The Sherlock Society (Book One of the Sherlock Society mysteries)

This is another book that came to me as a recommendation.  I had it on my Amazon watchlist already, but I did not buy it until James Keeline gave me the heads up that the author, James Ponti set the book in South Florida.  I was aware Ponti was a Florida resident, but I did not know he was giving us a series set in my home state, so I went online and made the purchase.  I was even more excited to see that Amazon already had the second book available for pre-order!  Keeline told me that the writing of this book was "a cut above most juveniles," so I definitely went into it with high hopes.  I mean, how could it possibly fail - Sherlock, Florida, mystery, children's series - such a fantastic combination!  Well, as the old saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover...

 

The Sherlock Society introduces a group of three middle school children who are getting ready to spend their summer vacation doing the normal things to earn money - babysitting, moving lawns, etc.  Alex Sherlock and his two friends, Lina and Yadi, are not looking forward to the prospects; but they are enjoying the escape room that the school librarian created for them, giving them some fun puzzles to solve within a limited time in order to "escape" the library.  What they did not expect is for Alex's sister, Zoe, to show up and help them work together to "escape" before the time expired!  And even more shocking is Zoe's idea to form a detective club for the summer, to earn money doing something they love!  Enter: the Sherlock Society!

 

I was truly looking forward to an intricate mystery, filled with plenty of riddles and clues; however, what I got was a travelogue of South Florida with snippets of one mystery that gets dumped in exchange for another mystery half-way through the book.  Perhaps it is because I live in Florida, but I got quickly bored with all of the detailed descriptions of Miami,  Biscayne Bay, Alligator Alley, the Everglades, and the surrounding areas, along with considerable exposition about the history of these locations.  And when they made the decision to search for Al Capone's missing millions, allegedly buried somewhere in South Florida, I was actually rather intrigued.  The crew began following up on various clues they were uncovering - but when they reached the place where they believe the money was hidden away, suddenly the entire focus of the mystery changed - the search for Al Capone's treasure was dropped, and the Sherlock Society began searching for who was illegally dumping dangerous waste materials into the Everglades.  So, instead of searching for money that would make them wealthy (in their minds), they decide to save the environment and hunt down the men who are killing the animal and plant life of the Everglades.

 

Do you see the more than obvious morality lesson here?

 

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for saving the environment, and I do believe those who are illegally and purposefully dumping deadly waste into rivers and lakes should be ferreted out and punished.  What I do not particularly enjoy is when a good children's mystery is overtly written to push that idea.  At least Ponti did not have the kids completely give up on Al Capone's missing millions, as the very last chapter of the book has them stumble upon the possible location of the money - perhaps a lead-in to the second book?  (No, checking the description for Hurricane Heist on Amazon, which is set to be released in September, it appears that book has nothing to do with Capone's money.)  It simply feels like a bait and switch - here's a great mystery about missing money with some interesting clues to be discovered along the way - but wait, no, let's forget that mystery so I can teach you a lesson about caring for the environment!

 

With that being said, I did rather enjoy the characters - Ponti breathes life into them that makes them very readable and relatable.  Alex is your typical young teen, ready to jump the gun and get into the action.  Lina is the booksmart fish-out-of-water Midwestern girl, who knows how to research with a thirst for knowledge.  Yadi is the aspiring film maker, with some great devices to help the Society using modern technology (although the constant references to him being a "conspiracy theorist" because of some of his beliefs felt more like a political statement than a characterization).  Zoe is the not-so-stereotypical teenage girl frustrated with her parents for not allowing her to go to camp with her friends, but who learns what true friendship is within the Sherlock Society that she forms!  And Grandpa (the kids' mother's father) is a real hoot - helping the Society as their driver, but ultimately getting them into trouble by letting his own love of adventure take them into some very dangerous territory.  All of the characters (including Mr. and Mrs. Sherlock) play well off of one another, and Ponti creates a diverse, real-world cast that help save the story from being a complete failure.

 

Oh, and I must say - if you are hoping the book will have a lot of references to Sherlock Holmes, based on the title (which is actually a reference to the main characters' last name - Alex and Zoe Sherlock), you will be disappointed.  Sure, there are a few references scattered throughout, but not at much as one would expect.

 

Based on this book, I will not be picking up any further books in the series.  Perhaps the next book, and those that follow, will feature better stories than this one, and if that is the case, then great!  I certainly wish Ponti success with the series.  But I have enough ongoing mystery series, both children's series and adult series, that I find much more enjoyable and readable.  I gave it a shot, and it simply did not meet up to my expectations, particularly given the recommendation I received.

 

RATING:  5 well-loved books on botany out of 10 for creating a fun new cast of young sleuths who (hopefully!) will solve some great mysteries in the future.