Member Reviews

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the ARC! Great series for younger readers and the illustration are wonderful. A great series to introduce children to Sherlock Holmes for them to understand.

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I really enjoyed the books in this series and this is no exception!

I always loved Sherlock and this was a great adaptation. Wonderful for younger readers and the illustrations are brilliant.

An easy and comforting read for days when you just want to chill.

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Really good way to get reading a Sherlock Holmes mystery that’s easier to understand and great for kids too.

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I have really enjoyed the books in this series and I delight in picking up a new book when it is released.

I thought that this was a great retelling of Silver Blaze and a great introduction to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson for younger readers too. I saved this book to read it on my summer holiday in August 2022 and loved sitting on the beach in Cornwall reading it!

The book was easy to follow and I really liked the illustrations that were added to the book to bring the story to life too. The book was well written and really enjoyable for me as an adult too, a great overview.

It is 4 stars from me for this one, highly recommended!

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Another excellent Holmes tale brought to life for children without losing any of the intrigue! The clues are all there and I really do love how the tales are simplified without losing any of the important bits!

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Here is another in the series of adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories that are designed for early chapter book readers. Each story is illustrated in a way that adds to the enjoyment of the story.

As can be deduced from the cover, young Sherlocks will know that this story has to do with a horse. What happened to Silver Blaze? Why? And who killed his trainer? The great detective and his sidekick want to know. Kids will want to know too.

I recommend this entry and the entire series. The books offer a good introduction to the great detective.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Arcturus Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

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As I read my way through this entire series, I'm constantly surprised that none of the stories fall flat for me. Of course, I've read the original Sherlock stories, so I recognize the retellings, but each is fresh when viewed through the eyes of a younger reader. I think the mystery in this one is one that children would really enjoy. Another hit!

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This was a short and simple adaptation of the Holmes story for young readers. This was a simple case involving the thief of a racehorse. A good introduction into the world of Holmes and Watson without being overwhelming. Easy to read with some illustrations.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

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A great children’s book for Sherlock Holmes fan! The author has done a great job in staying true to form on the original work by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These books are a fast read and the mystery is sure to keep their attention! A great series of books to read for all ages.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Alex Woolf retells “Silver Blaze,” an intriguing Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes short story where a great racehorse goes missing and its trainer is found dead.

Sherlock is intrigued by the latest story in the news — famed horse Silver Blaze goes missing just before entering a major race while his trainer is found dead with a mysterious wound and a strange knife in his hand. The great detective once again uses his powers of deduction to try and find Silver Blaze and determine who the killer is.

“Silver Blaze” is a story featuring an unexpected villain, leading the reader to question who is the true scoundrel and digging into who is the least expected to have caused trouble.

Filled with delightful illustrations by Eve O’Brien, “Silver Blaze” is told in a fun and easy way kids of all ages will understand. This series is a great way to introduce young readers to Doyle and the great Sherlock Holmes, but adults will also enjoy these short stories. The story slowly lays out the clues, allowing the reader to solve the mystery alongside the notorious detective.

Five stars out of five.

Arcturus Publishing provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

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As always these books are fantastic, such a simple way of explaining conan doyles books. I will certainly be looking out for these to purchase for my shop soon.

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Thank you so much to Arcturus and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Holmes gets roped into the case of a missing race horse and the stable boy being murdered and heads down to solve what was really going on and put the pieces together.

I personally didn’t enjoy this one, there was a lot of different things that Holmes had to solve and put together which was interesting, but the topic is just not one of interest to me.

As always Holmes is smarter and more tactile about how he solves all his mysteries never sharing everything he has put together with the detective or people requesting his help. You are left to figure them all out yourself and try to get what he got, which very rarely happens and this case was quite a difficult one to figure out.

I didn’t really care for the race horse storyline nor the hurting animals stuff, it’s a bit off putting to me so made me not enjoy solving this one as much as most of the others.

I do love reading this series though, they are just so fascinating getting a chance to read these beloved mysteries but in a simpler way, with illustrations and cut down to give younger audiences a chance to enjoy them too.

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With thanks to the author, publishers Arcturus Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I have been a fan of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series since I was young, and this series of abridged versions aimed at young readers is a welcome addition to the multitude of other editions of the stories already out there, with these books being written in language specifically aimed at readers aged 7-11.

This is the first in the series that I have read and, despite the relatively short length of the book, the author of this particular edition has done a great job in capturing the nuances of the plot and staying true to the original work, while the cartoonish illustrations enhance the reading experience even more.

I hope and fully expect that this book and others in the series will inspire younger readers to seek out the original versions by Arthur Conan Doyle. Recommended.

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This Sherlock Holmes short story contains one of the greatest lines in all literature. They’re a conversation between the Great Detective and a Scotland Yard detective.

[Sherlock Holmes:] “…And there’s something else I should draw your attention to.”

“What’s that?”

“The curious incident of the dog in the night time.”

"The dog did nothing in the night time.”

That was the curious incident,” said Sherlock Holmes.

After re-reading it dozens of times over the decades, those line still give me a thrill!

In this short story, Holmes and his sidekick Watson are called to investigate the disappearance of a champion race horse and the murder of his trainer. Let’s just say there’s much more than meets the eye! I am so pleased that author Alex Woolf has adapted this fabulous tale so that it is accessible for youngsters and future Sherlock Holmes fans. Highly recommended.

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Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are back...this time they're looking for clues as to the disappearance of a racehorse and the murder of its trainer. Did the same person steal the horse and kill the trainer? Or was it all an unfortunate coincidence? And was the trainer really the man everyone thought he was? Great, clever, plot with interesting twists and a conclusion that will take the reader by surprise!

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These are such a great series , great bedtime story books with delightful illustrations. Suitable for all of the family.

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I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I grew up reading mystery hotels for kids and am so excited to add these beautifully redone Sherlock Holmes stories to my collection to share with the kids in my life! They are just like the originals but intended for a juvenile audience.

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Silver Blaze by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Alex Woolf.
Join Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they help find a missing race horse silver Blaze and the murde of his trainer John Straker.
I love these short stories. Illustrations were amazing. 5*.

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A wonderful abridged version of the classic Sherlock Holmes short story Silver Blaze, capturing the narrative and spirit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work brilliantly. Colonel Ross' best horse, Silver Blaze, has gone missing right before an important race, and the following morning, the horse's trainer John Straker was found violently murdered! A strange man had appeared at the stable the night before the tragedy, trying to bribe the stable boy into releasing insider information about the horse for betting purposes, but could the stranger really have drugged the stable boy, stolen the horse, and murdered its trainer in a premeditated way? Can Holmes and Watson figure out who is behind it all and recover Silver Blaze before the Wessex Cup horse race?

This book includes cartoonish illustrations that capture the plot and characters nicely and will be sure to an extra layer of entertainment for young readers as they follow Sherlock Holmes in unravelling the mystery of the disappearance of Silver Blaze and the murder of the trainer. This entire series will be an excellent introduction for kids to Conan Doyle's classic stories, and will hopefully inspire them to read the originals as well! I will certainly be recommending this series to my young mystery-loving students as a next step from the Famous Five and Secret Seven books.

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Arcturus Publishing has adapted 16 tales from Sherlock Holmes for young readers. Silver Blaze includes one of my all time favorite murderers, extreme skepticism of Holmes, and mistaken identity. Set in the moors of England, this is the story where we are asked to consider the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime.

Great work! Will recommend for Elementary and Middle School libraries

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