Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters in Bras Basah

This is a silly, fun series of stories about a Singapore boy named Sherlock Sam, and his friends and relations. Each book, this is the third in the series, tackles one case, in this book, it is trying to find out who is sending threatening letters. Oh, and did I mention that Sherlock has a robot assistant called Watson, that he built himself? And Watson loves to point out what foods will make Sherlock fart?

This series is growing on me. I love finding out about things such as Black Carrot cake, which is neither Carrot, nor Cake. It is a warm dish, and made from dycon radishes. And finding out the literal translation of how people in Singapore refer to Western white people translates to mean "red haired". (Ang Moh). And realizing that Doctor Who is loved world wide.

The mystery is very simple, and adults can probably guess it right away. But along the way, we learn about four-square, and Mexican cooking, and stuff like that. In fact, in the back of the book, we learn how to cook some Mexican dishes, and how to play four-square.

This is a great way to learn about the world, and still have familiar things included along the way. Highly recommend to middle school readers.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Classic Detecting for Middle Graders

This is the third book in the five book Sherlock Sam series, and if anything the books are getting better. We get less of Watson the goofy robot, who never quite worked for me. (He had too many high end capabilities and too much personality for a kid-built robot, which made the first book feel too much like a fantasy.) And, Sherlock Sam isn't such an unnerving eating-machine. (I mean the kid was a gluttonous omnivore in book one.)

Instead, here, we get a solid, interesting kid tracking down the author of some threatening letters. We have real clues and real evidence, fairly set out in the body of the story. The solution is logical, and based on observations and deductions that make sense. It's all a little pat, of course, but that's par for the course in a middle grade detective story. Sam has an excellent crew of friends and helpers, so this has more of a buddy/social feel. We get a lot of local color, (more than you get in most adult mysteries), and we still get a fair sampling of unusual and exotic foods and treats. Indeed, if you look at the glossary of new foreign words at the end of the book you will be surprised by how much new material has been introduced to the reader.

As always, Sam is good company and impresses as a bright but normal everyman kid detective hero. Again, as in other volumes, adults are interested in the case, reasonable and supportive. There's no phony angst here, or odd drama, or unsettling changes in tone or topic. What you get is an alert, resourceful kid and his pals solving a mystery, and then having dessert. Not a bad recipe at all for fun reading.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

Another good book from the Sherlock Sam series. The story was interesting. I liked the glossary and the activities at the end.

Ten-year-old Samuel Tan Cher Lock has an alias. In most respects, he's a normal kid. He goes to school, fights with his sister, and loves to eat. But when there is a puzzle to solve, his skill in figuring out the right questions to ask to get to the answer have earned him the nickname Sherlock Sam. And when a classmate in his new international school starts receiving sinister letters, it's time for Sherlock Sam, his best-robot-buddy Watson, and his team of fellow junior crime-fighters (aka The Supper Club) to step in and find out what's going on. 

Set in Singapore, Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters in Bras Basah is a middle-grade Sherlck Holmes story with a modern update and an international flavor. Author A.J. Low (actually, a husband and wife writing team) takes readers on a tour of Singapore--introducing the culture, popular locations, and cuisine--without hitting them over the head with obvious lessons. Sherlock Sam and his crew are smart without being pretentious, clever without being encyclopedic, and interesting without being forceful. This story is just a charming middle grade mystery to delight young and old. 

Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters is the third in the series (after Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong and Sherlock Sam and the Ghostly Moans in Fort Canning). I've enjoyed this one so much, now I have to go back and start over from the beginning. If you have middle grade readers, I suggest you encourage them to give Sherlock Sam a try. 



Galleys for Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters in Bras Basah were provided by the publisher through NetGalley.com.

The third adventure of ten-year-old Sherlock Sam - "Singapore's Greatest Kid Detective" - and his robot sidekick Watson begins when family friend Officer Siva of the Singapore Police seeks Sam's help in finding out who has been sending sinister letters to his friend Fidel. Fidel Alvarado is a prominent children's book writer in Singapore, with a son named Luis who attends an international school, and through Luis (who thinks it's all part of a Chain Mail game), someone is sending Fidel vaguely threatening missives implying that if he continues writing, Luis might be in danger - setting up Sherlock and his friends for a one-week, sort of undercover mission to Luis's school, where the kid detective works with his friends to find clues and set a trap for the letter writer. Every new Sherlock Sam book, for me, is like stepping into a time machine and going back to my childhood days of Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown and the reason I fell in love with reading in the first place. Always multicultural, in this story young readers will even learn something of Mexican food, customs and culture, as well as the ongoing themes that each book has of friendship and loyalty, embracing and exploring the differences between people instead of fearing or rejecting them (especially important in today's climate), and of course that good guys win and justice is served. The mystery is actually done quite well here, too, with Sherlock and company logically following one clue to the other to figure out whodunnit. Add some genuine heart and humor, along with the wonderful Saturday morning cartoon-like illustrations of Andrew "Drewscape" Tan, and all I can say is I hope this series never, ever ends. As always, a glossary in the back also helps young readers with some of the words and phrases used in the novel, teaching while entertaining perfectly. 4.5/5 stars

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters in Bras Basah is the third book in A.J. Low’s Sherlock Sam series. Sherlock Sam is a young boy who lives in Singapore and solves mysteries with his friends and robot sidekick. In this book, Sam and his friends participate in an exchange program and spend a week attending an international school. This coincides with Sam being tasked with finding out who is sending threatening letters to an author via his son who attends the international school.
Of course, the island is in the middle of a chain mail letter game, so it seems almost impossible to figure out who is sending the threatening letters!

I read the middle grade books I receive with my three daughters who are in the fourth and second grades. They liked this book, and they were especially fond of Watson the robot. We loved that the book was set in Singapore; I’ve read a couple of books set in Singapore, but this was the girls’ first experience reading about Singapore. There’s a helpful glossary at the end of the book for any phrases/terms that readers might not understand.

I would recommend Sherlock Sam and the Sinister Letters in Bras Basah to middle grade readers. This was a satisfying mystery, and we were not able to solve it before Sherlock and his friends. We have not read any of the other books in the Sherlock Sam series, but we are looking forward to reading the other two books, as well as any future books in the series!