The Boy Sherlock Holmes's fourth case is the subtitle of
this Victorian tale. Within the setting of grimy, foggy
London we meet Charles Dickens and other prominent persons.
To open however, young Sherlock is sitting with a girl
friend in a music hall watching the star turn, an
illusionist, produce a large live dragon in a cage. Ladies
scream and faint, but the youngsters - the word teenagers
was unknown at the time - are fascinated. Later they go
backstage but the police arrive and arrest the illusionist
for murdering a stage magician.
By the time of THE DRAGON TURN Sherlock is fifteen and his
friend Irene sixteen. They have worked on earlier cases and
slipped clues to the son of Inspector Lestrade, a trainee
policeman. Sherlock lives with an eccentric apothecary
and studies at university. Intrigued by what appears to
have been a grisly murder with no remaining body, Sherlock
sneaks to the crime scene in Cremorne pleasure gardens late
at night. He makes observations and curiosity compels him
to keep investigating. Irene has ambitions to sing on the
stage, perhaps not realising why it was not respectable.
Young women were commonly taken advantage of in return for
parts, and Holmes also has to worry that his friend may be
rehearsing with a murderer.
The adult Holmes had little time for women in his life, but
the boy in this tale is not just familiar with girls of
various classes but treats them as intelligent observant
people, an unusual attitude for the time. We are shown
various streets of old London, but there is not a great
deal of description, more of atmosphere as a lot of the
story takes place at night. To us modern readers, familiar
with wildlife programmes, the dragon is no huge mystery,
but at the time such giants were unknown and its savagery
under these conditions is not exaggerated.
Shane Peacock clearly enjoys recreating old London and
young Holmes for young adult readers, giving us a lively
adventure with a few sidelines and ongoing characters. THE
DRAGON TURN is a fine read for mystery fans, and shows
some hardships of growing up poor during times which are
ironically known for strict moral codes and family
values. I felt it would suit readers from twelve upwards
and Holmes fans of any age.
Summer 1869, and Sherlock Holmes and his friend Irene
celebrate her sixteenth birthday by attending the theater to
watch a celebrated magician make a real dragon appear on
stage. It is the London sensation. Sherlock and Irene meet
the magician, Alistair Hemsworth – just as he is arrested
for the murder of his rival, The Wizard of Nottingham.
It seems that traces of the missing Wizard’s blood and his
spectacles were found in Hemsworth’s secret studio.
Hemsworth has a motive: not only is the Wizard his rival,
but he also caused a scandal when he lured Hemsworth’s wife
away. But is Hemsworth guilty? Sherlock has his doubts, and
soon, so does the reader.
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