The Great Shelby Holmes: Girl Detective

The Great Shelby Holmes: Girl Detective

By Elizabeth Eulberg

7 ratings 8 reviews 13 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 3 - 5n/a4.745677

Sherlock Holmes gets a fun, sweet twist with two irresistible young heroes and black & white illustrations throughout, in this middle grade debut from internationally bestselling YA author Elizabeth Eulberg.

Shelby Holmes is not your average sixth grader. She’s nine years old, barely four feet tall, and the best detective her Harlem neighborhood has ever seen―always using logic and a bit of pluck (which yes, some might call “bossiness”) to solve the toughest crimes.

When eleven-year-old John Watson moves downstairs, Shelby finds something that’s eluded her up till now: a friend. The easy-going John isn’t sure of what to make of Shelby, but he soon finds himself her most-trusted (read: only) partner in a dog-napping case that'll take both their talents to crack.

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
ISBN-13: 9781681190532
ISBN-10: 1681190532
Published on 9/12/2017
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 272

Book Reviews (9)

Add a Rating

This is an amazing book filled with drama so the reader can not put the book down. Shelby Holmes is a smart girl who can solve any case in New York City, her home. Most people there even know her name. But Shelby is different from everybody- so she really does not have any friends even though lots of people know her. So when a new boy settles in town, will she be able to fill in the biggest slot missing in her life; will she make her first friend?

shelby shelby

this is really good book i suggest a whole lot of people read it

The great Shelby Holmes is such a good book. Its about a boy named John Watson and he moved to New York. There he metes Shelby Holmes a smart little girl who can be rude sometimes. When the Lacey’s report a missing dog John and Shelby are up to it. Is it Zareen a jealous older sister.... The dog trainer..... Who nows but Shelby and John are up to it. Along the way John helps Shelby become nicer and Shelby shows John around. When John goes to play ball with some of Zane’s friend Shelby gets on a clue. Will they figure it out? Will daisy the missing dog win the dog show? Who nows. If you want to figure it out read the amazing book the great Shelby Holmes. A great mysteries book for you. I highly RECOMMEND reading this book and you have to read it...... already reading great. I knew you would enjoy it 😉

Amazing book! You have to read it

John Watson is new to New York City. After years of moving around from army base to army base, his mom promises this is now home. But, if the first person he meets in the apartment building is anything like the rest of NY's residents, he might be in trouble! Shelby Holmes is a feisty sixth grader, with no social skills and no apparent friends. But, she also appears to be a detective. Together, the two tackle a dognapping. Along the way, they discover a thing or two about each other and friendship along the way. This is a fun mystery that involves dogs, a pet shop, and even a dog show -- a must read for dog lovers!

11 year old John Watson's parents are divorced, and John and his mom are finally moving for good, to live in a apartment in New York City. Then, shy, laid back John meets bold, bossy, smart, Shelby Holmes, and his life changes. Shelby is a detective, and a good one at that. Shelby is 9 years old and in sixth grade, (she skipped a few years of school). Shelby has a reputation in her neighborhood as a smart detective, and John is impressed by her. But suddenly, a rich family's dog goes missing, and Shelby is on the case! Shelby is competitive with a REAL detective in the case of the missing dog, and John and Shelby are forced to try and prove themselves to the adults. I loved this book so much! Shelby is such a character, and John is so laid back. I love how the key to this story is friendship, and how John becomes Shelby's friend in the end. This book is an amazing realistic fiction book that both boys and girls will love.I hope that you like this book as much as I did!

