Snake Bite

Young Sherlock Holmes #5

by Andrew Lane

Kidnapped and taken to China, teenage Sherlock finds himself plunged into the heart of a deadly mystery. How can three men be bitten by the same poisonous snake in different parts of Shanghai? Who wants them dead, and why? The answers seem to lie in a message hidden in a diagram that looks like a spider’s web. But solving one puzzle only leads to an even more urgent question: What has all this got to do with a plot to blow up an American warship? To unravel the strands that entangle him, Sherlock must brave terrors greater than any he has faced before.

Sherlock Holmes: Think you know him? Think again.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Thriller, Adventure

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2012

About the author

See also work published as Andy Lane

During 2009, Macmillan Books announced that Lane would be writing a series of books focusing on the early life of Sherlock Holmes. The series was developed in conjunction with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Lane had already shown an extensive knowledge of the Holmes character and continuity in his Virgin Books novel All-Consuming Fire in which he created The Library of St. John the Beheaded as a meeting place for the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who.

The first book in the 'Young Sherlock Holmes' series – Death Cloud – was published in the United Kingdom in June 2010 (February 2011 in the United States), with the second – Red Leech – published in the United Kingdom in November of that year (with a United States publication date under the title Rebel Fire of February 2012). The third book – Black Ice – was published in June 2011 in the UK while the fourth book – Fire Storm – was published originally in hardback in October 2011 with a paperback publication in March 2012. The fifth book, Snake Bite was published in hardback in October 2012 and the sixth book, Knife Edge was published in September 2013. Death Cloud was short-listed for both the 2010 North East Book Award. (coming second by three votes) and the 2011 Southampton's Favourite Book Award. Black Ice won the 2012 Centurion Book Award.

Early in 2012, Macmillan Children's Books announced that they would be publishing a new series by Lane, beginning in 2013. The Lost World books will follow disabled 15-year-old Calum Challenger, who is co-ordinating a search from his London bedroom to find creatures considered so rare that many do not believe they exist. Calum's intention is to use the creatures' DNA to help protect the species, but also to search for a cure for his own paralysis. His team comprises a computer hacker, a free runner, an ex-marine and a pathological liar.

Reviews

[Stephen Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most vivid and enjoyable books in the series so far.

The villains are villainous, there is intrigue and a brilliant story.

We also get to see that not everything works out for Sherlock as he (and we) would hope.

[Dr. Sulaiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

البناء الروائي لهذه الرواية جيد جداً، وتنوع الشخصيات والاماكن فيها جيد،الا انه ومن الملاحظ أن الكاتب جعل شارلوك هولمز الشاب هو بطل روايته، رغم أن هذا الأخير يلا يقاربالبتةالبتة شخصية شارلوك هولمز الذي عرفناه في القصص الشيقة لارثر كونان دويل،وهذا من حيث البحث والتحليل والاستنتاج المنطقي، بل أن البطل في هذه الرواية ينقاد بشكل دراماتيكي نحو الأحدا ث بشكلغير منطقي أحياناً، كأن يلحق مخلوق ما في وضح النهار وبدون أي غطاء آحد أبطال الرواية ويتضح في آخرالرواية أن هذا المخلوقهو فتاة!والرأي لو أن الروائي بنى مساره الروائي بعيداً عن اسم شارلوك هولمز لكان أفضلاً له وللقراء الذين منالم}كد أن ينتظروا رواية حقيقيةلشارلوك هولمز.

[HasaN · Rating 4 out of 5]

هذه المغامرة، تأتي قبل رواية حدّ السكين التي قرأتُها منذ فترة، فقط من حيث التسلسل وإلّا فهي مغامرة منفصلة الأحداث عن رواية حدّ السكين.

رواية جميلة ومغامرة مشوّقة، تدفعني لقراءة بقية مغامرات الشاب شارلوك هولمز. الجميل في هذه السلسلة هو تعدّد أماكن أحداث المغامرات، هذه المرة في الصين، في مدينة شنغهاي تحديداً، بينما كان أحداث مغامرة حدّ السكّين في العاصمة البريطانية لندن، الموطن الأصلي لشارلوك هولمز.

