Sherlock Holmes fans will enjoy the electrifying adventure and value the insights into the character traits that make the...
In this third in an ever-improving series, the teenage Holmes plunges right away into an adventure that involves his brother Mycroft and a trip to Russia disguised as a member of a troupe of actors.
An introductory interlude featuring Sherlock and his mentor Amyus Crowe is mercifully short and leads logically (of course) into another Holmes-ian escapade. Returning home from the United States, Sherlock and Amyus travel to London for a luncheon only to find a knife-wielding and stunned Mycroft in a closed room (alone) with a corpse. Mycroft, shaken by the implications of this event, decides to involve Sherlock in his professional life—he's a spy master for the British government—as his companion on an upcoming Russian mission. Readers will appreciate the broad cast of characters and varied settings, as well as the mystery elements. Red herrings abound, and confusion reigns until Sherlock has one of his trademark eureka moments. The ensuing spectacular chase through Moscow’s streets results in a breathless (and surprising) climax and satisfying resolution of most of the book’s mysteries.
Sherlock Holmes fans will enjoy the electrifying adventure and value the insights into the character traits that make the adult Holmes so fascinating. (Mystery/adventure. 13-17)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-374-38769-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2012
BOOK TO SCREEN
Light and sweet.
A Texas teen enrolls in a Scottish boarding school in this fresh spin on the commoner/royal romance.
Keen geologist Amelia “Millie” Quint is spending her senior year in the Scottish Highlands, at the prestigious Gregorstoun school. It’s a dream come true (hello, local rock samples) until Millie’s roommate arrives. The gorgeous and glamorous Princess Flora of Scotland is rude and condescending, and the two girls can barely co-exist. Flora repeatedly tries to get kicked out of school, and Millie often finds herself dragged along for the ride. During the annual wilderness challenge, Flora sends their camping gear downriver in another scheme to get sent home. During the resulting trudge through the woods, the girls each admit to an attraction to girls (Millie is bi and Flora is gay), and they reach a turning point, starting to fall for each other. Can Millie hack it as a princess’s girlfriend? What will Flora’s mother, Queen Clara, say? Millie narrates in the present tense with funny, smart, and sarcastic observations of the posh people around her. The short chapters are interspersed with chatty gossip articles about events as they unfold, and character relationships come across clearly in dialogue that is at turns witty, awkward, and romantic. Millie’s new friend Lady Sakshi is biracial Indian/white, while everyone else is white.
Light and sweet. (Romance. 13-17)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5247-3826-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Feb. 20, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Fans of the previous entry will enjoy following the story of a young woman who changes the fates of two countries.
Lady Hollis flees her country after her new husband is killed.
In The Betrothed (2020), Hollis fell in love with Silas, the son of an Isolten family who sought asylum from their cruel king, and chose him over her intended match, King Jameson. Since Silas, his father, his brothers, and her parents have been killed, she decides to travel to Isolte with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Formerly primarily interested in dresses, dancing, and romance, Hollis now proves her mettle. Etan, Silas’ cousin, arrives to escort the family, and he clashes with Hollis from the moment they meet. The society they live in, modeled after medieval Europe, with castles, tournaments, kings, queens, and nobles, generally follows traditional gender roles, but Hollis sometimes breaks through the accepted boundaries. When Etan wants to lead a revolt against his own King Quinten, who is just one of the novel’s major betrayers, Hollis uses her wits to get the evidence needed to convince others that he is guilty of crimes against his own people. She bravely returns to Coroa to confront King Jameson when she finds out that he, too, has carried out unspeakable crimes. Hollis and Etan’s verbal wars are fun, predictably leading to love, but the political intrigue sometimes drags the novel down. Characters default to White.
Fans of the previous entry will enjoy following the story of a young woman who changes the fates of two countries. (Historical romance. 13-16)Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-229166-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
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