it just pissed me off and was totally against canon!
But the truth is if you can't get Holmes and Watson right then just don't write about them. Go big or go home. The genius of Eve Titus is that she was able to capture the language of Conan Doyle so perfectly that even a book written for very young children had that spark necessary to interest readers in the world's number one consulting detective. Newman doesn't get Holmes and Watson right at all and therefore is forced to make everyone else so bloody boring that Holmes and Watson are interesting by comparison. I don't think the correct way to interest someone in books is to make your story so boring in parts that their only alternative is to read the original work to get the point you were trying to make. While I've never been 100% on board with the quality of Conan Doyle's writing, when you see someone else fumbling simple descriptions and settings, not to mention the dreadful dialogue, you realize that perhaps you've underestimated Conan Doyle all along. And it's not just the set-up that failed for me, it's that the characterizations were so wrong. Watson was lippy and took control versus being obsequious. Holmes actually bothered to explain things as they were happening instead of reveling in the great reveal at the end. With all that was wrong you are probably confused as to why I liked the book. It's because of the seismic shift half-way through when Holmes is undercover with Andrew. Holmes was quiet and terse and secretive, and FINALLY Holmes. While after this little interlude Holmes went back to being wrong, and dare I say, melodramatic, because Holmes himself couldn't think of a more condemning word, that short interlude made the book worth everything else.
And I haven't even come to the crimes perpetrated in the book. Conan Doyle has a way with creating crime. He created stories that appeared mysterious and convoluted til the end reveal when it all made sense. In a nutshell they baffled while NEVER being illogical. The ending always fit with everything that came before. It's like if you were doing a puzzle but didn't have a picture of what you were working on. Once you finish it the picture is clear and everything fits together. Newman apparently didn't get this memo on how to craft a mystery. The crimes perpetrated in these pages are too convoluted and illogical. They are full of unnecessary red herrings and twists just to cover up their failings. But I seriously can not even when it comes to the illogical. I am quite literally baffled by the stupidity and lack of sense. Let's just look at the theft of the paintings. So their owner Lytell is short on money. Keep in mind short on money means he NEEDS money. Therefore to get money he is auctioning off several famous paintings. These paintings are stolen from the auction house and replaced with forgeries. Now if the thieves then went on to sell these paintings on the black market it would make total sense. Instead they ransom the paintings back to Lytell. So let me get this straight. Lytell doesn't have money, so you steal his paintings he was using to get money and then demand money of him? WHAT THE HECK! If he didn't have the money in the first place how would he have money now? Not to mention that this involves so much more work than necessary with trying to deceive Holmes and finding a decent forger. OK, now I'm starting to wonder why I liked this book... I think it might be the reverse effect of "Last Good Book I Read." Meaning I was reading a lot of shitty comics so this looked good in comparison. So maybe skip this one after all? But read the part where Holmes is undercover, that's fun.
March 13, 2018
Truthfully, if Goodreads would let me, I'd give this one 3.5 stars, mostly because the very ending exchange fell flat enough that it kept it from a solid 4 stars. It'll never be among my favorites because it's not my preferred genre and while the writing is clear and concise it's in no way lyrical (personal preference). But I would highly recommend this to any kid who loves mysteries or adventure stories or historical fiction or would love Sherlock Holmes' particular brand of sniffing out a solution. Or all of those things. (So...most kids, probably.) I felt the author gave just enough away along the journey to keep the reader apprised--so they could be solving along with Sherlock--but perhaps there would be more twists or surprises for a younger reader.
May 12, 2021
I remember enjoying this as a child and it holds up well. Not all books I remember from my youth have the quality of writing to make them worth reading lo these many decades later.
The lead character is well drawn and excites interest and the descriptions of London ring true. The characters of Holmes and Watson are perhaps updated for modern sensibilities and cleaned up for a younger reader. The Irregulars are again updated for a modern world. True 'fans' of Holmes will likely object to these changes and the fact that it is more a modern novel than a Doyle short story. For the rest of us this is an enjoyable journey to Holmes' London.
