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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
This review and others can be found on Cozy Up With A Good Read
Dora wants to help her cousin find out who is blackmailing her, using old love letters, but what Dora doesn't tell her cousin is that she has her own reasons for travelling to London. While there, Dora learns that the person she wanted to see, Sherlock Holmes is dead. She turns to a different detective for help, and with that ends up with a bigger mystery to solve than she bargained for.
I absolutely love Sherlock Holmes and any mystery books that go along with it. I am also a huge fan of the Victorian era, so when you put those two together, you get SECRET LETTERS by Leah Scheier, which was awesome and completely girpping.
I was excited to read this book when I first heard about it because I haven't read a good YA mystery book lately. They have all been more so paranormal type books. When I first started reading this, I thought it was going to be a light book, but Scheier gets into some really dark twists with her writing. I definitely was surprised by what happened with a lot of the characters.
I really loved Dora's strength throughout the book. She has a lot of trouble with her family because they expect her to be the quiet and sweet girl, and she feels like she wants to be strong. She is odd because she notices things that normal people don't, and states it out loud (and I say she has a bit of an attitude). But my favourite character had to be that of Peter Cartwright. He's one of those guys that likes to get the girl all worked up by teasing her all the time. He was adorable and very protective of Dora, definitely my type of guy.
I really felt like I was reading a new version of a Sherlock Holmes story with SECRET LETTERS, and found that there are quite a few mentions of Holmes' stories. This is a great story for mystery lovers out there, Scheier writes some great twists that I couldn't even guess. This is a book with great characters and a great storyline.
Dora wants to help her cousin find out who is blackmailing her, using old love letters, but what Dora doesn't tell her cousin is that she has her own reasons for travelling to London. While there, Dora learns that the person she wanted to see, Sherlock Holmes is dead. She turns to a different detective for help, and with that ends up with a bigger mystery to solve than she bargained for.
I absolutely love Sherlock Holmes and any mystery books that go along with it. I am also a huge fan of the Victorian era, so when you put those two together, you get SECRET LETTERS by Leah Scheier, which was awesome and completely girpping.
I was excited to read this book when I first heard about it because I haven't read a good YA mystery book lately. They have all been more so paranormal type books. When I first started reading this, I thought it was going to be a light book, but Scheier gets into some really dark twists with her writing. I definitely was surprised by what happened with a lot of the characters.
I really loved Dora's strength throughout the book. She has a lot of trouble with her family because they expect her to be the quiet and sweet girl, and she feels like she wants to be strong. She is odd because she notices things that normal people don't, and states it out loud (and I say she has a bit of an attitude). But my favourite character had to be that of Peter Cartwright. He's one of those guys that likes to get the girl all worked up by teasing her all the time. He was adorable and very protective of Dora, definitely my type of guy.
I really felt like I was reading a new version of a Sherlock Holmes story with SECRET LETTERS, and found that there are quite a few mentions of Holmes' stories. This is a great story for mystery lovers out there, Scheier writes some great twists that I couldn't even guess. This is a book with great characters and a great storyline.
Dora has a secret, Sherlock Holmes is her father. After finding the right moment to introduce herself to the infamous detective, Dora finds out a horrible event had occurred, Holmes died in Switzerland. After the hearing the bad news, Dora goes off to find her own adventure and comes across a detective Peter Cartwright who leads her in on a mysterious crime that had occurred. Dora now has to go and experience the real world and all the dark secrets that lie below the surface.
I really liked the twist this book had. The beginning was a little quick for my taste, but overall the book flowed really well. Secret letters kind of reminds me of a female take on a Sherlock Holmes novel, Dora filling the spot of her lost father. But of course, all books have their weak spots. The book could have been stretched into a bigger novel, it felt like everything was going faster than it should have. Also the characters needed a bit more depth, the author could have easily spent more time developing the different characters personalities.
I recommend this book for 11-13 year olds for its adventure and topic matter.
I really liked the twist this book had. The beginning was a little quick for my taste, but overall the book flowed really well. Secret letters kind of reminds me of a female take on a Sherlock Holmes novel, Dora filling the spot of her lost father. But of course, all books have their weak spots. The book could have been stretched into a bigger novel, it felt like everything was going faster than it should have. Also the characters needed a bit more depth, the author could have easily spent more time developing the different characters personalities.
I recommend this book for 11-13 year olds for its adventure and topic matter.
