Fire Storm by Andrew Lane - OPTIONAL

Lane, Andrew Fire Storm, 344 pgs. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2012. $17.99. Language: PG (1 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG-13;  

Sherlock knows something is going on at home.  His aunt and uncle are acting odd and he catches the housekeeper ransacking the library, threatening his uncle and claiming she will find the treasure.  A determined Sherlock makes a point to find out what is going on and to help his family.  He follows the housekeeper into town and discovers that she is working with a local thug to blackmail his uncle.  Sherlock also discovered that there are a whole lot of people in town being blackmailed.  Between Sherlock and his friend, Matty, they are able to stop the blackmailer which gives his uncle and others around town a moment of peace.  But the peace doesn't last long for Sherlock.  Soon after, Sherlock finds himself in another mystery that takes him and Matty to Edinburough to find their missing friends.  

Sherlock is smart (maybe a bit too smart for his own good), clever and quick at solving mysteries.  He uses his head, thinks situations through and then acts.  His know it all attitude can be a little much to take at times, although the author does a good job making him sound like a fairly likeable kid.  He is also very loyal and consistently does what he thinks is right.  The characters find themselves in quite a few perilous situations they need to resolve,  including a scene where Sherlock has been kidnapped and is forced to divulge sensitive information, so there is a fair amount of violence, although it isn't bloody or gory.  Although part of a series, this book was a completely independent story that neither relies on the other books in the series nor leaves the reader hanging.  That being said, it does immediately start a new mystery so readers, if intrigued, will need to grab the next book.   

MS/ HS - OPTIONAL  Reviewer: RB