Sherlock Bones and the Mischief in Manhattan

Sherlock Bones Puzzle Quest #5

by Tim Collins, John Bigwood (illustrator)

Bones and Catson are visiting New York when the local police chief tracks them down. She explains that the city is being terrorised by a mysterious masked villain who is threatening the police with chaos if they don’t solve his riddles. The officers are struggling, and it’s lucky for them that the world’s greatest puzzle experts are in town. After thwarting a fiendish plot in Manhattan, Bones and Catson are hot on the heels of the mysterious criminal, on a chase that will take them to Niagara Falls and across the faces of the great dog presidents on Mount Ruffmore.

But there’s a greater mystery to solve while all this is going on. Who is the villain? And how can they unmask them?

Genres: Childrens

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 24, 2024

Reviews

[Aneliya Petrunova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book about the world's greatest detective Sherlock Bones and Dr. Jane Catson. This time the story is set in the US and Catson takes a much more active part in the solving of the case - a welcome change in my opinion.

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.


I was so excited to see this book up on Netgalley, of course I clicked request and then the praying/hoping began. And my wish was fulfilled! I could read the book! dances Now I just need to read Books 3 and 4 and then I am all up to date again~

💖 I am sorry but I laughed so much at how Bones was just NOT amused with the first case and how he kept mentioning it. Seriously guys, next time just call him for a big grand puzzle, not something simple.
💖 The Puzzle (who I read as Puzzler) was such a fun villain and I love how they, like the Riddler in Batman, talked in riddles! The riddles were fun and some I figured out myself which is always something I love. Plus, their schemes were pretty spot-on, though I am not sure how I felt about one dog poisoning other dogs with chocolate. Then again, they were a villain, and villains don’t care. It was exciting to read and see our characters go from one place to another trying to save the city and catch the Puzzle.
💖 Jose and Pearl were such fun additions to the cast and I loved how they tried everything to help Bones and Catson in the quest to get the Puzzle!
💖 The chase at the end which led us away from NY and all through the states. That was just so exciting!
💖 The culprits in the end and who it turned out to be! I definitely hadn’t expected THAT animal, but thinking back.. it does fit! It was quite exciting how everyone was gathered and what happened next.
💖 AND OMG THAT ENDING! I was kinda hoping something exciting would happen given something we learned early on, but I hadn’t expected any more and so this was a part that made me applaud so much. Go Bones!
💖 Once again, I am normally not a big fan of the real Sherlock Holmes, but I do like this version of him. He is still a bit obstinate, but less so.
💖 Catson was just so cool in this one. She did all sorts of kick-ass stuff that most wouldn’t dare to dream doing. Like jumping on parade balloons to get to a villain!
💖 The various animal-puns for landmarks and stuff we know in our world. Like the Catue of Liberty, Houdogni, Niagrowl Falls, and others. I just loved it. So creative and fun~
💖 The puzzles. They still didn’t entirely work for me as they came in the middle of the story, but I still loved doing them when I could. The variety of them is so fun. You got maps, jigsaw-esque puzzles, differences, pairs, and more. It definitely adds an extra dimension to the story.
💖 I love that this one took place mostly in New York!
💖 The illustrations were fab again! The style is just so much fun.

All in all, this was an exciting and superfun volume in the series and I cannot wait to see what is next for Bones and Catson! I would definitely recommend this series to everyone!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A junior thriller set in New York, where the British Catson and Bones are starting out a little dismissive of their own previous case, but immediately finding themselves in the heart of another. A super-villain is spreading mischief, and – almost as if someone in Batman had done this kind of thing before – spraying riddles and clues around the place to tease the police while finding joy in their criminality. Can they save the day, and solve all that is in front of them – and on that subject, can we?

This is a teaser featuring teasers – there are well over two dozen puzzle pages for us to do at some point. The book handily suggests the idea of saving them til afterwards, which is good as they're based on the story but only divert us from the narrative. (They also make sure that libraries like my local branch will never knowingly buy a copy of these books, and stick to the audio versions, for fear of the answers being inked in, but that's a different issue.) There are also teasers in the way of the baddie's riddles, but these are rather daft in that the reader has absolutely no way of joining in and solving these for her- or himself. You have to be a character in this world and know it as well as the author to prove yourself with these.

But at the same time, you are invited to join in with the puzzles given us, even if we can't join in with the drama ourselves. That does mean this could spend more time in a youngster's hands than the average purchase. It also stands out by having Catson do a lot more than his inspiration ever did in the real Holmes books. But this still isn't fabulous. The fact this is an animal world is crammed into everything – every name, every action, every crime, and the characters almost end up as puppets as a result, so non-human does everything seem. It wants to have its dog biscuits and eat them, too, with Catson's added agency making this too far removed from the Conan Doyle partnership it so obviously wants to riff off. So all told it remains a diversion – something to tease a few little grey cells, to borrow from another detective, but nothing that gives anything much distinction.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading age: 7+. Chief interest age: 7-10.

