Nine-year-old Shelby Holmes, the best detective in her Harlem neighborhood, and her new easy-going friend from downstairs, eleven-year-old John Watson, become partners in a dog-napping case. - (Baker & Taylor)

Spunky sixth-grade girl sleuth Shelby and her sports-loving sidekick, Watson, tackle a dognapper in their Harlem neighborhood, in a modern adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes character. - (Baker & Taylor)

Sherlock Holmes gets a fun, sweet twist with two irresistible young heroes and black & white illustrations throughout, in this middle grade debut from internationally bestselling YA author Elizabeth Eulberg.

Shelby Holmes is not your average sixth grader. She's nine years old, barely four feet tall, and the best detective her Harlem neighborhood has ever seen--always using logic and a bit of pluck (which yes, some might call “bossiness”) to solve the toughest crimes.

When eleven-year-old John Watson moves downstairs, Shelby finds something that's eluded her up till now: a friend. The easy-going John isn't sure of what to make of Shelby, but he soon finds himself her most-trusted (read: only) partner in a dog-napping case that'll take both their talents to crack.

Don't miss the rest of the Great Shelby Holmes series:
The Great Shelby Holmes
The Great Shelby Holmes Meets Her Match
The Great Shelby Holmes and the Coldest Case

Elizabeth Eulberg is not a detective (or so she claims). She is, however, the award-winning author of middle-grade novels The Great Shelby Holmes The Great Shelby Holmes Meets Her Match, and The Great Shelby Holmes and the Coldest Case, and internationally bestselling author of The Lonely Hearts Club, Prom & Prejudice, Take a Bow, Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality, Better Off Friends, We Can Work it Out, and Just Another Girl. Elizabeth lives outside Manhattan, where she spends her free time stalking English bulldogs in her neighborhood and filling her brain attic with random pop-culture facts.

www.elizabetheulberg.com
@ElizEulberg

Booklist Reviews

As an army brat, John Watson is used to making new friends. But when he and his mother move to New York City, he meets the strangest kid he's ever known: Shelby Holmes, detective. In what John calls a "Jedi mind trick," she deduces within minutes that his mother is an army doctor, was wounded in Afghanistan, and is recently divorced. When Shelby is summoned to find a missing dog, John tags along and finds himself baffled by the case. In the end, Shelby finds the culprit and accepts Watson, as she calls John, as her partner. Similarities to Sherlock Holmes abound, though whether that resonates with readers will depend on their familiarity with related books, movies, or TV shows. Like Arthur Conan Doyle's Watson, John serves as a sympathetic narrator who is unreliable in that his critical thinking is trumped by his emotions. The multicultural casting is made clear in the grayscale illustrations. Mystery fans may try to solve the case, but most, like John, will enjoy just hanging out with Shelby to see what happens next. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.