Death Cloud is the first book in the “Young Sherlock Holmes” series.
It follows the story of Sherlock Holmes as a fourteen year old boy. While staying with his Uncle Sherrinford over the summer break, he discovers a man’s corpse that is covered with boils. He also hears about a man who died a similar death. While most adults think the cause of death was a plague, Sherlock doubts this. He throws himself headfirst into an investigation to discover how the two men died. His journey is aided and accompanied by two friends and an American tutor.
In this story, Sherlock Holmes is prideful, resourceful, and willing to do anything to get information. His inexhaustible curiosity often gets him into trouble. If it weren’t for Sherlock's incredible luck, the phrase, “curiosity killed the cat” would be the story of his life. This is the first teen series to be endorsed by the Conan Doyle Estate. The book’s back cover boasts about how this is a very accurate depiction of the teenage boy who will grow up to be Sherlock Holmes.
This book carries many pros and cons. The mystery is introduced early into the book. The main question, “How did the men die?”, is also answered pretty early on in the story, but as Sherlock Holmes continues his investigation, he finds out there is much more to these deaths. The plot has a slow and boring beginning. It also has many points of high action, but between those points, the story can be very boring. The book picks up towards the end as many of the points of high action draw closer and closer together.
I give this 306 page story 3.5 stars.
Young Sherlock Holmes
This series takes place in the late 1860s. The main protagonist it Sherlock Holmes as a 14 year old boy.