الأحد | الموافق ٢٠١٦/٠٦/٠٥

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wieder ein gelungenes Abenteuer des jungen Sherlocks, diesmal im fernen China! Er wird immer mehr zu dem Mann, den man aus den eigentlichen Büchern kennt und schlägt sich immer besser im Auge von Gefahren.
Nach dem Ende bin ich gespannt, wie es Sherlock weiterhin ergehen wird und wie das Wiedersehen mit seinen alten Freunden ablaufen wird.

3.5/5

[Haley Durfee · Rating 4 out of 5]

╰⪼"You don't. With the greatest respect, Sherlock, I'm not sure you ever will. You're not like ordinary people. You don't care in the same way. But thank you for being here anyway, and thank you for listening to me."

🐍sherlock: he will never be the same

╰⪼review:
First off, I have to say that yes, this series certainly surpasses the bounds of believability at times. BUT...the writing and characterization more than makes up for it. Sherlock is such a recognizable character, and there's been so many spin-offs written about him, that it would have been easy to do a conventional YA Sherlock who is sort of a perfect, brilliant action hero.
Andrew Lane takes a different route.
Breaking many YA conventions, Lane's Sherlock is a more serious portrayal of a Victorian-era fourteen year old (in book one, he ages throughout the series) who gradually goes from boyhood innocence and enthusiasm to a conflicted and brilliant man. Book 5 really sees Sherlock's arc start to take a turn, especially at the end, and I am very much looking forward to (and dreading, because Sherlock is my favorite character in the series, and let me just say, the poor boy!) the last few books.
Also. All. The. Foreshadowing.
Definitely would recommend to teens and fans of Sherlock!

╰⪼content:
Violence (murder, fighting, a boy fights a girl who has no sense of right vs. wrong and is trying to kill him).
Mentions of child abuse and a brief scene of physical abuse.
Depictions of injuries.
Drug usage.
Brief language (h-l, a misuse of God's name)

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one.

I wasn’t expecting it to be as intense as it was but oh my god it was great.

I almost yelled and threw the book though when the letter from Mycroft came and it said that Virginia said yes and then ending it after that??? Andrew what the hell 😭

I have got to read the next one. How am I meant to recover otherwise.

[Matilde · Rating 2 out of 5]

La prima parte l'ho trovata molto noiosa, il ritmo della scrittura secondo me non é incalzante e non mi fa venire quella voglia di continuare a leggerlo e non staccarmici più, i capitoli li ho trovati lunghi e alcune parti sono state allungate troppo e inutilmente. Gli ultimi 4/5capitoli sono gli unici che non ho trovato noiosi. :(
Di persé alla fine la storia é semplice senza emozionanti colpi di scena :/

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Right from the first word, Lane has created a mystery for his audience. However, the mystery is not solved by Sherlock as readers would have expected. In fact, Sherlock doesn't seem to solve any mysteries at all. Although it is true that Sherlock solves a puzzle, the answer comes too easy due to the plot's obvious direction.

The first 150 or so pages are wasted on what seems to be a useless trip to China. Kidnapped by the Paradol people and stowed on board a ship, Sherlock's trip stinks of cliches: he survives a storm at sea; he fights pirates (and wins)... well, you get the idea.

Lane seems to be lost for ideas in his fifth installment of Young Sherlock Holmes. The plot is weak with its lack of mystery (a necessity in a Sherlock Holmes story). The novel's plot seems to be kidnapped with the young detective - it is M.I.A. Sherlock makes new friends, while losing others for numerous reasons. The Paradol chamber (responsible for his kidnapping) seems to be nowhere in sight on his forced trip to China.

On the other hand, the story is an easy read, with a lot of figurative language to aid imagination. It is pleasing for this avid reader to see Lane's improvement of his use of bought and brought (a negative found in the third book in the series, Black Ice). However, he now needs to focus on his misuse of colons in place of semi-colons.

In terms of Sherlock's progression to his later life of detective fame, Lane is taking the long road with no real sense of direction. As a reader of the previous novels, I feel that we are no closer to Sherlock's adult life.

I highly recommend another version of Sherlock's young life to any fans (or ex-fans) of Lane's series. Shane Peacock has written a more plausible life for the young detective, and has finally reached the conclusion after only six highly entertaining novels. Peacock takes the reader to Sherlock's youth with a series of vivid tales starting with the first, The Eye of the Crow.

