Friday, August 17, 2012

Secret Letters

Secret Letters
By Leah Scheier
Disney/Hyperion, 2012. 327 pgs. Young Adult

Four years ago, as her mother was dying, Dora Joyce found out that the man she thought was her father wasn't; her true father is none other than Sherlock Holmes. With this new knowledge, Dora read as much as she could about Sherlock Holmes and started acquiring some sleuthing skills of her own. Now, at age 16, Dora has the chance to go to London and seek out her father, since her cousin is being blackmailed over some love letters she wrote before she was married. However, when Dora goes to meet Sherlock and get him to take on her cousin's case, she finds that he has died recently. Although she can no longer hope to meet her father, Dora still wants to help her cousin, and when young detective Peter Cartwright offers his help, Dora accepts, and soon it seems that her cousin's blackmailer may be involved in another of Peter's cases, and Peter gives her a chance that no other detective would--to go undercover as a servant and try to find out more about the blackmailer, who may also be involved in a kidnapping.

This excellent detective story will appeal to fans of The Agency by Y.S. Lee or Death Cloud by Andy Lane. Dora is a great new character, smart and spunky, and the banter between her and Peter, along with an interesting plot line, keeps the story moving quickly forward. My only complaint? I don't want to have to wait for a sequel because I want to be able to keep going with the story right now!

AE

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