Aged 13 Sherlock is taken out of Eaton because his mother is accused of murdering the town midwife. Sherlock’s mother has complete trust he will find the evidence to exonerate her. Towns-women seem to end up dead and Sherlock has to find out what’s going on.

TheAdventure of the Murdered Midwife (The Early Case Files of Sherlock Homes #1) by LieseSherwood-Fabre is the first installment in The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes and is the story about Sherlock Holmes as a young boy trying to find out why the town midwife was found dead in the Holmes’ back garden and why Sherlock’s mother is imprisoned for it.

The story seems to be based on Sherlock’s childhood memories of what happened. As the original Sherlock Holmes stories were written from 1887 onwards, it might set this story roughly in the beginning of the 1870s at the family estate Underbyrne. Sherlock is brought up as the son of a country squire with a lot of focus on manners and maintaining his family’s status. This seems to influence his decisions a lot.

Elements of Sherlock’s home life seem to explain his skills as an adult. His brother, parents and uncle are all well educated and impressively skilled people interested in research and investigation. In this story Sherlock’s mother, Mrs. Holmes, is in the center of the plot as she is suspected of using her knowledge of herbs for criminal activity.

Main character Sherlock Holmes is 13 in this story. It’s amusing how he gets into the habit of using a spy glass to investigate and starts to wear his special cap, which is actually part of his hunting outfit. He is brought up to “not be seen or heard” when adults talk. I worried throughout the story that this might hold him back when investigating, but he found a way to make it work.

Secondary character Constance Straton is a very poor, but gutsy, pickpocket with serious survival skills. I find it both sad and impressive what she has to do to provide food for her young siblings. She is a nice girl at heart and, in my opinion, a well crafted character and my favorite of this story.

The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by LieseSherwood-Fabre included description of an interesting way to prove Mrs. Holmes’ innocence without the forensics we rely on today. Some seriously gory details was included, but my favorite part of the story nonetheless

I enjoyed TheAdventure of the Murdered Midwife by LieseSherwood-Fabre. I found the plot interesting and exciting. The clues were carefully placed throughout the story and from today’s perspective I found the motive for murder absolutely mind boggling. Exiting to see what other adventures Sherlock Holmes might get up in LieseSherwood-Fabre’s next story.

Readers of crime fiction would enjoy The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre. Other authors to explore might be Leonard Goldberg or Charles Veley.

Thank you to the publisher Little Elm Press and NetGally for the opportunity to share my honest review of The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife by Liese Sherwood-Fabre. All opinions are completely my own.

I’m not the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan in the world, so I can’t precisely judge how Adventure of the Murdered Midwife fits with other works. Even so, I know that any author who dares to use Conan-Doyles’ famed detective must tread lightly. It’s too easy to go astray. Make him too modern and lose authenticity. Keep him too faithful to the original and be, well, completely unoriginal oneself.

But Liese Sherwood-Fabre knows how to walk that tightrope. (I keep wanting to spell her last name SherLOCK-Fabre!) Here, she imagines Sherlock as a young adolescent, not yet fully aware of his own potential. As she does so, she creates a winning, fascinating character who won my respect and sympathy.

Even at 13, Sherlock possesses an analytic mind and a keen eye for details that most people overlook. He’s a detective, even at that young age, and his mother recognizes that he has the ability to snoop around without raising suspicions.

Yet he’s also 13, that awkward age when one is part child and part hormonal teen. When he arrives home from Eton, he often seems lonely when he’s with his seemingly-distant father and intelligent brother. Throw in his first crush on a girl and a prank from Mycroft about human reproduction, and Sherlock begins an awkward sexual awakening that feels innocent and realistic. Throughout the novel, he begins to see the differences in societal gender roles, and his own privilege as a male.

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the dynamics of the Holmes family. Sherlock’s relationship with his mother feels genuine; Violette Holmes won my sympathy almost immediately. Mycroft is Mycroft: cunning, intelligent, and ambitious. Sherlock’s eccentric uncle Ernest, who suffers from PTSD, lives on the Holmes property. He’s his nephew’s ally . . . when he isn’t busy refining a new weapon he swears the army can use.