The lead character is well drawn and excites interest and the descriptions of London ring true. The characters of Holmes and Watson are perhaps updated for modern sensibilities and cleaned up for a younger reader. The Irregulars are again updated for a modern world. True 'fans' of Holmes will likely object to these changes and the fact that it is more a modern novel than a Doyle short story. For the rest of us this is an enjoyable journey to Holmes' London.
January 16, 2018
NOT my first time reading it- found it first in 4th grade and it MAY be part of why I was so willing to go into the Holmes rabbit hole.
I recall loving the rest of the series as well (though no more Holmes and a new family situation that was set up in the first book) and I took the chance to reread.
One of my faves-
Enjoy!
I recall loving the rest of the series as well (though no more Holmes and a new family situation that was set up in the first book) and I took the chance to reread.
One of my faves-
Enjoy!
Read
December 6, 2019I honestly can't remember much about this one, except that I did enjoy it. (I was a Sherlock Holmes fan from a very early age.) I'll have to dig it up sometime again, if I can find it and give it a reread.
November 7, 2022
The Case of the Baker Street Irregular is a cute book, but the end was somewhat predictable. I'll probably continue reading the series :)
September 22, 2023
A really lame Sherlock Holmes knock-off. Holmes simply doesn’t have the precision he needs to have, and he doesn’t talk like he does in Arthur Conan Doyle’s books. Worst of all, the case is a confusing jumble of events. I don’t recommend this one.
March 31, 2019
3 1/2 stars
March 22, 2020
Great mystery
I loved these as a kid and am excited they are on the kindle now. Perfect adventure stories for kids.
I loved these as a kid and am excited they are on the kindle now. Perfect adventure stories for kids.
July 11, 2020
B. fiction, children's fiction, upper elementary, middle school, Sherlock Holmes, from stash, keep
March 11, 2021
What a delightful read! I really enjoyed this and wish I had found it when I was young. Love Sherlock and his associates.
April 1, 2021
A favorite book from childhood, wanted to reread. Still holds up :) Fun, engaging mystery.
July 1, 2021
What a great find. Interesting, complicated Sherlock Holmesian case well written by Newman. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.
July 14, 2022
3.5/5
September 16, 2022
it is really bad so far
December 1, 2022
Light and fun read
This has a nice storyline and keeps you engaged. The writer makes the characters very likable. I bought this for my kids but I really enjoyed it!
This has a nice storyline and keeps you engaged. The writer makes the characters very likable. I bought this for my kids but I really enjoyed it!
May 29, 2023
This author did a great job of portraying the famous detective in the spirit of Conan Doyle (but I would have a bit more of an emotional reaction from Andrew, especially at the end).
August 18, 2023
Not bad but too many coincidences and not enough solid deductions to make for a really good book.
September 11, 2016
The Case of the Baker Street Irregular (1978) by Robert Newman is the first in a series of books featuring Andrew Craigie (later Tillet...as explained by the events in this novel), the Baker Street Irregulars, and, in various amounts, Sherlock Holmes himself. Andrew Craigie's life has been a mysterious one. He has grown up under the care of his Aunt Agnes. He had always been told that his father was dead and his mother was far away--and even though she couldn't be with him that she loved him very much. But when Aunt Agnes dies and Andrew is taken in by his tutor, Mr. Dennison, Andrew begins to dwell on the questions that have haunted him: Who was his father and is he really dead? Where is his mother? If she really does love him, why didn't she come for him when Aunt Agnes died? And if she couldn't why didn't she at least write?
