At fourteen years old, Sherlock Holmes thinks he is facing a boring vacation in exile. His brother Mycroft sends him off live with his eccentric Aunt and Uncle and study beneath an American tutor named Amyus Crowe. Instead of boredom, he finds himself confronted with his first mystery, a new friend, and relentless enemies. Even if he manages to escape with his life, Sherlock’s life is changed forever.
In my personal opinion, the adventure element in this book (and book two of the series) far outweigh the mystery element. But, it’s Sherlock Holmes, and you can’t go wrong with Sherlock Holmes when you’re doing a mystery theme. Besides, 240 people classified it as a mystery on Goodreads, so we’re all good. š I really enjoyed the fast action of this story, and the glimpse of Sherlock as he might have been as a boy. I tend to doubt this version of young Sherlock is quite what all you BBC Sherlock fans imagine, but I bet you’d enjoy the book anyway. After all, the author is English and, judging from his author bio, seems to have a thing for BBC TV shows.
P.S. If the weird and slightly grotesque bother you, this book might not be for you. There’s nothing over the top, but it’s worth the warning.
What is your favorite Sherlock Holmes story, whether from the original books, old movies, BBC Sherlock, or side shoots like this.
Leah E. Good 
Hm, interesting. I’ll check it out. I’ve kind of steered away from spin-off or side shoot books like this, mainly because there’s no telling if it’ll be good or worth my time. But knowing that you’ve read it and thought it was worthwhile enough to do a book review on, I might just look it up now. š
I’m not sure I could pick a favourite story… I read the original books first, and from there I think my favourite would either be “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches” or “The Final Problem”. I’m also a huge fan of BBC’s Sherlock. š I haven’t seen many of the old films, but I love what I’ve seen of Jeremy Brett. I also really enjoy John Stanley’s adaption of Holmes in the old Sherlock Holmes radio show.
I don’t even remember how I originally found this one or why I decided to read it, but I did like it. It’s quirky and unique, but it also has good adventure elements. Sherlock isn’t really how I would image younger version of Sherlock Holmes, but I like him. š
Okay, his hair looks just way too modern.
Very true. That’s actually an old cover, they changed it. I just used this one because I like it better despite the modern hair cut. š
I like the books best (I can’t decide which is my fave though!) and have only recently started venturing into movie versions found via the library or youtube. Lots of experimenting but I like Jeremy Brett’s take.