I will read Lane's next installment with the hope that the plot line will be improved when Sherlock is back in England. Perhaps he can take a strong plot back with him for Lane to use.

[Daisy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, after suffering persisting through 4 books and 124 pages of this series, I've finally decided to give it up. I've not really enjoyed any of the previous books in this series that much but I kept reading for the occasional cool plot decisions and clever ideas. However, I got a good portion through this book and to me it just didn't have any of those epic moments. The plot felt extremely slow and tedious, so much so that it already felt like just a filler book for the overall plot, and I honestly think everything that happened in the first 100 pages could have been condensed into one or two chapters.

This book has really made me realise how much I don't like following one single character around. Not only does it get extremely boring but I've come to realise how much this version of Sherlock Holmes annoys the hell out of me. I also find Lane's writing suuuper dull and the romance is so underdeveloped you could literally just take a couple of sentences out of the previous books and they'd have zero relationship at all. I've also noticed more and more as this series goes on that to me all the characters sound exactly the same, and as their turn of speech just feels completely unnatural to me, that's a problem. Then there was the portrayal of race in this book - besides the CONSTANT referring to Wu Chung as 'the Chinese cook' (he has a name!), at one point a supposedly nice character made a completely racist comment and it went along unnoticed as though it was nothing. I don't care if this is set in a different era, racism in childrens' books being displayed as OK will just never be OK with me.

As this complete rant of a review probably shows - I really was not impressed with the third or so of this book that I read. This series keeps disappointing me and I'm not going to dedicate any more of my time to it.

[Agnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one was just... racist. A bad time.
Especially hated the scene where two white, Western boys bonded with each other by beating up three Chinese boys. What on earth was the thought process behind that scene?

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Sherlock Holmes: Snake Bite is a detailed and compelling account of another of Sherlock’s adventures. After being kidnapped and set on a boat to China, young Sherlock must survive the harsh and treacherous sea, only to be faced with a greater danger in a foreign land. Although the narrative drags in places, I found the story to be a great addition to the prequels of the original stories.

Taking Sherlock out of London and putting him in China was a smart move on author Andrew Lane’s part. Although Sherlock has been out of the country before, he has always had the aid of his friends, Matty and Virginia, his brother, Mycroft, or his mentors Amyus Crowe and Rufus Stone. This time we get to see him take on the world by himself, albeit with the help of a few new friends. The most interesting part of these books is the way they set up the original Sherlock Holmes stories. This particular book shows us where Sherlock found his love of martial arts, as well as having him pick up a new language. It also gives us an inside look as to why Sherlock loves travel, demonstrated by when he is in the middle of a tropical storm. He was amazed by the “immensity” and “grandeur” of the world, and it explains a lot about his personality as a man of adventure.

The only negative things I have to say about this book is that in places, there are pages upon pages of, while extremely detailed, ultimately unnecessary elaboration. When Sherlock and his new friends were out on the river, there wasn’t any need to go into extreme detail about the mechanics of the snake jaw, seeing as it probably wouldn’t be very important to anyone other than Sherlock. I understand that the author is trying to get the reader into Sherlock’s head, to help them understand the linear, analytical way that he thinks, but to the reader, it disrupts the flow of the narrative. For the most part, the reader wants the mystery, not the science.

Apart from these occasional hiccups, this book had an adept way of keeping the characters at the forefront while also not allowing them to completely overshadow the mystery element. Lane blends the two together seamlessly, so that it seems as though Sherlock’s journey and the mystery he is trying to solve are one and the same. It’s not as though Sherlock found himself in China and just decided to do some work while figuring out a way home. By connection of his friend Wu Chung who was on the same ship as Sherlock and the first to be affected by the mystery, the author givers Sherlock a personal stake in the events unfolding. I also admire the way there are little hints throughout about how Sherlock’s absence is affecting both him and his friends back home, and how he feels “as though the person he was before had been roughed away, creating someone new, and he didn’t know if this new person could fit into his old life.”

Young Sherlock Holmes: Snake Bite
By Andrew Lane

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again another good plot – young Sherlock Holmes sails to China, first as a stowaway, then as a young member of the crew – he faces an enormous tempest than Chinese pirates – eventually they reach Shanghai, where Sherlock discovers a conspiracy that could start a war between China and the U.S. He has made friends with the sons of two people murdered by poison, they will help him in his adventure to defuse the conspiracy.

