Sherlock Academy - Watson's Case

About the book: Stolen tools, holes in the walls, secret codes hiding in plain sight. . . 

Even more mysteries await Rollie Wilson this month at the Sherlock Academy of Fine Sleuths. It has been several weeks since the evil Herr Zilch tried to steal from the academy’s secret library. When Rollie finds a note from Zilch in a wastepaper basket, Headmaster Yardsly asks Rollie to help discover who Zilch’s "mole" is. With Cecily at his side, Rollie is determined to catch the spy, all while dealing with his odious roommate, his mysterious great-aunt, and the school’s new teacher. 

What’s more, Rollie’s Great Auntie Ei has sent him an antique newspaper from 1894 reporting on one of Sherlock Holmes’s cases. What appears to be old news is actually a secret map hidden within the paper’s pages. Rollie must decipher the map, then discover the Academy’s secrets before the mole can hand them over to Herr Zilch. 

Can Rollie thwart Zilch’s plans? Will his family remember his birthday? Can he solve the mystery of his missing roommate?

My review: This book was fun! It's written for middle grade readers (ages 9-12) but there was plenty of mystery and fun and I enjoyed it as well! Rollie is really an amazing character, he's about to turn 12 and he goes to a special boarding school in London, Sherlock Academy where he and his schoolmates are learning to be detectives. They have classes on decoding codes, and observing others among other things. Rollie has already solved one mystery about Herr Zilch, but there's another game afoot and Headmaster Yardsly has asked him to help figure out just who the mole that seems to be left at the school. 

I really loved Rollie's friends too, Cecily is a good friend and the Watson to Rollie's Sherlock, she's smart and fun. Always willing to do anything that Rollie needs her to in order to help, and she's got her own ideas about who the mole could be. Eliot is one of Rollie's roommates and he's a bit of a character, always concerned about the rules and making sure to follow them. Then there's Rupert...he's always missing with no one sure of just where he goes or what he does.

The plot of this one is really well-written. It's a sequel to Sherlock Academy, but the way the author has written it, I completely understood everything that was going on and had happened without reading the first book. I'm sure reading the first book would be enjoyable too, but you'll be okay without. There were surprises around every corner in this book, I almost didn't have it figured out by the end, but with Cecily's help, I knew just who the culprit was.

Make sure to check out this great book, especially if you have kids in your life that will enjoy this great series!

I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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