• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 7 to 12

Sherlock Holmes, just thirteen, is a misfit. His highborn mother is the daughter of an aristocratic family, his father a poor Jew. Their marriage flouts tradition and makes them social pariahs in the London of the 1860s; and their son, Sherlock, bears the burden of their rebellion. Friendless, bullied at school, he belongs nowhere and has only his wits to help him make his way.

But what wits they are! His keen powers of observation are already apparent, though he is still a boy. He loves to amuse himself by constructing histories from the smallest detail for everyone he meets. Partly for fun, he focuses his attention on a sensational murder to see if he can solve it. But his game turns deadly serious when he finds himself the accused — and in London, they hang boys of thirteen.

Shane Peacock has created a boy who bears all the seeds of the character who has mesmerized millions: the relentless eye, the sense of justice, and the complex ego. The boy Sherlock Holmes is a fascinating character who is sure to become a fast favorite with young readers everywhere.

Shane Peacock is a novelist, playwright, journalist, and television screenwriter. His first book was a biography of the spectacular Canadian personality “The Great Farini,” his plays have been produced by the acclaimed 4th Line Theatre, and his documentaries have included Team Spirit, aired on the CTV national network. His best-selling series for young adults, The Boy Sherlock Holmes, has been published in ten countries in twelve languages and has found its way onto more than forty shortlists. It won, among other honors, the prestigious Violet Downey Award, The Arthur Ellis Award for crime fiction, the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award, a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award Gold Medal, the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction and The Libris Award. Each novel was also named a Junior Library Guild of America Premier Selection. The Ottawa Citizen said of the series, “More than just right, dazzlingly right for teen readers, is a new series by Ontario writer Shane Peacock. The vitality of Peacock’s creation of Sherlock is so inspired it feels like the writer is possessed, channeling Sherlock’s spirit.”

Shane Peacock's profile page

Selected as a Booklist "Top Ten in Young Mysteries"
Winner, Arthur Ellis Award for Juvenile Crime Fiction
Gold Medal Winner, Foreward Magazine's Book of the Year Awards
Winner, IODE's Violet Downey Book Award

“…the first intriguing volume in an ambitious new series….a shadowy, vividly described London….Creative references to Doyle’s characters abound…and Sherlock himself is cleverly interpreted….[made] both fascinating and complex….plenty of readers will like the smart, young detective they find here, and find themselves irresistibly drawn into his thrilling adventures.”
— Booklist, Starred review and named one of the Top Ten Crime Fiction for Youth

“The details of the plot are plausible, the pacing well timed, and the historical setting vividly depicted…The titular crow comes fascinatingly into play…On balance, the characters enrich the book and help give Holmes’s storied abilities credence.”
— School Library Journal, Starred review

“…young people familiar with Holmes’ canon will best appreciate Peacock’s riffs; but plenty of readers will like the smart, young detective they find here, and find themselves irresistibly drawn into his thrilling adventures.”
— Book Links, Named Best New Books for the Classroom

“Peacock effectively evokes Conan Doyle’s London alleyway, and his young Sherlock is a compelling and poignant character.”
— The Horn Book Guide

Eye of the Crow (The Boy Sherlock Holmes: His First Case)

In Eye of the Crow, Shane Peacock takes the reader back to Sherlock Holmes’ youth, to his very first case. The 13- year-old Sherlock becomes entangled against his will in the murder of a young woman. Accused as an accomplice and in danger of hanging, his only option is to find the real murderer.

Fans of Sherlock Holmes have long speculated on his youth and his origins. Who were his parents? Why is he so unemotional? How did he come to turn to solving crimes as his chosen profession? Where did he get his love of music? What are the origins of his most formidable opponent, Professor Moriarty? In this novel for young adult readers, Peacock addresses some of those mysteries of Holmes’ past.

Eye of the Crow, like the stories which inspired it, is full of the details of life in Victorian London. In addition, Peacock has cleverly foreshadowed events in Holmes’ later life; the young Sherlock, for instance, meets an Irene who is as daring and clever as the Irene Adler of “A Scandal in Bohemia.”

This is an engaging and readable introduction to one of English literature’s most intriguing figures.

Eye of the Crow (The Boy Sherlock Holmes)

Boy Sherlock Holmes has keen powers of observation. In his first case, when he turns his attention to a murder, the game turns deadly and he finds himself accused of the crime.