The Beast of Blackslope

The Sherlock Files #2

by Tracy Barrett

Xena and Xander have been looking forward to their vacation in the peaceful country village of Blackslope. But when a huge monster begins to terrorize the town, the young detectives are faced with a mystery that seems impossible to solve.
Sherlock Holmes, Xena and Xander's famous ancestor, investigated the case of a horrible beast in Blackslope, but that was nearly a hundred years ago. It couldn't be the same creature after all this time—could it?

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Audiobook, Young Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published May 12, 2009

About the author

Tracy Barrett has written more than twenty books for children and young adults. She’s much too interested in too many things to stick to one genre, and has published nonfiction as well as historical fiction, mysteries, fantasy, time travel, myth and fairy-tale retellings, and contemporary realistic novels. She knows more about ancient Greece and Rome and the European Middle Ages than anyone really needs to know, can read lots of dead languages, and used to jump out of airplanes.
  Tracy grew up near New York City, and went to college in New England and graduate school in California. She majored in Classics and earned a Ph.D. in Medieval Italian. She was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to study medieval women writers and won the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Work-in-Progress Grant in 2005. She taught Italian and other subjects at Vanderbilt University for almost thirty years. She lives in Tennessee with her 6’7” husband, a rescue cat, and two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Reviews

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a great introduction for grades 3-6 of Sherlock Holmes mysteries. This mystery went unsolved by the famous detective, so his great great grandchildren are tackling the case present day. Fun read with twists and turns.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aw. It's just a good old-fashioned kid detective yarn. Inoffensive and fun. An ample use of red herrings but with enough of a kick to keep things interesting.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frankly, I felt like I was reading a Scooby-Doo story. (And this week's mysterious zombie/werewolf/ghost was really the local innkeeper/schoolteacher/tour guide - shocking, right?) A bit silly. And if Sherlock couldn't solve the mystery that the kids figure out suddenly in the last two pages then he was a really BAD detective. I think it has a good premise, but it all felt really flat. I was glad it was short.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found to be just an OK entry in this series. The kids used logic, lists and intuition to solve the case, which was fine, it just didn't have any 'zing' to the story for me.

Also, this was an unsolved case from Sherlock's book and I find it hard that the master detective could not figure out who the beast was in his time. Nope, just couldn't see it.

[Mara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This installment was certainly more exciting than its predecessor - a story involving scary creatures on midnight moors and family curses always is, compared to finding a long-lost painting. And Tracy Barrett manages to excite goosebumps on her Readers' arms when she describes the Beast's eerie howling. When characters venture out at night, the Reader automatically feels chilled and silently (or loudly, if you're like me) wills the character to return to the safety of the house! It reminded me of the scary parts in the Nancy Drew PC games where you're walking up to the haunted mansion and its dark and rainy, and of course you're playing the game at night with all the lights off, and then something scary pops up on screen and you nearly jump out of you seat. You at least get the chills and feel pleased at being a little scared.

This fun spooky feeling makes up for the areas where the book fell short. The explanation for the mysterious occurrences around Blackslope - both when Sherlock tried to solve it, and when Xander and Xena are solving it - are not surprising, but disappointing and a little lame. And it's mostly because there is, once again, no villains. I hope, hope, hope that at least one villain will make an appearance in Book Three, because if this series continues without any bad-doers, it's going to quickly spiral down to the sorts of mysteries I hated reading when I was little, because what's a good mystery without a bad guy?

Nevertheless, The Beast of Blackslope was a good installment, and pleasant, and I give it a thumbs up.

[Keira · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF
Yeah I know this may seem ridiculous but:
I can handle the Maze Runner type stuff I just have never been one to like monster and scary stories so I have to DNF this because honestly it’s freaking me out. I literally don’t care if anyone actually gets hurt this thing is creepy. 😅
So if you can’t handle anything worse than a few episodes of the BBC’s Sherlock (like the hound of Baskerville which is very similar so far) I do not recommend. [ please note it is not more scary/creepy it is simply just drawn out longer because you have to read it so in effect it can feel worse, oh and the fact that these kids have like no idea what they are doing so are in more danger than Sherlock would be😂]

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in Sherlock files about Xena and Xander Holmes who have inherited Sherlock Holmes notebook of unsolved cases. This second one wasn't as good as the first. While I felt the solution to the modern day mystery was satisfying, the solution to the original Sherlock Holmes era mystery felt tacked on. However, I think that kids who are looking for mysteries will still enjoy it and will be eager to read the next one.

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great mystery for the amateur detectives Xena and Xander Holmes, descendants of the Great Sleuth himself. A beast has returned after decades of an absence, and is bent on terrorizing the town of Blackslope at night. Armed with Sherlock Holmes' notebook of clues he had collected on the beast years ago, this brother and sister duo aim to find out the source of the terrifying creature.

It's a fun read, and I looking forward to checking out the other books in the series.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery with just enough scary, monsters, bad guys, to keep the reader hooked. Each chapter ends with a hook to keep you going.