Before Andrew can spend much time thinking about this, his new guardian takes him London "on business." Mr. Dennison is aloof--promising visits to the zoo, Madame Toussauds, and other places of note--but taking off directly after meals. Andrew is given leave to explore on his own and makes friends with Sara "Screamer" Wiggins (sister to Sam Wiggins who is one of Mr. Sherlock Holmes's famous Baker Street Irregulars). When Andrew returns from one of their outings one evening, he observes Mr. Dennison walking towards their lodgings ahead of him. Just before the man can enter the lodging house, he is accosted by a man in a growler and the cab's driver. It seems to Andrew that Dennison is reluctant to get into the cab and as it passes him he notices that the cabby, a heavset man with a broken nose, is grinning. Mrs. Gurney, owner of the lodging house, convinces him to wait to report anything. After all, gentlemen who come up to London sometimes meet up with unexpected people and perhaps Mr. Dennison wasn't so much reluctant as surprised to see the men. But by the next afternoon Dennison still hasn't returned, a visit to the local police station is unsuccessful, and Andrew is chased, robbed, and left injured. Fortunately, the Wiggins siblings find him and take him in.
Meanwhile, Mr. Holmes is investigating some mysterious incidents involving the death of Lord Lowther and the theft of certain paintings left in his legacy to his son Adam as well as a rash of bombings in the city. It isn't long before Andrew's hunt for his missing guardian and the Great Detective's search for the paintings lead to the same place. Andrew, with the help of Screamer, will brave some of the worst sections in London before finding Mr. Denison....and, incidentally, the answers to some of his earlier questions. Andrew may wind up with a parent after all.
This is a very promising debut in what looks to be an interesting children's/young adult mystery series. As much as I enjoy Holmes stories, it was refreshing to see this told primarily from the viewpoint of Andrew and the Irregulars. I've often thought books based on the Irregulars' adventures with Holmes (told from their viewpoint) would make for good stories. Andrew is given an interesting background and, while there is some coincidence at play here, I thought things worked out for him in a fairly plausible way. It is also intriguing that this children's mystery has a fairly adult plot--this is no "secret of the missing jewels." There is major danger and the kids just barely prevent a man from being shot before their eyes. Lots of adventure and intrigue and much to like in this first book of the series. ★★★ and a half (rounded up here).
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Before Andrew can spend much time thinking about this, his new guardian takes him London "on business." Mr. Dennison is aloof--promising visits to the zoo, Madame Toussauds, and other places of note--but taking off directly after meals. Andrew is given leave to explore on his own and makes friends with Sara "Screamer" Wiggins (sister to Sam Wiggins who is one of Mr. Sherlock Holmes's famous Baker Street Irregulars). When Andrew returns from one of their outings one evening, he observes Mr. Dennison walking towards their lodgings ahead of him. Just before the man can enter the lodging house, he is accosted by a man in a growler and the cab's driver. It seems to Andrew that Dennison is reluctant to get into the cab and as it passes him he notices that the cabby, a heavset man with a broken nose, is grinning. Mrs. Gurney, owner of the lodging house, convinces him to wait to report anything. After all, gentlemen who come up to London sometimes meet up with unexpected people and perhaps Mr. Dennison wasn't so much reluctant as surprised to see the men. But by the next afternoon Dennison still hasn't returned, a visit to the local police station is unsuccessful, and Andrew is chased, robbed, and left injured. Fortunately, the Wiggins siblings find him and take him in.
Meanwhile, Mr. Holmes is investigating some mysterious incidents involving the death of Lord Lowther and the theft of certain paintings left in his legacy to his son Adam as well as a rash of bombings in the city. It isn't long before Andrew's hunt for his missing guardian and the Great Detective's search for the paintings lead to the same place. Andrew, with the help of Screamer, will brave some of the worst sections in London before finding Mr. Denison....and, incidentally, the answers to some of his earlier questions. Andrew may wind up with a parent after all.
This is a very promising debut in what looks to be an interesting children's/young adult mystery series. As much as I enjoy Holmes stories, it was refreshing to see this told primarily from the viewpoint of Andrew and the Irregulars. I've often thought books based on the Irregulars' adventures with Holmes (told from their viewpoint) would make for good stories. Andrew is given an interesting background and, while there is some coincidence at play here, I thought things worked out for him in a fairly plausible way. It is also intriguing that this children's mystery has a fairly adult plot--this is no "secret of the missing jewels." There is major danger and the kids just barely prevent a man from being shot before their eyes. Lots of adventure and intrigue and much to like in this first book of the series. ★★★ and a half (rounded up here).
