Book Review: Hurricane Heist by James Ponti (Sherlock Society #2)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Interesting mystery with great characters

Cons: Set up takes way too long

The Bottom Line:

Body unburied

Along with story from past

Slow start but still good

Hurricane Uncovers a Heist from History

While I do know that hurricanes hit Florida, I sometimes wonder if citizens of that state feel about their portrayal in fiction like I do about earthquakes here in California. Yes, they happen. But do they happen as often as they pop up in fiction? Either way, they form the basis of Hurricane Heist, the second Sherlock Society mystery from James Ponti for Middle Grade readers.

The Sherlock Society are a group of middle schoolers. Alex is our narrator, and his sister Zoe is a reluctant member. The other two kids are their friends Yadi and Lina. Rounding out the group is Alex and Zoe’s grandfather, a former reporter for the Miami Herald.

This book finds the friends about to head back to school after a fantastic summer. But their return to school gets delayed by a few days when a hurricane hits the city. In the aftermath, a body is found at a nearby hotel. When it is identified as a man who disappeared in another hurricane 60 years before, Grandpa is intrigued. He knew the man back then, and he never bought the story from the time that the man was involved in a jewelry heist. Can the Sherlock Society figure out what happened all those years ago?

As with the first, this book starts out with an exciting scene from the climax, and then flashes back. Aside from how much I hate that storytelling device to begin with, I found it even more annoying here since we flashed back to Grandfather as a boy, setting up what happened sixty years ago. Honestly, with the tangents we took along the way, we were a third of the way into this book before the mystery really kicked off.

Once it did, it was fantastic. I was intrigued by what happened all those years ago and how the Society was going to uncover it. The ending felt a bit rushed to me, but my questions were answered.

I liked the characters when we met them in the first book, and that held true here. Some of the character growth from the first book didn’t quite stick, but in a realistic way. I actually appreciated how that was dealt with. And I loved some of the new characters. I hope we see them again in future books.

Kids might struggle a bit with the first third of Hurricane Heist, but if they can get beyond the extended set up, they’ll be hooked and enjoy this second visit with the Sherlock Society.