Rebel Fire by Andrew Lane - ESSENTIAL

Lane, Andrew. Rebel Fire (Young Sherlock Holmes), 343 pgs. Farrar Straus Giroux,2011. $16.99 Language: G ; Mature Content: G ; Violence: PG.  Young Sherlock Holmes finds himself involved in a mystery which hinges on Abraham Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth. The story involves kidnapping, murder, and possibility of a second U.S. Civil War. How an American problem of such importance can reach across the Atlantic and involve young Holmes and his friends is another fascinating, and exciting adventure for the up-and-coming sleuth. Good: I enjoyed this book. Victorian England, along with post Civil War America, made two great settings for the story. The detail that the author gave to period clothing, machinery, food, transportation, and events really kept the in my mind" playing. Bad: I think that more time and background information could have been given in building up the bad guy/villain and then in bringing about his demise. There is quite a lot of time spent on developing other characters. MS - ESSENTIAL  Reviewer: Kevin R. Moray