Alex and Zoe Sherlock want to earn some extra money. And after working together with buds Yadi and Lina to neatly solve an escape-room challenge, they decide that solving mysteries might be the perfect summer job.
Alex and Zoe Sherlock want to earn some extra money. And after working together with buds Yadi and Lina to neatly solve an escape-room challenge, they decide that solving mysteries might be the perfect summer job.
Alex and Zoe Sherlock are only a year apart: He’s 12, and she’s 13. But lately, that 12-month gap has felt more like a century. The siblings just don’t connect anymore. In fact, they don’t even speak all that much.
As the school year ended and summer break began, however, that changed.
It’s tradition at Carver Middle School, on the second to last day of class, for the final two hours to be set aside for each school club to have a year-end celebration. This year, most of them threw a dance or a yearbook-signing party. But Alex and his best friends, Yadi and Lina—members of the school’s only mystery-solving club—were in the library completing a special challenge that their favorite teacher, Ms. Campos, had set up for them.
Ms. Campos, you see, had put together a complicated escape room. Once you were inside, there was only one way out: Find the clues, solve the mysteries and figure out how to open the door. And, as always, Ms. Campos did not go easy on her young charges.
However, that’s when Zoe Sherlock came charging in to exasperatedly snarl something at her little brother. Boom, just like that, Zoe was caught up with Alex and the nerdiest school club on campus.
Surprisingly, Zoe fit in like a hand in a glove. Between Alex’s analytical thought process, Lina’s bookworm knowledge, Yadi’s tech-savviness and Zoe’s flexible resourcefulness, the young crew cracked the escape room hurdles in record time.
It was a great feeling. And Alex was suddenly aware of just how much he had been missing his sister. But it was, surprisingly, Zoe who suddenly suggested that they all team up for the summer.
Zoe had been thinking about ways to earn money over the break, and the prospects had seemed bleak. But what if the four friends worked together as a detective team or something? They already had a great last name to use. And it had to be better than babysitting (boring), lawn mowing (sweaty), or getting mom to let them clean out the attic (boring and sweaty).
With a little help from Alex and Zoe’s retired grandfather—and his sweet aquamarine Cadillac convertible—the Sherlock Society is established.
In fact, Grandpa even suggests their first case: After a long career as a local reporter, he has a thick file of cold cases from years ago. So, what if the group’s first assignment was to locate a long-lost treasure supposedly hidden near their hometown of Miami: the buried fortune of famed gangster Al Capone!
Now that sounds like a mystery worthy of a newfound society named Sherlock. Hey, finding treasure doesn’t even sound all that sweaty or boring.
The young detectives discover that gangster Al Capone had copied Matthew 6:21 in a book: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The Sherlock Society members discuss the verse’s meaning. And though there’s no obvious spiritual reason that Capone uses it, it becomes a vital clue.
Several people get caught up in their greed and desire for power, and the book makes it clear that those motives can hurt everyone involved.
Alex and Zoe’s parents are a good and loving parental team. Mom is a lawyer, and Dad is a marine biologist. And though Mom makes demands that shut down some of the kids’ desires, we ultimately see that she is wise in her decisions. Dad’s insights help the kids to make environmental choices that help an entire community.
Even though Zoe seems driven by the idea of getting her hands on some summer cash, she’s eventually willing to put the idea of any reward aside so that she and the others can do what’s right for the largest number of people. “It was something our parents told us all the time,” Zoe declares. “It’s how Mom picked her cases and what drove Dad’s research.”
Grandpa is a good man and a former investigative reporter who helps the kids think about their cases from the perspective of the “5 Ws”—who, what, where, when and why. His prompting helps the kids divvy up responsibilities and approach their cases systematically. However, Grandpa also tends to make a few less-than-wise choices with the kids in tow.
The members of the Sherlock Society encounter several adults who are selfish and hurtful to others. Lina talks briefly about her parents’ divorce and how it broke up their family. Dad says that after his own parents’ divorce when he was young, he became a rebellious young man. It was a behavior that he had to work to change and keep in check.
While recounting Al Capone’s story, Grandpa briefly mentions the man’s amassed fortunes and interactions with illegal alcohol. And though it’s made plain that the gangster ruled his empire through fear, we never hear about any gang-related violence.
In fact, the most dangerous elements in the story are focused on an illegal chemical dumping ground the kid detectives find with their grandfather while searching the Florida everglades. Deadly chemicals killed everything nearby; carcasses of dead alligators, fish and other natural habitat litter the swampy grounds.
The kids are also put in danger by a local businessman’s thugs, who are willing to destroy evidence (burning and sinking a yacht) and potentially kill people to keep a secret.
None.
Have you ever been part of an escape room? If so, what was your favorite part of that experience? Did you enjoy the mystery-solving elements of this story?
A huge part of solving a mystery is being observant of tiny details that others might miss. Are you observant and aware of your surroundings? How can that be helpful in your everyday life?
Did you know that the Bible tells us to be observant in our lives? Why do you think God would want you to pay special attention to the things around you?
Take a look at Deuteronomy 4:6, Psalm 19:1-2, Matthew 24:42, 2 Corinthians 13:5 and Ephesians 5:15. What kinds of things do these verses say we should be aware of?
This fun middle-grade tale has a number of mystery-solving twists and turns, and it ultimately sends its tween and teen protagonists in unexpected directions that help others. Loving friendships and family relationships are important story elements here. And the book drives home the point that the choices we make should be “about doing what’s right, not what’s easy.”
That said, parents of younger readers should note that there are some perilous things in the story mix. The child characters and their grandfather step over the legal line at one point and have to face legal repercussions for their choices.
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Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
