The Case of the Disappearing Detective (Baker Street Boys)

by Anthony Read

The Baker Street Boys books are lighthearted mysteries filled with great characters and interesting plots. Wiggins and the gang are hilarious - from Wiggins imitation of Holmes, Gertie's insistence of being one of the boys, Queenie's obsession with the Queen, Shiner's love of trains, Sparrow's love of theatre, Rosie's super nose and Beaver's desire to be the Watson to Wiggin's Holmes. All of the gang actively contribute to the investigations and help to solve the mysteries and it's nice to see each member play a role and demonstrate their own expertise. Not everyone is good at everything - but they're all good at something.

Although the Baker Street Boys is based on Sherlock Holmes canon - Sherlock himself is not a main character. In fact, although he is talked about and referred to a lot, he only really makes appearances at the beginning and ending of the books - instead imparting wisdom off screen (or page in this case) and handing off missions and instructions to be carried out. Instead, Wiggins takes on the role of Sherlock with Beaver as his Watson and the rest of the gang as backup.


#1: THE CASE OF THE DISAPPEARING DETECTIVE

In the Case of the Disappearing Detective, the Baker Street Boys (even though three of the seven boys are girls) are on surveillance. But the case goes awry when they find Sherlock has gone missing while checking out the information they found. The only clues they have is a trail of matchsticks, a padlocked door in an alley and the appearance of the 'Napoleon of Crime' - Professor James Moriarty. They continue to investigate and find not only has Sherlock been kidnapped but it looks like his kidnappers are planning to blow up the Queen at the opening of a new railway station. It takes all their combined smarts and cunning to foil the plot and save the day.

I really enjoyed the first book of the series. The mystery was well plotted and even managed a twist I didn't see coming. It was well written and was quite amusing and it had lots of action to keep it fast paced. 4 stars.