The Great Sherlock Holmes- wait, did I say Sherlock? No, I meant The Great Shelby Holmes… there so analogous in personalities, I almost confused myself! Okay… maybe I’m a bit exaggerating, after all she doesn’t smoke a pipe like Sherlock, but Detective Shelby is best of the best… Did I tell you that she’s nine and is in sixth grade! Although she may be someone one would want to underestimate.. I REPEAT: Do not underestimate Detective Shelby (trust me on that one)... Meet Dr. John Hamish Watson- aww man I did it again! I meant John Watson…. Sherlock Holmes’s friend and associate… AGAIN, I got myself carried away… Anyways, John Watson is the kid who moves near Shelby’s home- sure the way I talk about him seems unimportant… but John and Shelby are the true key in order to solving a case… well… any case. The thing is Shelby never had any friends… and she would one aloof duck… but it’s would okay because she would always be engrossed in solving mysteries and pissing off incompetent detectives adults like Inspector G. Lestrade… oops I meant Detective Lestrade(except Inspector Lestrade can be more respected instead of Detective Lestrade- you’ll realize why), but it makes complete sense… Detective Lestrade is incompetent, very immature (I would have mistaken her for a nine year old instead of an adult) Anyways, Shelby shows John around the vicinity and John speculates how Shelby is a celebrity (well, sort of), everybody acknowledges her and asks if she wants something… One day when Shelby was “walking” John, Tamra— a student from The Academy— was in a dire need of help… Her show dog, Daisy, was missing! So on they go to their “perilous” journey. So as Shelby and John observes around Tamra’s opulent home, they come across Zareen and her dog and Zane. They actually come across a lot of suspects, but not that many evidence… Uh oh! Could it be Zareen because she’s jealous of Tamra and she wants all the attention.. Or could it be the dog trainer, Emerson, who was caught in a lie? Oh, could it be Tamra who did it to go to Paris with her sister? . Wait we’re not at that part yet… Anyways John feels bad because he thinks he’s using Shelby to make “actual friends” like Zane, who can “play ball” like Watson (sorry, I’m just testing out the nickname Shelby has for John which is Watson)... As they looked through the evidence and the “crime scene,” so many elements come in play which is why it’s so hard to find the culprit- but not to Shelby and John. While John was playing pickup basketball with Zane and his friends, they obtained a lead! DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN… Could this be the breaking point and are they going to find the culprit? So this story was such a fun break from reading depressing short stories… I was completely shocked about who did it… I really liked the overall message and the content itself.. It really reminded me of Friday Barnes- a book- I REALLY RECOMMEND… And it all comes down to this: what everybody needs is a true friend. For people who enjoy solving mysteries, Sherlock Holmes, and reading about friendship, this book is for you! Hope you read this amazing, mysterious, adventurous, and suspenseful book… because it WILL keep you up! Enjoy!

When John Watson, whose grown up on military posts for most of his life, moves to New York City, he awkwardly meets a small, antisocial but very observant young girl named Shelby. Shelby shows him around town, and shows him how famous she is in the neighborhood due to her detective skills. She and Watson are called to a local rich family, the Lacy's, and are instructed to help find their missing dog. Who took it, Tamra, the owner, for attention. Perhaps one of her twins out of jealousy? Or maybe it was the dog trainer? This book was a really good but juvenile mystery book. Shelby starts out as a rude, insensitive, and a loner, but Watson tries to become her friend anyway. If you like a good mystery, with many Sherlock Holmes references, this is the book for you.

When John Watson's mother gets out of the military and divorces his dad she decides to move them to New York City. Soon the landlady introduces him to Shelby Holmes, his new neighbor. Right away when Watson meets her he realizes she is quirky, but she seems to be a popular with everyone around the neighborhood. Shelby is an extraordinary girl. She is nine years old, but going into 6th grade. And she also happens to be a to be an amazing detective. She uses amazing deduction and logic skills along with a little bit of bossiness to solve her cases. But Shelby's toughest case may be when John Watson (who she same nicknames Watson) moves into town, and wants to be her friend. Together they try to solve a case involving a missing prize dog named Daisy. Daisy, the precious dog owned by a schoolmate of Shelby's, has disappeared into the night, and from the clues it appears to be an inside job. But who napped the dog? And will the pair be able to find Daisy before the competition arrives, and before the dog's family breaks apart. One thing I like about this book is that it is told from Watson's point of view. Since it is not told from Shelby's point of view, we don't read what she is thinking, so we are also guessing. We never know what is going to happen next, there are many twists and turns. I recommend this book to elementary and middle school kids, especially mystery lovers.