The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait

This book is a mystery set in 1868 in France. It's the forth book in a series, but it works as a standalone novel as well. The main character is a teenaged Sherlock Holmes, and the story shows how he learned to be a detective. I felt like the author did a good job of capturing the personalities of Sherlock and Mycroft as they developed toward the adult characters.

The author has deeply researched this time period. Historical details were woven into the story, bringing the setting and manners alive in my imagination without slowing the pacing. The characters were logical, asked good questions, and followed up on clues. Whodunit and the bad guys were guessable from the clues, and Sherlock's ideas about what had happened and why were confirmed after Sherlock was captured by them. The official detective on the case also played a role in capturing the bad guys. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical mystery.

Another installment of the wonderful series of books about the young Sherlock Holmes- this time the family travels to France - with Sherlock's mother and uncle take the family to visit their her birth country.
Again we are treated to a wonderful story, with mystery and blackmail taking centre stage.
Love this book it adds another layer to a man that theoretical would become Sherlock Holmes from later days.
This book slides in very easily, and the family can be envisage to fit in his family.
Very skillfully written with lots of tension.

Liese Sherwood-Fabre achieved another tour-de-force. Her young Sherlock is even more concerned about his mother than in the previous adventures. The reader, at the beginning of the book, has absolutely no clue where all these concerns are going to lead. This is the real pleasure of this story, it is impossible to guess in advance the ending of the sleuthing, it's great ! This time, the complex world of Paris 1868 is the location described in pertinent details, as usual with Liese Sherwood-Fabre.
I received a copy from NetGalley, all opnions are mine.

Mrs. Holmes has been unsettled for months, but young Sherlock does not know why. The family travels to Paris for the summer, the site of Mrs. Holmes’ childhood. Secrets from her past come to light, threatening the whole family. Will uncovering the truth bring peace of mind, or is it more dangerous than any of them realize?

This was a fun read. I’ve mentioned before that I love interesting tales of Sherlock Holmes as a boy. I love how this series explores the influence of his mother. I really enjoyed how this one builds on the family connection that is briefly mentioned in the original stories.

The details of the era were fun. I enjoyed the descriptions of places and artists. And the mystery was interesting. I liked the twists and turns it took for Sherlock and his family to learn the truth. Constance still is not a favorite, but I was more sympathetic to her in this book.

Definitely my favorite of the series!

I was given an advance copy to give an honest opinion.. Liese Sherwood-Fabre has masterfully taken the character of Sherlock Holmes and has re-imagined how he might have become The sleuth we know him as being..She has written a series of books. I believe Sherlock was 17 in this book book four of the series. Sherlock has finished classes at Eaton. His brother at University the brothers arrive home at the same time having finished finals and as they are putting their bags down they find their mother in a whirlwind telling them to prepare for holiday for the summer in Paris. They garnered she had received word from family that has her current state although she hasn’t been herself since Easter. Which evidently caused by an occurrence in a previous book. I felt like I should have read it first to fully understand everything. This book was so good it could be read as a stand alone but it left me wanting to read more of the author’s works. This book began with the death of a man momma once knew when she lived here in Paris. Her father Her brother, Earnest, lives with them but is happy to keep to himself in his room or workshop. He has come with them on their trip. Sherlock has been able to piece information together to try to figure out what is going one is questions only lead to more potentially deadly trails. In the end they just want to see Paris as a tourist. Yes, I enjoyed the book and would recommend the author’s work. I am going to search her previous works to read them. Thanks to #Net Galley #LieseSherwood-Fabre for the opportunity to read early.

I was awarded a digital copy of “The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait” by Net Galley, the publisher and the author to read and review.