I love Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes retellings.
If they are done right.
Enola Holmes is a wonderful series. The Baker Street Irregulars amused me as a kid. The Sherlockians was full of entertaining short stories.
But Sherlcok Holmes as a Father? Really??
I just can't see it. I refuse to believe one of the greatest detectives in history was made into a melodramatic bachelor because the girl he loved married another man. No. It is to cliche.
Secret Letters really wasn't a bad book. In fact, as a mystery it was pretty good. I enjoyed it. As a Victorian mystery it was good - almsot always spot on historically correct.
The romance really wasn't that bad either. Peter and Dora's relationship is really snappy.
Buttttttttttt, even if I'm ignoring the whole Sherlock-Holmes-As-Absent-Dad-Of-The-Year, stuff about this book irritated me.
Like, mainly, Dora, our intrepid heroine. First off, she is way to modern. Why do people writing Victorian novels always seem to think their heroine must rebel against the norms of society? Why do they always dream of being equal and free from corsets? Every single one of them? Always? Its a pet peeve of mine, which might have been why I found it so irritating in Dora. If she had been properly brought up, I don't care if her genes run with genius, would she really have been so...modern?
The second thing that bugged me about this book was all the romances. Is there a single married female in the book who didn't love someone else before they got married? Oh, and how about this, is there a single female who was able to keep her legs crossed long enough to get married besides, like, Dora who I seriously doubt would have put up much of a protest? They're all carrying other men's kids! Gah!
And what point was there to refer to the maid planning to have an abortion? To be politically correct? To point out how modern Dora is, because she doesn't cling to the beliefs of her time?
This book was fairly blah for me. I mean, there was some good stuff in it. I'm not writing it off completely, but it wasn't fabulous. The whole book is an episode of Who Is Your Daddy? and after a while, the same plot line over and over is irritating.
If they are done right.
Enola Holmes is a wonderful series. The Baker Street Irregulars amused me as a kid. The Sherlockians was full of entertaining short stories.
But Sherlcok Holmes as a Father? Really??
I just can't see it. I refuse to believe one of the greatest detectives in history was made into a melodramatic bachelor because the girl he loved married another man. No. It is to cliche.
Secret Letters really wasn't a bad book. In fact, as a mystery it was pretty good. I enjoyed it. As a Victorian mystery it was good - almsot always spot on historically correct.
The romance really wasn't that bad either. Peter and Dora's relationship is really snappy.
Buttttttttttt, even if I'm ignoring the whole Sherlock-Holmes-As-Absent-Dad-Of-The-Year, stuff about this book irritated me.
Like, mainly, Dora, our intrepid heroine. First off, she is way to modern. Why do people writing Victorian novels always seem to think their heroine must rebel against the norms of society? Why do they always dream of being equal and free from corsets? Every single one of them? Always? Its a pet peeve of mine, which might have been why I found it so irritating in Dora. If she had been properly brought up, I don't care if her genes run with genius, would she really have been so...modern?
The second thing that bugged me about this book was all the romances. Is there a single married female in the book who didn't love someone else before they got married? Oh, and how about this, is there a single female who was able to keep her legs crossed long enough to get married besides, like, Dora who I seriously doubt would have put up much of a protest? They're all carrying other men's kids! Gah!
And what point was there to refer to the maid planning to have an abortion? To be politically correct? To point out how modern Dora is, because she doesn't cling to the beliefs of her time?
This book was fairly blah for me. I mean, there was some good stuff in it. I'm not writing it off completely, but it wasn't fabulous. The whole book is an episode of Who Is Your Daddy? and after a while, the same plot line over and over is irritating.
Really good for fans of deductive reasoning and the Sherlock movies who enjoy teen books.
"Secret Letters" by Leah Scheier follows sixteen-year-old Dora Joyce to London on her way to meet the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. She travels with her cousin, Adelaide, who ppans to enlist the help of Sherlock Holmes to find out who is blackmailing her with letters that could ruin her marriage. But Dora has another reason to meet Holmes for she believes he is her true father. Her plans fail, however, when she arrives in London only to discover that Sherlock Holmes has been killed. When her cousin enlists another private detective to help solve her case, Dora gets wrapped up in helping solve the case with the detective's assistant, using skills she inherited from her father, and becomes crucial in solving not one but two mysteries.