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
April 30, 2016
The first of the series of books about young detective Andrew Craigie (although I haven't been reading them in order). I was surprised to see that the book had been written in the eighties, as it has such an old-fashioned feel to it. The story is set in the early 1900s, and is an homage to the great detective stories of that era, albeit in much simpler language. And yet the terms and descriptions are such that the reader is totally immersed in the world. This is also part fan-fiction as it features Holmes and Watson, but it is splendidly done.
The characters are well developed and the storyline is gripping.
My only quibble is the ending, as it's a little too nicely wrapped up for me. A mother leaves her son for fourteen years to be brought up by someone else, her guilty conscience pricks, and she comes back for him. And he forgives her, just like that. Which does not run true to the the character throughout the book. Andrew comes across as a mature boy, with deep feelings. He resents his mother for abandoning him, he resents being so lonely, never having had a family to protect and love him. And yet a few tears are enough for him to run to her arms. She offers no apology, no explanations, no attempts to make amends. Only excuses. Which gives what would have been an otherwise excellent book an ending worthy of a Hollywood film.
The characters are well developed and the storyline is gripping.
My only quibble is the ending, as it's a little too nicely wrapped up for me. A mother leaves her son for fourteen years to be brought up by someone else, her guilty conscience pricks, and she comes back for him. And he forgives her, just like that. Which does not run true to the the character throughout the book. Andrew comes across as a mature boy, with deep feelings. He resents his mother for abandoning him, he resents being so lonely, never having had a family to protect and love him. And yet a few tears are enough for him to run to her arms. She offers no apology, no explanations, no attempts to make amends. Only excuses. Which gives what would have been an otherwise excellent book an ending worthy of a Hollywood film.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2012
This book was so slow that I was tempted to put it down. I only kept at it because it was pretty short. I know this is supposed to focus more on the boy, Andrew, but the early on parts where we got glimpses of Sherlock and actual scenes with him were very boring and dull. He lacked the spark that makes him unique.
But, about half way through when we were introduced to Ben the blind man, the book picked way up. It's obvious who it is, and I was on alert for any sort of clue as to what he was up to, and it really saved the book.
I hated Screamer. I knew that her only point in the story would be to add a little bit of romance, which fell flat, and that somehow her voice would be used to save the day. Very disappointed to be right.
The book did feel close to the writing of Doyle, but I normally find him a bit dry and wordy at times. And this book was just dry and could have used some more words to paint us a better picture.
But, about half way through when we were introduced to Ben the blind man, the book picked way up. It's obvious who it is, and I was on alert for any sort of clue as to what he was up to, and it really saved the book.
I hated Screamer. I knew that her only point in the story would be to add a little bit of romance, which fell flat, and that somehow her voice would be used to save the day. Very disappointed to be right.
The book did feel close to the writing of Doyle, but I normally find him a bit dry and wordy at times. And this book was just dry and could have used some more words to paint us a better picture.
May 22, 2016
I don't know where we picked this book up, but it's a gem. The story follows a boy, Andrew, as he arrives in London with his guardian. They land in a boarding house near Baker Street, soon running into Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Little does Andrew realize that he will soon be embroiled in a mystery of his own when his guardian disappears...
The writing is clear and believable, the characters are interesting, and the plot is fun. If the ending is perhaps a bit too pat, I think the author can be forgiven, since he does a marvelous job of humanizing Holmes. (I find the original Holmes in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories rather disappointing, though many of the more recent derivative series like The Beekeeper's Apprentice are quite good.)
The writing is clear and believable, the characters are interesting, and the plot is fun. If the ending is perhaps a bit too pat, I think the author can be forgiven, since he does a marvelous job of humanizing Holmes. (I find the original Holmes in Arthur Conan Doyle's stories rather disappointing, though many of the more recent derivative series like The Beekeeper's Apprentice are quite good.)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews