Death in the Air / Shane Peacock

Death in the Air is story tale of a young Sherlock Holmes on his second case. Sherlock witnesses the fall of a trapeze artist in the very first paragraph of this mystery. Noticing some irregularities with the victim’s equipment Shelock begins an investigation to find out who would want to kill this daring acrobat and why. Shelrock finds himself embroiled in not only murder attempt, but a robbery and a race to save his mentor from lossing his home. Sherlock risks his life on many occassions to uncover evidence in this case, even though he ends physically or emotionally bruised.

Author Shane Peacock tells a riviting tale while at the same time developing the character we all know as Sherlock Holmes into the master dectective that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created over 120 years ago. Peacock gives Holmes life as we see him struggle at developing his relationships with his mentor, his competators, his rivals and his love interest. We also learn about Holme’s great determinination to learn new skills that he will reqire to, become the best dectective in London and to achieve his ultimate goal - to rid the city of its criminal element.

Peacock, Shane (2009). Death in the Air: The boy Sherlock Holmes ; his 2nd case. Toronto: Tundra Books.

Valley of Death / Gloria Shurzynski & Alane Ferguson

Valley of Death is a page turner for teens. Olivia Landon gets more than the working vacation she bargins for when her daughter is mistaken for the Landon’s new foster child Leesa and is kidknapped. Olivia (a wildlife veteraniarian) has come to Death Valley National Park to find out why the park’s mountain goats are mysteriously dying when her family becomes embroiled in a dramatic hostage taking and standoff complete with helicopters, SWAT teams and automatic weapons. The story is told from the perspective of Jack Landon the 13 year old son of the Landons who has a hard time resisting becoming directly involved is the mission to rescue Ashley his 11 year old sister.

Authours Schurzynski and Ferguson provide a nice mix of the history and biology of Death Valley Naitonal Park in this mystery/thriller while also building a picture of a normal family that generously provides support for foster children in need. Leesa, however, is a mystery to Jack and Ashley, because their parents have not given them much information about her and she is not talking. The story is about a family that sometimes lives on the road which leads to an interesting lifestyle for their children who seem thrive on it and lead a relativelly normal life.

Shurzynski, Gloria & Ferguson, Alane (2008). Valley of death: a mystery in Death Valley National Park. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Death and the Arrow / Chris Priestley

Death and the Arrow is a murder mystery set in 1715 London. Tom Marlowe is the 15 year old son of a printer befriends a young pickpocket named Will Piggot. Will is brutally murdered setting Tom on a mission to find the killer. Tom teams up with Dr. Harker, a friend of his father and they piece together clues to the mystery of various murders around the city with which Will was apparently involved. Each of the murder victims are found with Death and the Arrow cards on them and most have been shot with an arrow. And how do Mohocks fit into this story?

The London of 1715 is dark, dusty, crowded and rough. Schools are not a factor in Tom’s life, but his apprenticeship with his father as a printer has him delivering pamphlets all over the city. Tom has to be careful not to go down the wrong street or he would be in immediate danger. Chris Priestley the author describes a vivid picture of London in the early modern era and the difficulties it held for young people. Girlfriends and being popular are not so important in these times, but friendships and survival have great meaning.

Priestly, Chris (2006). Death and the Arrow. London: Corgi Books.