The Mystery of the Yellow Hands (The Baker Street Mysteries)
by Jake Thoene, Luke Thoene

2.5 out of 5 stars

Sherlock Holmes hires Danny, Peachy, and Duff as the Baker Street Brigade to help track down a gang of kidnappers. The boys can’t seem to find any clues, but they keep looking around the docks and warehouses on the banks of the Thames. They befriend a policeman’s daughter, Clair Avery, and when she is also kidnapped, the boys are more desperate than ever to solve the case.

This book was okay. The plot is fine, but the mystery is not that intriguing. I liked the boys, and the fun camaraderie they share. They all live in a school for orphan boys and spend their days selling newspapers on street corners.

The writing is just not that good. There are really long descriptions in every chapter that slow down the plot. The dialogue is lackluster. The characters are one-dimensional. Even Sherlock is lacking the energy and wit of the original.

There was one scene that bumped it up to 3 stars instead of 2 stars. Danny and the boys are asleep in the orphan school when they hear a little boy crying. They know the child is wishing for a mother and father, because they are all doing the same thing. Duff speaks up and says that he has a father. The other boys don’t believe him. Duff explains that God is his Father. God watches over all orphans and is always with them, taking care of them like a Father. That scene was so touching that it made me cry!

Other than that, the rest of the story is mostly forgettable.