Sherlock Holmes and the Disappearing Diamond written by Sam Hearn, reviewed by Terry Wahrman

 

Summary:  Young middle schooler, John Watson, starts his first day of school at Baker street academy in London.  He meets many new friends including Sherlock and Martha, reunites with past friend Bart, and also meets his  nemesis James.  They take a field trip to the British Arts & Antiquities museum where they go on a treasure hunt.  During their time there, an attempted robbery took place with a flash mob providing the distraction.  Later it was discovered that there was a true crime, and a diamond was replaced with a fake.  Time for these detectives to get down to figuring out who took the real diamond.

Straight Talk for Librarians:  This modern day Sherlock and Watson story is about how they get their start as detectives. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to follow.  The writing is interspersed with newspaper clippings, live tv shows, bulletin board notices and blogs on every other page.  My thoughts were interrupted many times and it was hard to focus on the story.  A lot of the information was repetitive in the excerpts. I liked the layout of the book, ⅓ story, ⅓ graphic novel, ⅓ newsprint.  It all came together in the end.  I wished the interruptions happened at a natural break in the story.  Students will be attracted to the cover and interior layout. Recommended