The Great Shelby Holmes

by Elizabeth Eulberg

This is a fun middle grade mystery. Shelby Holmes is not your ordinary nine year old. She is in sixth grade, barely four feet tall and has bright red hair. What makes Shelby really stand out is her skill as a detective in her Harlem neighborhood. Shelby studies people: what they say, how they act, and what they wear. What Shelby doesn’t understand is friendship. She has never had a good friend and her blunt behavior probably has a lot to do with that.  When John Watson moves into the Harlem neighborhood with his Mom, he wants to find a friend. John is patient with Shelby’s unusual personality so he can figure out how she does the detective work. As Watson learns about sleuthing, Holmes learns about friendship and together they solve a missing dog mystery. Told from Watson’s perspective, the story also touches on Watson struggling with moving often and his parents’ divorce.

~Dixie