[Sami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Sherlock Holmes and his beginnings, a simple adventure and a medium storytelling plot for a beautiful young interesting class.

[Jūratė Paurytė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Įtraukianti, Šerloko Holmso gerbėjams turėtú patikti. Labai smulkiai aprašytos įvairios scenos.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review first appeared on The Book Zone(For Boys) blog

Five books in and Andrew Lane's Young Sherlock Holmes books just seem to get better and better. I raced through the latest, Snake Bite, in a single sitting, and yet again I was left wanting more and more, and this may even be my favourite of the series so far.

Snake Bite is very different from the previous books in the series in that it hardly features any of the characters that have appeared in previous books. In fact, the only two that do make an appearance are Sherlock's brother Mycroft and his tutor Amyus Crowe, and this only in the book's prologue as they agonise over the disappearance of Sherlock. It would appear that he has been kidnapped, most likely by The Paradol Chamber, but for what reason we are left to speculate along with Mycroft and Crowe.

The first chapter proper opens with Sherlock at sea, on board the Gloria Scott, just off the southernmost tip of Africa. He still has little idea as to how he came to be on board the ship - he can remember falling asleep in his uncle's library, and the next thing he knew he was at sea, initially being treated as a stowaway. However, through hard work he has become accepted by the crew as almost one of them, and so begins his greatest adventure so far. An adventure that sees him travelling all the way to China, facing pirates along the way, and making new friends and, of course, new enemies along the way.

In previous books Andrew Lane has already done a considerable amount of fleshing out of his young Holmes, gradually giving him the skills, character traits and morals that Sherlockians the world over know and love. We have seen Sherlock learn to play the violin, we have seen the birth of his deductive powers and his desire to question, and we have seen Sherlock's very obvious sense of what is right and what is wrong. In this book Andrew Lane continues to give us the glimpses into how the adult Sherlock was 'made', as we see the young version learning Chinese, and also his first introduction to the martial arts of the Far East (and very useful these skills prove to be as well). We also see how Sherlock developed the ability to converse naturally with people who in those days would have seemed a long way below his station - a skill he puts to great use in Conan Doyle's stories.

Without wanting to spoil things for readers I will also mention that the ending of this book is not so cut-and-dried as in the previous stories. There were elements of it I was not so happy with (a certain letter rings a little false in my mind, but I am no historian and it may be very typical of society at that time, and it does explain a significant aspect of the adult Sherlock's character), but the author's note about the return of The Paradol Chamber in the next book was very welcome news.

I want to leave you with one short excerpt from the book that put a huge smile on my face. As in previous books, Andrew Lane likes to drop in the occasional huge nudge and a wink towards the future Holmes, and this is one I loved. Sherlock is on board the Gloria Scott, and is thinking to himself that Mycroft's policy of staying at home and therefore keeping safe might actually be a wise philosophy as working on board such a ship is a very dangerous occupation. However, he quickly dismisses this as it would mean missing out on all kinds of adventures. At this, he smiles to himself and thinks: "Maybe the thing to do was to make friends with a doctor - that way you could always ave treatment close at hand."

[Manar Elkodse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fun reading this One .. it wasn't the most adventurous book of the series but the ending had me shocked and hooked at the same time ...
i can't have the next book until the next book cause the library who sell it is closed for now ..

[Cosma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ad essere sincera mi aspettavo molto di più. Dopo il bruttissimo finale del quarto libro, ho voluto leggere assolutamente il seguito, cercando di capire cosa fosse successo, e, essendo arrivata alla conclusione del quinto volume, pensavo di cogliere perfettamente il collegamento tra il precedente libro e questo, ma purtroppo non è stato così.
È una storia che si discosta da quella presentata nei primi 4 libri: ci ritroviamo con nuovi personaggi, nuovi luoghi, nuovi nemici, nuove paure e nuove amicizie. Però non sono riuscita ad apprezzare questa avventura fino in fondo. Mi mancava Matty, Mycroft, Virginia, che shippo con Sherlock...Insomma ho sentito la mancanza di tutti i vecchi personaggi e della Londra misteriosa e confusionaria dei precedenti libri.
Per quanto riguarda la trama, sono sempre più sorpresa dallo stile di Lane: adoro le sue storie, i riferimenti a più opere e riesce,secondo me, a descrivere il giovane Sherlock perfettamente. Infatti le tre stelline sono ben valide per questi aspetti, anche se il finale mi ha lasciato,di nuovo, l'amaro in bocca.