[CraftyChara · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

[Audrey Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, quick read. Keeps you guessing.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as the first book with clues and twists at every turn of the page. I do wish there would be a bit more of a "conclusion" to the case instead of wrapping it up in 1-2 pages at the end.

[Anders Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series of good old mystery adventure stories! Guess will mostly be enjoyed by people aged 8 upwards.

[Rakayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to audio book. Good, but not the best. The first has the best mystery.

[Georgann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first one a lot better. There were a number of things that bugged me about this one.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in The Sherlock Files mystery series by Tracy Barrett. We listened to the first book narrated aloud and decided to read this book aloud together.

Overall, it was an exciting story, filled with intrigue, puzzles and danger. Xander's photographic memory reminds us of Cam Jansen and we loved listening to the dialogue as they logically thought out the mystery.

It was an engaging story, although I think we enjoyed listening to the first book more (perhaps it was the quality of the narration!) We look forward to the next book: The Case That Time Forgot.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Barrett has proven herself a great Sherlock Holmes fan and has taken up with her two kid detectives Xena and Xander Holmes, descendants of Sherlock Holmes. His Casebook once again comes in handy with all of its notes and drawing and helps them solve the current mystery of the Beast of Blackslope. While on a weeks break and staying at a bed and breakfast, Xena and Xander run into a mysterious howling that happens at odd times and it suddenly scares the townspeople into not talking about the earlier time when the same thing apparently happened. So they must investigate on their own. Great conclusion and very Sherlockian.

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Xena and Xander, descendants of Sherlock Holmes and in possession of his notebook, work to solve his unsolved mysteries. In this book, a howling monster is scaring the town enough that no one is supposed to leave their homes after dark. Xena and Xander, with some pretty good detective work and some help from Sherlock's notebook, figure it all out. Lots of action and adventure all the way through. Late 3rd grade or 4th grade and up, although it would be a good read-aloud for slightly younger kids.

[C.O. Bonham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this is second one in the series I ended up reading it last. I thought that this book was the most like a Scooby-Doo plot line out of all of them. Also the solution to the Hundred year old "Sherlock" case was not a very good one and in fact didn't tie into the "Modern Day" case as well as the other three books did.

Though it might be more interesting to a member of its target audience.

[Darin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great concept but I even have a hard time with thinking that Sherlock Holmes ever left anything unsolved that was then later solved by adolescent brother and sister.(that was what one of my kids stated as well). Nevertheless, my 11 and 9 year old asked if we could get some more of these books, so apparently they enjoyed this one enough to want to keep going. We listened to the audio book version of this one on a long car trip.

[Dawn Oswald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this to my daughter who is a 5th grader and we really enjoyed it. Barrett keeps the reader interested by throwing little twists and turns throughout the plot. This is Barrett's second installment in this series about a sister and brother team of jr. detectives who solve some of the unsolved mysteries left by their relative, Sherlock Holmes. We are anxiously looking forward to reading the next Sherlock File.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot line of two children, Xena and Xander (yes, really.) who are descended from Sherlock Holmes and have inherited a notebook of his unsolved cases. They attempted to crack the cases with their skills.
The ending of this book was a bit rushed and not very conclusive as I could have liked, but it was still well written.

[Sarah Tilatitsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok, because it needs some excitement, for real. It is, basicly, garbage for people 11 years of older. It's not that exciting to me. I mean, it would be at age 8, but now, no thanks. It is boring. So, read this if you're like 11 or younger. Older people, you can read it, but you'll feel something like blah.

[Zoe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second book in a series that we're listening to in the car. Although I'm not engaged or inspired by these books (or their audiobook narrator), I do appreciate the simple plots, and down-to-earth, logical solutions to the mysteries. I think it helps the kids learn that even confusing or scary unknowns in their lives can have logical explanations.

[Azturpealean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book where Xena and Xander are on spring break and they hear an awful howling and find out Sherlock was in Blackscope and they try to solve the case he never solved of the beast of blackscope. I love how the chapters are all cliffhangers! I couldn't put it down.

[Charlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Xena and Xander discover that their ancestor, Sherlock Holmes, had investigated a horrible beast in Blackslope, their vacation in a quiet village becomes spooky. It appears the monster has returned after a hundred years and the two young investigators want to find the truth.

[Elizabeth Qualia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reminded me of Scooby-Doo episodes. Plus I felt the actual "solving" of Sherlock Holmes' cold case was a bit of a cop-out. Reading the second in the series does make me want to pick up my copy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and read the real thing.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Call me crazy, but this one reminds me of a Scooby Doo mystery storyline. Still a great series for kids. If you listen to the audio, this one is done by John Nelson, who is more formal and awkward than David Pittu (did the first audio book in the series).

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute mystery for young kids and those young at heart. Xena and Xander are related to Sherlock Holmes and they have his unsolved case notebook. While on vacation they find themselves in Blackslope, the sight of one of the unsolved cases. The chase is on to discover the beast of Blackslope.