No Place Like Holmes

No Place Like Holmes

By Jason Lethcoe

List Price: $9.99

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 10, 2011)

Language: English

Book Description: The new resident in 221A Baker Street is about to give Sherlock Holmes a run for his magnifying glass!  When Griffin is sent to stay with his detective uncle at 221A Baker Street for the summer, he is certain that his uncle must be the great Sherlock Holmes! But Griffin is disappointed to discover that Holmes lives at 221B Baker Street and his uncle lives unit 221A. His uncle is a detective, just not a very good one. But when Griffin meets a woman with a case that Holmes has turned away for being too ridiculous, he and his uncle team up to help her. Along the way, Griffin shows his uncle just what it means to have true faith in God, even when the case challenges that. The woman claims that her husband was eaten by the Loch Ness Monster, but monsters aren’t real—or are they?

My take: I grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries. Reading wouldn't really be the right word though - more like devoured them. I adored all things Nancy Drew and imagined myself solving mysteries right along with her. I also read the Hardy Boys mysteries and Encylopedia Brown...anything having to do with a mystery and I wanted to solve it. I'm no different these days...at least in my reading preferences. So even though the target audience for No Place Like Holmes is the 9-12 year old set, I still enjoyed the read. And you don't have to be a Sherlock Holmes fan to enjoy or even understand the story...I've never read even one of his mysteries and had no trouble following the plot. The character of Griffin really resonated with me because he is super smart and was bullied at home for it (I was not super smart, but smart enough to be bullied for it)...what he has though that I didn't at that young age, was a strong faith that he can rely on to guide him through tough times. I really enjoyed No Place Like Holmes - enough that I've preordered the second book in the series already! An excellent book for a mystery or adventure lover of any age!  5 stars.

This review was sponsored by Book Sneeze (Thomas Nelson) who provided the book for review. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary book.