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A review by rlawler
Alba traditrice. Young Sherlock Holmes. Vol. 8 by Andy Lane
3.0
Sherlock Holmes returns in the final book in the Young Sherlock series, and he's ready to solve one last mystery. After the death of his mother, Sherlock returns home but quickly realizes that there's a plot to destroy the Suez Canal before it can open. With his best friend Matty by his side, Sherlock travels to Egypt to foil the sabotage before it is too late.
I'm glad that I can finally say that I have finished this series, but the books are not as good as I remember them. I can see why I enjoyed them in high school, but I found the mystery to be flat and the pacing to be off. NIGHT BREAK isn't even 300 pages, and I think that adding another 50-75 pages would have strengthened the plot and prevented Lane from rushing his ending. There were only 15-20 pages left when the mystery was wrapping up, and I was left wanting more.
I also felt like the prologue gave away the ending. With Rufus' betrayal in the back of my mind, I didn't trust him throughout the story and analyzed his actions to see how his betrayal would play out later. The way that it is now, I don't see any reason why it was revealed at the beginning of the book.
Finally, the editing could have been tightened significantly. Not only could the book have been lengthened like I mentioned before, but there were some common knowledge things that Sherlock should have known but somehow didn't. While there were great deductions in the book, Sherlock didn't seem as true to the original character as he did in the previous books.
However, I did like that activities that Sherlock enjoys as an adult are introduced throughout the whole series, and NIGHT BREAK incorporated fencing. It did seem slightly convenient that he learned it just in time for the ending of the book, but I was willing to forgive that because I enjoyed seeing him learn how to fight and he wasn't perfect at it.
Overall, the Young Sherlock series is great for anyone who loves mystery, historical fiction, and the iconic character. While this wasn't my favorite installment in the series, I did like to see Sherlock's interactions with the other characters and watching him become the classic character I love so much.
I'm glad that I can finally say that I have finished this series, but the books are not as good as I remember them. I can see why I enjoyed them in high school, but I found the mystery to be flat and the pacing to be off. NIGHT BREAK isn't even 300 pages, and I think that adding another 50-75 pages would have strengthened the plot and prevented Lane from rushing his ending. There were only 15-20 pages left when the mystery was wrapping up, and I was left wanting more.
I also felt like the prologue gave away the ending. With Rufus' betrayal in the back of my mind, I didn't trust him throughout the story and analyzed his actions to see how his betrayal would play out later. The way that it is now, I don't see any reason why it was revealed at the beginning of the book.
Finally, the editing could have been tightened significantly. Not only could the book have been lengthened like I mentioned before, but there were some common knowledge things that Sherlock should have known but somehow didn't. While there were great deductions in the book, Sherlock didn't seem as true to the original character as he did in the previous books.
However, I did like that activities that Sherlock enjoys as an adult are introduced throughout the whole series, and NIGHT BREAK incorporated fencing. It did seem slightly convenient that he learned it just in time for the ending of the book, but I was willing to forgive that because I enjoyed seeing him learn how to fight and he wasn't perfect at it.
Overall, the Young Sherlock series is great for anyone who loves mystery, historical fiction, and the iconic character. While this wasn't my favorite installment in the series, I did like to see Sherlock's interactions with the other characters and watching him become the classic character I love so much.