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geekwayne's review
4.0
The Dark Lady is a fun book for young readers. It tells the story of a young Irene Adler befriending a young Sherlock Holmes and a young Arsene Lupin. English readers may not be familiar with gentleman thief, Lupin, created by Maurice Leblanc. While Holmes and Lupin never meet in the English stories of Doyle, they do in ones that Leblanc wrote in France.
In this story, translated from the Italian book by Iacopo Bruno, they are all children who meet on holiday. At first, the adventures are typical children's adventures like hiding from grown ups and playing games in abandoned houses. When they find a body washed up on shore, they decide to investigate. Especially since they are observed with the body by a shadowy figure. Along with the body are some missing jewels and a mysterious rooftop burglar.
I love that the characters seem to be like the ones they will grow up to be. You can see some affection from Holmes, but he'd rather be as annoying as he is as a grown up. The solution has some nice twists. This is touted as the first in a series, and I'd love to read further adventures with these young characters. I also think it's perfect for the mystery readers between the ages of 9 and 12.
I was given a review copy of this book by Capstone Young Readers and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this delightful young readers book.
In this story, translated from the Italian book by Iacopo Bruno, they are all children who meet on holiday. At first, the adventures are typical children's adventures like hiding from grown ups and playing games in abandoned houses. When they find a body washed up on shore, they decide to investigate. Especially since they are observed with the body by a shadowy figure. Along with the body are some missing jewels and a mysterious rooftop burglar.
I love that the characters seem to be like the ones they will grow up to be. You can see some affection from Holmes, but he'd rather be as annoying as he is as a grown up. The solution has some nice twists. This is touted as the first in a series, and I'd love to read further adventures with these young characters. I also think it's perfect for the mystery readers between the ages of 9 and 12.
I was given a review copy of this book by Capstone Young Readers and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this delightful young readers book.
thestoryowl's review
4.0
Who wouldn't like a Victorian Encyclopedia Brown? This is a great mystery story for elementary readers, be aware there is death and violence involved.
bee22's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
emma2606's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tobyyy's review against another edition
3.0
This was a fun, quick, lighthearted MG tale of young Sherlock, young Irene Adler, and young Lupin. They meet for the first time in Saint-Malo and become fast friends fairly quickly… and then a dead body washes up on the beach and they get entangled in solving the mystery.
The main thing that brought the star rating down was there was a LOT of yelling rather than showing. Yes, this is a MG book but I feel like there are ways to show and not tell for most concepts for the typical MG reader. Not all, but most.
But aside from that, this was a fun read and one that definitely functioned well as nightmare antidote.
The main thing that brought the star rating down was there was a LOT of yelling rather than showing. Yes, this is a MG book but I feel like there are ways to show and not tell for most concepts for the typical MG reader. Not all, but most.
But aside from that, this was a fun read and one that definitely functioned well as nightmare antidote.
nezzaaa's review
1.0
Dear lord, this was terrible.
Irene Adler was the most self-centred, annoying, irritating Mary Sue. I absolutely couldn't stand her.
I really wanted to like this, I really did. But I abandoned it halfway.
2 stars because it's a good idea.
Irene Adler was the most self-centred, annoying, irritating Mary Sue. I absolutely couldn't stand her.
I really wanted to like this, I really did. But I abandoned it halfway.
2 stars because it's a good idea.
bookladysreviews's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a quick and fun read.It's obviously a children's book but I love anything Sherlock Holmes related so I had to read it.I just wanted to write a mini review of sorts and tell you guys what I thought about it.
The Dark Lady combines the childhoods of Sherlock Holmes,Arsene Lupin and Irene Adler.The book was translated from Italian if I remember correctly but unfortunately the rest of the books in the series haven't been translated yet.I was really excited when I started reading this book and finished it in a couple of hours.It was such a quick,light and enjoyable read.I think it is perfect for younger kids.It doesn't mean that older people can't read it though.Especially if they're as fascinated by anything Sherlock Holmes related as I am.
The story was really interesting and unpredictable.The ending seriously messed with my head because I didn't expect it at all.The mystery surrounding the story was also something I loved as well as the characters.I fell in love with them from the beginning and I seriously need to read a book about Lupin or Arsene Lupin.He is described as the Sherlock Holmes of crime and I can't wait to learn more about him.Another thing I loved was the fact that this book piqued my interest from the beginning and made me wanna learn more about the characters and their lives.I never bothered researching stuff while reading a book but in this case...I did.Really refreshing!
This was such an exciting quick read.Really intriguing and unpredictable plot.A great story and a perfect mystery.Can't wait for the rest of the books!
sararees's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0