Sherwood-Fabre does an excellent job developing the relationships between these complicated and oh-so-real characters. There is love here, but that love is threatened, not only by the accusations of murder and real possibility of execution, but by each person’s secrets.

The central mystery of the book doesn’t feel as compelling as it could. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because Sherlock doesn’t really know the murdered midwife. His real desire is to clear the Holmes name by finding the real murderer. It is a legitimate motive, but I never felt any urgency about it. Also, the killer’s motive fell flat for me, despite the author’s best efforts to make it compelling. That was a bit disappointing.

The climatic showdown between the killer and the future detective was exciting, though. It was fun to see how young Sherlock outwits the killer.

However, the writing quality is outstanding. Sherwood-Fabre knows how to create vivid scenes. They feel pitch-perfect in the historical details but simultaneously feeling modern.

Overall, this is a solid work to add to the canon of Sherlock Holmes fiction. I recommend it to any Sherlock fans, as well as historical mystery readers.

4 1/2 stars, rounded up to 5.

Thanks to Little Elm Press and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Note: This will appear on my blog on June 29, 2020

The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife is narrated in the first person by a young teenager we know as Sherlock Holmes. If an author takes another author's beloved character to make a spin-off, is that considered a ding in creativity? The jury is still out, in my opinion. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it just doesn't.

In the case of this book, the story starts with Sherlock, a young teenager, studying at the prestigious Eton College when he learns that his mother has been accused of murdering the village midwife. Holmes and his brother Mycroft return home, and it's now up to young Holmes, to help prove his mother's innocence.

Some things worked well in this book. Sherwood-Fabre captured the beautiful, witty essence of Sherlock Holmes and his complicated relationship with his brother Mycroft. Fans of Conan Doyle's books will quickly recognize Holmes's sharp, logical mind even at a young age. The mystery, however, left much to be desired. The story starts strong, and somehow the mystery becomes too predictable, and the ending fails to yield the sort of excitement you get with Doyle's books.

I still recommend this book for both fans of Sherlock Holmes and fans of this genre. This book is volume one in a series, so there is hope that the stories will develop more with future books

The Adventure of the Murdered Midwife is scheduled to be published on June 30th, 2020. I want to thank BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Fabre’s book is a fantastic addition to the crime fiction that reimagines the life of Sherlock Holmes. In this case Fabre offers a compelling story about Holmes as a young man who is faced with murder and crime within the space of his home and family. The writing is crisp and evocative and expands the world of Sherlock Holmes in a manner befitting Doyle’s original literary output.

Wasn't sure I l would like this book, but it was pretty good. Imaginative and got to actually see a younger Sherlock Holmes.

This was very well done. I enjoyed the dynamic between Sherlock and his mother, and the way his mother worked with and against the mores of her time to serve the women in her community. Would love to have more books focused on her! Would have loved more character development with Sherlock's father and brother. Overall a very solid re-casting of the Holmes crew, with several fresh and interesting dynamics. Can't wait to read more from this author. 4 stars on goodreads.

There are certain fictional characters who capture readers’ imaginations and hearts to such an extent that they long outlive their creator and original format. This is certainly true of Sherlock Holmes who has inspired countless adaptations and revamps. It seems that we just can’t get enough of The World’s Greatest Detective and are happy for new authors to bring fresh twists to the tales.

In this new series Liese Sherwood-Fabre takes us back to Sherlock’s formative years. Sherry (as he is affectionately called by his family) has recently started attending Eton where he has failed to fit in or settle down successfully. As much as he doesn’t really want to be there he is distressed to receive a sudden summons to return home; something sinister has happened but no one will explain. He fears that his mother is gravely ill and is sick with worry until he can pry the real story out of his older brother Mycroft. Their mother is healthy - but sitting in jail accused of a terrible crime. This is how Sherlock is drawn into his very first murder case; with help from the whole formidable Holmes clan and a light-fingered accomplice.

