The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

The Sherlock Society by James Ponti (368 Pages)

Summary: Siblings Alex and Zoe Sherlock take their last name as inspiration when choosing a summer job. After all, starting a detective agency has to be better than babysitting (boring), lawn mowing (sweaty), or cleaning out the attic (boring and sweaty). Their friends Lina, an avid bookworm, and Yadi, an aspiring cinematographer, join the enterprise, and Alex and Zoe’s retired reporter grandfather offers up his sweet aquamarine Cadillac convertible and storage unit full of cold cases. The group’s first target is the long-lost treasure supposedly hidden near their hometown Miami. Their investigation into the local doings of famed gangster Al Capone leads them to a remote island in the middle of the Everglades where they find alarming evidence hinting at corporate corruption. Together with Grandpa’s know-how and the kids’ intelligence—plus a slick gadget or two—can the Sherlock Society root out the conspiracy?

Opinion: This is a mystery and Mark Twain award nominee (2026-2027) juvenile chapter book. It starts off a bit slow in my opinion then picks up, especially around 2/3rds of the way in. I really enjoyed how the twists in each case lead to another case and then eventually they all were connected in a round about way to solve the final, big case. I also loved seeing Zoe's character development, particularly her friendship with Lina. This the first of a three book series, and while I enjoyed this book, I'm not sure I will continue with the series.