“The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait” is the fourth in a series of adventures of a young Sherlock. In fact, as noted late in the book, he is about fourteen years old at the time of this story; he is coming to realize his special powers of observational deduction, memory and energy.
Sherlock and his family, Father, Selig I wonder if that name is the author’s idea) , mother ,Violette,, brother Mycroft ( stodgy, , somnolent and perpetually hungry as always, are on a vacation trip to Paris. Accompanying them is Violette’s maid/ companion, Constance. In Paris they are to visit an aunt Violette’s sister.
The trip begins very inauspiciously. A blackmail note has been presented to Violette, through her sister: for 500 pounds a lascivious drawing of a young Violette will be handed over. The painter was Gaspard,an artist with whom Violette had a girlish fling. But after the money is given over to Gaspard’s second ( Violette refuses to meet with him) , and as the family leaves for the pension where they are resisting, Gaspard appears. He desperately pleas for forgiveness. A scene follows. As Gaspard leaves, he hands over a wrapped package and crossing the street is run over by a speeding carriage.
The package contains the portrait of the title. On the backing paper are words and numbers and an arcane symbol . So, to completely get into the Holmesian mood, “ the game is afoot!”
It is quite an entertaining game. No spoilers will I reveal but there are codes to decipher. Villains, a secret society, faked paintings and real masterworks make up a fast- moving plot. One learns that Sherlock gets his famous powers directly from his mother’s genes. One also learns quite a bit about his life before “ A Study in Scarlet” . Also of the youthful, romance-in bud with Sherlock and Constance. The author presents the art world of Paris nicely ,filling in the ambiance of the time and place for her captivating story. Very good characterizations, good pacing, and a satisfying climax. As a new reader of the author, I lookin forward to catching up on the previous three novels.
Fully Recommend. Nothing offensive in any way

Set in 1860s Paris, The Adventure of the Purloined Portrait is the fourth in the Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes series, a truly fabulous imagining of Sherlock Holmes as a young man. The writing is so lovely, so evocative...do not worry one whit about it measuring up to his later life. It just works.

Sherlock is a young Eton student who, along with his parents, Uncle Ernest, brother Mycroft and his mother's lady's maid Constance, are off to Paris for the summer where they rent an apartment with interesting...and interested...neighbours. Mrs. Holmes is not herself; she has a past in Paris. Layers of mysteries are peeled away and reveal far more than the Holmes' family could have anticipated. Though clean, it is not fluffy but intelligent, clever and smoothly-written wizardry with several subplots which are knit together gorgeously.

The details are so vivid it is easy to imagine oneself in the thick of things, experiencing crime, sights and sounds and insightful family dynamics. Paris is an enchanting city rich in the arts, some of which are highlighted here and include several real characters, buildings and concepts.

Amongst my favourite aspects are learning more about art in general (Horace Vernet connection), Sherlock's relationships with his mother and Constance coming into her own. The back stories make sense and the vernacular shines. The author's inspirations and research come through in her words. I love that. She also includes video links in the back for opera houses, food and the like for the City of Light. If you are looking for an immersive series which will whisk you away into another world, do read these books.

My sincere thank you to Little Elm Press and NetGalley for the absolute privilege of reading this book which gave me such happiness. I cannot wait to see what Book #5 has in store!

This book is a delightful prequel to the Sherlock Holmes series we all know and love. Even those who have not read the previous books in the Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes series would enjoy themselves reading this novel. This sweeping novel sees Sherlock and his family adventuring through Paris off to solve a mystery connected to their mother’s past. This book is a lot of fun, with evocative writing and an enthralling mystery that you cannot help sinking your teeth into.

Always a lot going on in these stories of Young Sherlock. Getting some background on Sherlock's relatives is also interesting. The mystery always keeps me guessing because so much is going on. I do like the series.

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

The Adventure of the Purlioned Portrait is the fourth book in the series devoted to the early case files of Sherlock Holmes where he is just a teenager and is so far my favourite. The mystery in this book is directly related to Mrs. Holmes past when she was a young woman living in France and involves art theft, forgery, blackmail, kidnapping interspersed with the politics of the country after the first Revolution. To get to the bottom of it, the entire Holmes family, along with Constance and uncle Vernon, visit France.

Full of mystery, adventure, danger and interesting characters, the book is very well paced and well written. Sherlock is no doubt his mother's son sharing both physical looks and personality traits. Constance finally gets a chance to perform on a stage and I am interested to see where her story arc eventually takes her. I still think she could be the 'Irene' of the original stories. An entertaining series for anyone who is interested in Sherlock Holmes.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Little Elm Press and the author Liese Sherwood-Fabre for the e-Arc of the book.

Publication date is 19th April, 2022.