This book is really well-written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s light and engaging, the perfect read during lockdown. The mystery was clever and I really liked the interaction between the different members of the family, Holmes’ fans have met Mycroft before but it was nice to be properly introduced to his parents and uncle Ernest. Constance is an appealing character too, I hope that she will return for future adventures.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

First time I've read this author and I really enjoyed this book. I will be looking forward to finding the others in this series. I like the young Sherlock and his mother. I was able to figure out who did it, just not why.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Young Sherlock Holmes known to his family as Sherry, gets his start as a detective. Readers that have any read any of the Sherlock Holmes series of books, will get insight into his family and into Sherlock, right down to the deerstalker hat. This was a wonderful and charming book. The author knows how to handle a beloved and well well known character and leave the readers wanting more of young Sherlock. I am looking forward to the next book and learning more of Sherry's early life.

How the author is linking anything we know about Sherlock Holmes ( even if we're not experts on the matter) to a pure logical detective story in his childhood is truly amazing. The more you read the book, the more you get involved in the chase.
Young Sherlock gets older in the process of fighting for the truth. the descriptions of action and locations are vivid and never boring. the dialogues are just the perfect length and so natural that you wonder if in fact they are not recorded. This story is an original, precise and wonderfully crafted piece of literature.
I can't wait to read the other books and will encourage anyone to read the adventures of young Sherlock.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. all opinions are mine.

Very clever book. I loved the young Sherlock, learnig his craft from his brilliant mother.

The midwife has been murdered and all signs point to Mrs Holmes, in steps Sherlock (Sherrie) to try to save his mother form the gallows.

Disclosure: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

This book was brilliant. So well written. In short, Sherlock Holmes is 13, and is summoned home from Eaton (where he wasn't having much fun anyway). Mycroft has likewise been summoned home from Oxford. Mother has been accused of murder, and is in gaol. She knows that her sons can help save her.

We see the beginnings of the steel-trap mind that becomes the hallmark of Sherlock Holmes stories (both Conan Doyle and more recent authors). At 13, Sherlock's orderly and logical mind is still forming, but unlike the Flavia de Luce stories, he is less likely to fall into entirely adolescent behaviors. It's like seeing a tableau in miniature....it's all there, just smaller.

This book kept my attention from the first pages. I enjoyed the way the author took us into the society of the time while spinning the story; the relationships between husband and wife, the place of women in society...and of course, the lack of good scientific detective skills among the constabulary.

Even though Sherlock is 13, this is not a children's story. Rather, it's a grown-up well written mystery with a known character and a great cast of characters that is stimulating and riveting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will definitely be seeking out more in the series.

I rarely give 5 star reviews, so you can be sure that if you pick this book up, you may not put it down until you have finished in one go. It's that good.

Loved this book and cant wait for the next in the series. Love sherlock Holmes loved that I was lucky to read the book early

I loved this book!

Liese Sherwood-Fabre has given us an origin story for Sherlock Holmes – or “Sherry,” as his mother calls him. And what a great story she tells. Sherlock is summoned home from his miserable first year at Eton because his mother has been accused of murdering the village midwife. His mother turns to teenage Sherlock for help in freeing her from gaol. She knows that Mycroft, though brilliant, is too theoretical.

As Sherlock collects evidence and interviews witnesses, we see him develop his deductive reasoning. The motifs of the soon-to-be-great detective come into focus. There’s the explanation for the magnifying glass. There’s the deerstalker cap. There’s the poignant backstory for the violin. There’s the grisly and dramatic inquest, in which someone else – of course – takes the credit for Sherlock’s ingenuity. In very exciting scenes, there are the bees.

Making this even richer are the relationships within the Holmes family, the delicately described social and physical environment, and Sherlock’s first love interest, Constance, a resourceful and admirable village girl and pickpocket. Young Sherlock seems like a real teenager – intelligent, awkward, worried, unsure, sensitive, and brave.

I am looking forward to the next book!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyed this book, was very creative how the young Sherlock's early life was depicted to fit some of the trait his later personality. The mystery, whilst very entertaining was a little predictable, but the adventures getting to the end were rather exciting. Good depiction of the era also
All in all the good book which I could not put down.