[DarkAntares · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was just fun to read and filled me up inside. But I did have one problem with it. The mystery, the reason for why many people would by this book, was not played out properly. It was introduced and solved much too quickly. I didn't keep reading this book because they mystery was keeping me on my toes, but simply because it was fun to read. And considering that this is a mystery book, a Sherlock Holmes book, no less, that is not a good thing. But never the less, this book is still a very good book, and even though the mystery, the main element of this book is underdone, you will still enjoy reading it. It's like a sitcom. You aren't there because there is a plot or a story you're interested in, but rather because you like the characters, and what other problems they're going to get tangled up in.

[Rebecca Cartwright-Teakle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review
I really like the Young Sherlock series and this is no disappointment. As the series progresses the books are edging towards the Sherlock we all know but, much as with the Young James Bond series, I have given up hoping that they will actually give any real insight into how he becomes the man he does. I think that those would be necessity be very different books and wouldn’t really be suitable for children.
The books are very good at what they are trying to do though, which is tell an interesting and intelligent adventure story. I was slightly disappointed by the ending but I don’t know what I was expecting given that I know where the character is going.

Favourite character
Sherlock Holmes

[Eric Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is the young Sherlock . OK but nothing special . Thinking of my first 15 years of reading , I suppose this would fit in around the time of Capt. W E Johns ' Biggles books - about age 10 . It tells of the hero in China , having been kidnapped and put on board a ship leaving England . The second half is much better than the rather tepid first half , but the whole seems to lack the excitement that most young readers would surely want in their sedentary lives .

[Erikka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the greatest installment in the series, but you're starting to see a few more aspects of Sherlock taking shape in his younger self. I felt the mystery in this one was a bit forced and I missed the characters I've come to love in the first 4 books. Hopefully he'll get back to England soon so we can be reunited with the Crowes and Matty.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starts rather suddenly with Sherlock on a ship headed for China. Along the way, he learns tai chi and some Cantonese along with how to be a sailor. In China, he makes a few friends and must work together with them to avert disaster.

[Mujtaba Al-Osayef · Rating 2 out of 5]

لمن يريد قراءة الرواية، انصحهم لا ترفع توقعاتك لمجرد وجود اسم شارلوك هولمز
من المعروف عن شارلوك هو الفطنة و الذكاء و أكتشاف تفاصيل لا يقدر على اكتشافها اي شخص
لكن شارلوك الشاب يفتقر لهذي الامور.
في الجرائم مافي مشتبه به او شك في شخصية معينة تكون هي القاتل و من هذا النوع من التلاعب النفسي
ماراح تقرأ جملة (انا أشك في س او ص) ماأدري هل هذا الشي من حرفية القاتل او من طريقة القتل او فشل الكاتب في تمثيل جريمة واقعية و التحقيق حولها.
بصراحة انا مافهمت هل شارلوك مخطوف او في رحلة ؟ و السبب في الحالتين مجهول
في جمل غريبة مثلاً الطبيب لحظة وصوله الى منزل أحد الضحايا قال جمل لمواسات أهل الفقيد؟ الطبيب بعده مايفحص الجثة او يتأكد من الموت ،فور وصوله يلقي بجملة مواسات اهل الفقيد، يمكن يكون الخادم الى نادى على الطبيب قال له عن حادث الموت لكن هذا ما يفس هذي التصرف من من طبيب قبل فحصه للجثة .
احس ان شارلوك في شبابه كان فاندام، تخيل صبي يقاتل تمساح و يعيش بعد هذا القتال؟
على ذكر التمساح، وصف المؤلف التمساح على انه حيوان زاحف مايعرفه البشر او مايعرفه شارلوك على الاقل. يمكن ان تتقبل هذا الشي مع كمية كبيرة من الملح لكن العجيب ان المؤلف راح يستخدم كلمة تمساح !! طوال فترة عراك شارلوك مع التمساح المؤلف يوصف التمساح ب(حيوان زاحف ذو حراشف قاسية) القارأ بيعرف انه تمساح بس ليش الاستمار في استخدام هذا الوصف و تجنب استخدام كلمة تمساح؟
لم يتم ذكر أي سبب يجعل شارلوك يشتبه بأن مخلوق يشبه الحيوان يلاحقه؟ في النهاية راح تعرف انه إنسان بس ليش شارلوك ماعرف انه أنسان قبل الكشف عن حقيقته؟ حتى بعد كشف حقيقة هذا المخلوق، المؤلف مايعطي سبب لتشبيه هذي الشخصية بحيوان طوال فترة الرواية! هل الشخصية مصابة بمرض او خلل جيني يجعل منه يشبه القرد البري؟ حتى شارلوك مافكر يعرف ويش هذا المخلوق عن طريق ملاحظة اثار الاقدام او اي طريقة ثانية. و كأن شارلوك يقول في نفسه" مجرد مخلوق يشبه القرد يلاحقني، عادي. ما أحتاج الى البحث عن حقيقته" أحس ان المؤلف يلقي بأحداث و ظواهر غريبة دون إعطاء القارأ سبب لوجود هذي الاحداث. الشخصيات سطحية و ما حسيت أبداً بأي نوع من الاهتمام في اي شخصية حتى شارلوك نفسه، القاتل مثل أشرار المسلسلات الكرتونية، شخصية ذات بعد واحد شريرة، ليش تقوم هذي الشخصية بهذي الافعال؟ مافي اي سبب. حبكة القصة ضعيفة و سرد الاحداث كذلك، لا علاقة بهذي الرواية او الشخصيات بروايات شارلوك هولمز الاصلية من كتابة كونان دويل

