• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 7 to 12

After the harrowing experience of losing his mother while solving a brutal murder in London’s East End, young Sherlock Holmes commits himself to fighting crime … and is soon involved in another case. While visiting his father at the magnificent Crystal Palace, Sherlock stops to watch a remarkable and dangerous trapeze performance high above, framed by the stunning glass ceiling of the legendary building. Suddenly, the troupe’s star is dropping, screaming and flailing, toward the floor. He lands with a sickening thud just a few feet away, and rolls up almost onto the boy’s boots. Unconscious and bleeding profusely, his body is grotesquely twisted. In the mayhem that follows, Sherlock notices something that no one else sees — something is amiss with the trapeze bar! He knows that foul play is afoot. What he doesn’t know is that his discovery will put him on a frightening, twisted trail that leads to an entire gang of notorious criminals. Wrapped in the fascinating world of Victorian entertainment, its dangerous performances, and London’s dark underworld, Death in the Air raises The Boy Sherlock Holmes to a whole new level.

Be sure not to miss Eye of the Crow, The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His First Case.

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

Praise for Death in the Air:
“Peacock continues his literary derring-do in the second Sherlock Holmes novel, Death in the Air, as suspenseful and riveting as the first book….The crafty turns and twists of this mystery adventure only intensify from the sensational opening, so that you can’t turn the pages fast enough….Peacock’s writing, smart, lithe, and assured, is perfectly attuned to readers in its accessibility and appeal…” —The Ottawa Citizen

Praise for Eye of the Crow
“a thrilling, impeccably paced murder mystery.”
— Quill and Quire, Starred Review

Death in the Air: His Second Case (The Boy Sherlock Holmes)

In this sequel to the award-winning Eye of the Crow, Shane Peacock continues the development of his 13-year-old main character into the dispassionate, analytical adult detective. Irene Doyle and Malefactor both reappear and play key roles.

Peacock flings the reader straight into the mystery with the dramatic fall of Monsieur Mercure, a trapeze artist performing at the Crystal Palace. This tale picks up mere weeks after the end of the first case. Sherlock is at the Crystal Palace to see his father, but the mystery of Mercure lands almost literally at his feet, with a clue that only he sees before it is destroyed by the mob of onlookers.

The young Sherlock races against time and danger to find the motive for, and perpetrators of, Mercure’s fall. Personal struggles, financial and relational, both spur and hamper him. The ending of this story makes it very clear that there will be more about Sherlock’s apprenticeship as a detective.

This story is rich in Sherlockiana and foreshadowings of the career to come. It is also rich in details of the people and city of Victorian London. One of the best surprises is the period map of London inside the book jacket. Those who enjoyed Eye of the Crow will find this tale even better.

Death in the Air (The Boy Sherlock Holmes)

While visiting his father at work, Sherlock stops to watch a remarkable and dangerous trapeze performance. Suddenly, the troupe’s star drops towards the floor. In the ensuing mayhem, Sherlock notices something that no one else sees — something is amiss with the trapeze bar. Book Two in the series.