This is the first of the series I've read and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I read it in one sitting (about 2 hours).

It's a relatively simple story while crediting the child reader with intelligence to solve the puzzles.
The story itself contains riddles that Catson and Bones need to solve, but there are also additional puzzles (search and find, spot the difference, match the shape, solve the maths problem, find the map coordinates, etc) that are not necessary for the story but provide a mental break and distraction for the reader.

I think this would help some children build reading stamina as they are using different brain pathways to solve the puzzles which gives a small break from just reading continuously.

The story itself is a lot of fun with animal puns (pawcuffs instead of handcuffs, Mt Ruffmore instead of Mt Rushmore) and the reader is privy to the same clues as the detectives to solve the crime. This particular story is set in the US and has a lot of US references (place names, Thanksgiving Day parade, etc) which may not mean a lot to some non-US children, but maybe their curiosity will be sparked.

It's a great "starter" series for children who might be dipping their toe into the detective genre for the first time or who already enjoy the junior Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys.

[Rachael Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

How fun! I've never been the first to review a book, to my knowledge but let me take the opportunity to tell you how much I enjoyed this book. It is children's book, so I picked it up with the intent to see if my niece and nephew may enjoy the series as well as to look through the puzzles it has to offer. I will say the story is simple and straight forward.

My personal thought is it does not talk down to children and it does not assume they are less intelligent. The puzzles presented throughout the pages are thoughtful and require a good eye.

A friend of mine has a growing family and I think I will be purchasing this and the other books in the series as a collection to add to her family bookshelf. There is something for everyone within their pages. Plus, it's adorably narrated from Jane Catson's perspective, the cat side-kick of Sherlock Bones. For me, that was the biggest selling point. Let the sleuthing continue!

[Elizabeth Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not this book’s intended audience. This is also the first taste of Sherlock bones that I’ve gotten but all it did was leave me wanting more. The story itself is very straight forward crime solving, no tangents or extraneous activities just follow the clues to solve the mystery. To break that up instead of literary tangents there are puzzles scattered throughout. I love puzzles, and I adore that there were puzzles that were difficult for me to solve. I will absolutely be recommending Sherlock Bones to middle grades puzzlers. It was a fun story fun puzzles and great read for me. The only caveat, and I’m not sure if it’s just a me problem, but there is a math puzzle that doesn’t follow PEMDAS and that could be a problem for readers who think like me, if there are any out there. Anyway, for a grown up kid who loved all their Highlights magazines, this was perfect.

[Kajsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bones and Catson, what a pair! I loved the duo and their dynamic, cuteness overload. The story is so much fun and interesting. It's great for children who reads by themself but it's also a very good book for reading out loud. The puzzles are fun and not too easy, you have to make an effort and have a good eye to solve them. The best part of this book is the illustrations, I would love to have some of those colorized and hanging on my wall.

Thank you NetGalley and Buster Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[Erin Buhr]

the latest in the Sherlock Bones series follows Sherlock and Dr Jane Carson across the United States. They arrive just in time to chase after a masked villain called The Puzzle. These books are called “puzzle adventures” because throughout the book are interspersed a variety of puzzles for the reader. It’s a bit like an activity book imbedded in a mystery book. Readers can find hidden pictures, coordinates for landmarks, match silhouettes and more. For kids around the ages of ages 7-10, who love a good mystery both the detective story and the puzzles are pages of fun.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book in the series that I've read, and I liked it much better than the first, in part because I have realized that the puzzles don't actually add anything to the mystery story itself, so this time through, I just skimmed over them. But for some young readers, they will add a touch of activity to the story. A silly mystery in an alternate world populated by animals. Cartoonish fun for 7-10 year olds.

[Engel Dreizehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Copy...I have to admit it was a fun and funny read with puzzles on the side which the kiddies would enjoy but the ARC copy I was readying didn't exactly format he puzzles in a correct way so that I may properly look at them for solving. Hope this will be fine in the final version.

[Izzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read.it had me guessing who was the bad guy till the end.and the imagery was amazing as well.i love how vivid the details of this series is.hooray for Sherlock bones and n doctor Jane Catson

[Bistra Ivanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Колкото и да харесвам Шаро Холмс и Доктор Котсън, мисля, че трябва да престана да ги чета. С всяка историите стават все по-предв��дими и банални. Мисля, че поредицата отиде там, където почти всяка поредица - комерс и минимална креативност...

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute and well done mystery featuring Sherlock Bones. Lovely illustration,good story.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Margaret Todorova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection❤️