The writing style was very simplistic and the story very straightforward making for a fairly quick read. The two main characters are meant to be quick-witted and clever, like young versions of Sherlock Holmes, but they come across a little forced and unrealistic. The secondary characters are one dimensional and predictable. The story itself is decent but is lacking in details and feels a little rushed. The mysteries solved are well planned out with clues sprinkled throughout the story and manage to turn out a few surprises in the end. Overall, this was a good read for a YA mystery. ⭐⭐⭐
The writing style was very simplistic and the story very straightforward making for a fairly quick read. The two main characters are meant to be quick-witted and clever, like young versions of Sherlock Holmes, but they come across a little forced and unrealistic. The secondary characters are one dimensional and predictable. The story itself is decent but is lacking in details and feels a little rushed. The mysteries solved are well planned out with clues sprinkled throughout the story and manage to turn out a few surprises in the end. Overall, this was a good read for a YA mystery. ⭐⭐⭐
This book could have been so much better. In fact, when I first started reading it, I was inclined to give it a much higher rating that the one star that I did give it. (In this case, it's an actual 1 star rating, not a 1 star rating because there's nothing lower rating.)
The premise, a daughter of Sherlock Holmes who travels to London to meet him only to discover news of his death at Reichenbach Falls, holds so much promise. That one bit I just referenced also happened to be the high point of the book. Everything went downhill from there.
Dora is not a believable character. She's at the same time flighty and stalwart, smart like her father and air-headed like typical noblewoman. Her actions are inconsistent throughout the entire book. Do not get me started on the "romantic" aspect of the book. Seriously?
The book is full of clichés and improbable plot twists and turns that make absolutely no sense. Scheier is no Conan Doyle.
This is not a good book. Read an actual Sherlock Holmes story instead.
The premise, a daughter of Sherlock Holmes who travels to London to meet him only to discover news of his death at Reichenbach Falls, holds so much promise. That one bit I just referenced also happened to be the high point of the book. Everything went downhill from there.
Dora is not a believable character. She's at the same time flighty and stalwart, smart like her father and air-headed like typical noblewoman. Her actions are inconsistent throughout the entire book. Do not get me started on the "romantic" aspect of the book. Seriously?
The book is full of clichés and improbable plot twists and turns that make absolutely no sense. Scheier is no Conan Doyle.
This is not a good book. Read an actual Sherlock Holmes story instead.
A mystery with a little bit of romance.
Dora's biological father is supposedly the great Sherlock Holmes. When she gets to his house, she finds out that he is dead. It's there where she meets Peter Cartwright, a young detective who is working on her cousin's case. The two of them then get involved in the disappearance of young Lady Rose. As more evidence presents itself, it becomes obvious that the two cases are connected. Only one question remains; will they two of the solve the mystery and save the day? Or will Dora's life be at risk while she's undercover?
I love this kinds of books. Although there wasn't much of the Victorian lifestyle that I love so much, the servants and the scandalous behaviours made up for it. Dora isn't seen as a detective and can't be in a young man's presence without a chaperon. These aspects made the book more real to me.
The mystery in this book was excellent. I loved that I didn't see anything coming. The romance was really put on hold for most of the novel. It was really about the detective work. Dora was a fabulous detective and she really showed her stuff in this novel. She kind of made me feel stupid for not seeing what she did. The novel was full of twists and turns that you didn't see coming.
A great mystery and definitely one to pick up if you like mysteries! Great book!
Dora's biological father is supposedly the great Sherlock Holmes. When she gets to his house, she finds out that he is dead. It's there where she meets Peter Cartwright, a young detective who is working on her cousin's case. The two of them then get involved in the disappearance of young Lady Rose. As more evidence presents itself, it becomes obvious that the two cases are connected. Only one question remains; will they two of the solve the mystery and save the day? Or will Dora's life be at risk while she's undercover?
I love this kinds of books. Although there wasn't much of the Victorian lifestyle that I love so much, the servants and the scandalous behaviours made up for it. Dora isn't seen as a detective and can't be in a young man's presence without a chaperon. These aspects made the book more real to me.
The mystery in this book was excellent. I loved that I didn't see anything coming. The romance was really put on hold for most of the novel. It was really about the detective work. Dora was a fabulous detective and she really showed her stuff in this novel. She kind of made me feel stupid for not seeing what she did. The novel was full of twists and turns that you didn't see coming.
A great mystery and definitely one to pick up if you like mysteries! Great book!