[NoSc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Things we get again:

- Ableism (the villain)

- Dehumanization coming from Sherlock himself (the daughter got called a thing too many times for comfort. But I admit, one time would have been one too many. Call me sensitive, I think it's weird for Sherlock to on one hand instantly recognizing that this kid has been fucked over her entire life and the book constantly declaring or non-human she behaves and calling her an it.)

- casual xenophobia by our lovable sidekick ("The Chinese eat everything") and sherlock ("get me a REAL doctor. A european one!") surely this'll teach our audience that - uh...wait. Maybe historical accuracy wasn't needed in this part.

- the writer admitting that he heavily leaned in his research on a writer who might have made up everything she wrote about.
At least, he admits it...?!

- Sherlock would be dead after everything that happens when that Alligator got to him. Too much suspension of disbelief is necessary to belief THAT. At least for me.

- Cameron sucks I am glad he's gone.

- Virginia served her purpose and is apparently now being disposed of via plot thread that doesn't work for me. If this is what made Sherlock Holmes kind of a misogynist, then he is giving incel vibes. Great stuff. Can't wait to see how this pans out.

- there were tiny things that annoyed me, but I already forgot them. Thank god for this.

- At least contrary to his american adventure, he is now interacting with natives. Good stuff! And thy even play an important role.
But only a little!

[Ahmed H · Rating 4 out of 5]

By:Ahmed Hussein
Book: Sherlock Holmes Snake Bite


Have you ever wondered how Sherlock Holmes solves his mysteries?It is called Sherlock Holmes snake bite.Well this is one of Andrew Lane's many Sherlock Holmes series that will not bore you and want you to non stop read it.This book is about how sherlock holmes gets kidnapped and is in a ship going to shanghai in China.This is the start of his journey to solve the mystery of the snake that has venomous bites and has bitten three different people. I can't say anymore or it will spoil. Spoilers below.















SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!










What happens is that sherlock is has been caught captured at the start of the.Book and is heading to China Shanghai but then he finds something is.Happening in the city and he must solve the mystery of the poisonous snake that has been.Biting people all over the city and this must be planned because it is the same snake that is biting the People. The people that kidnapped him and he joined the crew to set sail and figure out the mystery of why they were kidnapped to get help so they can solve these mysterious snake bites.I liked this book.I had one problem with it though the mystery wasn't really good and.Went by quickly but it had me reading it every day.I rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars since the book starts of quick and not slow and the plot makes sense.I like how this book is written and layered out and that there many other series of this.

