Saturday, February 8, 2014

Book Review: The Dark Lady by Irene Adler

I received this book as an eARC from NetGalley, and it was published February 1st, 2014.













While on summer vacation, little Irene Adler meets a young William Sherlock Holmes. The two share stories of pirates and have battles of wit while running wild on the sunny streets and rooftops. When Sherlock’s friend, Lupin, joins in on the fun, they all become fast friends. But the good times end abruptly when a dead body floats ashore on the nearby beach. The young detective trio will have to put all three of their heads together to solve this mystery.

This book was very interesting, and fun to read. It grabbed my attention from the cover to the synopsis to the words on the page. I loved the idea of seeing a young Sherlock Homes and Irene Adler (I had to look up Arsène Lupin, I admit it). Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, though Irene felt too perfect sometimes. This book takes place in a small town called Saint-Malo, and gossip travels at lightning speed in Saint-Malo. 

The story line was very enjoyable, with lots of action and tons of mystery. Sherlock, Lupin, and Irene are always getting into dangerous situations, and everything in the story had a little bit of mysterious flare to it. At the beginning of each chapter there is a drawing that ties into the chapter. This was fun because it was a sneak peak of sorts into the chapter before you read it, and it made me try to guess how the picture ties in. 

I enjoyed the story, although I would've liked to see a few things tied up for us (How did Julien get Mrs. Holmes card? If I'm just being unobservant about that part please let me know in the comments). This book is a middle-grade book, but it wasn't oversimplified making it a good read for people of any age. Not having read any Sherlock Holmes stories before, I might've missed any allusions to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. Without much background knowledge of Sherlock Holmes (Everything I learned, I learned from the BBC's Sherlock) I still found this book highly enjoyable, giving it 4 out of 5 stars, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a good mystery novel.



"Well, I think they're wrong. William is very boring. Sherlock suits you better. I've decided from now on I'm going to call you Sherlock!"

"'Everything's all right!' 'Let's hope so,' Lupin whispered, giving the worried butler a long look. 'He's very big and very angry'"

"My head was spinning with thoughts of nothing but shady deals and criminals. I'd never dreamed that there were secret organizations at work behind the scene in a pretty little tourist town like Saint-Malo."

"Sitting beside me, Sherlock was wearing a sneer that I eventually came to loathe. He wore it every time he'd discovered something before anyone else had."

1 comment:

  1. Glad you enjoyed this one too! I thought it was cute, although I did think Irene was too perfect at times too.
    I also watch BBC's Sherlock. :)

    ReplyDelete