[tobi10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sherlock lernt China kennen

In dem Buch Der Tod kommt leise (Young Sherlock Holmes 5) von Andrew Lane, geht es um Sherlock Holmes. Er wurde auf ein Schiff entführt, welches nach China fährt. Höchstwahrscheinlich wurde er von der Paradolkammer entführt, weil er ihre Pläne schon einige Male vereitelt hat. Da Sherlock sich im Moment auf dem Schiff Gloria Scott befindet, soll er dort auch als Schiffsjunge Arbeiten, was er auch macht. In China angekommen wird er gleich wieder mit drei mysteriösen Toden konfrontiert und zwei der Personen hat er kurz gekannt. Dazu sind drei Personen an einem ungewöhnlichem Schlangenbiss gestorben fast zur gleichen Zeit an unterschiedlichen Stellen in China. Wie ist das möglich ? Außerdem hat einer dieser Männer versucht einen Plan zu vereiteln, ist aber zuvor durch einen dieser Schlangenbisse gestorben. Was hat das alles mit einem Plan vom Kriegsschiff zu tun und wird Sherlock, mal wieder alles vereiteln und in Ordnung bringen ?

Meine Meinung:
Ich fand die Geschichte spannend und flüssig geschrieben/ zu hören. Außerdem finde ich es immer wieder spannend, wie Sherlock es schafft verschiedene Probleme zu lösen. Dazu muss er noch wie in dieser Geschichte mit einem ihm fremden Land zurecht kommen und den Menschen vertrauen, die er kaum kennt. Mal sehen wann Sherlock wieder zuhause ankommt und was er bis dahin noch alles so erlebt.

Fazit:
Ein spannender Band mit Sherlock und seinen Abenteuern diesmal in China.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snake Bite is the fifth book in the Young Sherlock Holmes series. Don't start here; go back and read Death Cloud. You will need the background in the rest of the series to make sense of this one. That said, Dnake Bite takes up after Fire Storm. If you haven't read that book, stop here and go read it. Spoilers abound below.

Sherlock's adventures start aboard the Gloria Scott (no, not *that* one), sailing to China. Kidnapped and hidden aboard, the young not-willingly-a-stowaway Sherlock has much to learn as he works off his passage. More of the story give a hint as to the development of Conan Doyle's adult Holmes. Along those lines is one of Sherlock's thoughts, "Maybe the best thing to do was to make friends with a doctor—that way you would always have treatment close at hand."

I loved the mystery. The author played fair with the readers, but the exact details of how the events transpired did escape me.

While written for young adults, I suggest Snake Bite is good reading for anyone who likes Sherlock Holmes or mysteries. The proof is in the pudding -- I have already bought the next book in the series.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could have gone any way really..when I picked it up I wondered as to whether it would just be a gratuitous cash in or something a little more.
Reading some of the authors blurb within a fair point is made that Conan Doyle presented Sherlock fully formed with various skills beyond dedication that would have been honed in his formative years....bearing this in mind this adventure(and it is an adventure more than a mystery) does present possibilities as to how Holmes became...well...Holmes.
It was a fun and engaging read very reminiscence in tone to the 'young Bond' books but as that is the audience it's aiming for that should be no surprise....the villain and hench person/thing(i won't say more and spoil things) also hold with the Bond thing of a disfigured arch villain....
Anyhow I'm a sucker for a good sea faring yarn and though this is no Treasure island...nor a Sherlock adventure to stand along the Canon it's ok.
Good fun all told...

[Karalynn Shade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the easiest for me to figure out. Still an amazing and attention-catching read, but for me it was just a little too obvious. I figured out pretty much everything before Sherlock, although one thing did remain a mystery until it was revealed, but I won’t say what as to not spoil the book. I will say the end of this book had me giving an audible reaction, which has not happened in a while. Another amazing ending that has me wanting to pick up the next book right this second.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is fascinated with Sherlock Holmes and is interested to see how he became who he is. This book is especially good if you are also a teenager as these are Sherlock’s teenage years.

[WyrmbergSabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about these books is the love and attention lavished on Sherlock. Andrew Lane knows his stuff, can spin a good yarn, and can tie in what we know of Holmes into a plausible history of his tonnage years.
As this is the fifth book in the series, I'm not going to say much, other than the fact that Holmes is headed for China aboard The Gloria Scott. Holmes fans will know that name.
Read this if you like Holmes, adventure, and mystery. But start at the beginning of the series, otherwise you'll miss a lot of character and plot details.