Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong

Awesome new series with an amazingly great character. Fun for adults and kids alike.

My full review is in the link.?

An Appealing Hero and a Decent Mystery in a Colorful and Exotic Setting

Our hero, Samuel Tan Cher Lock, (aka "Sherlock Sam"), is a Korean kid living with his family in Singapore. Together with his robot sidekick, Watson, he follows in the footsteps of his hero Sherlock Holmes and solves crimes in classic logical detective style. This is the first of at least three Sherlock Sam books and it struck me as a promising start to what looks like an interesting elementary/early middle grade classic mystery series.

That said, the book starts out a bit slowly. Sam can't pass by or even think about a food treat or snack without describing it, wanting it, or eating it. That gives rise to lots of local color as Sam describes exotic treats, and it sets up the main mystery, (the disappearance of a family heirloom cookbook), but Sam's constant drooling over food took me right up to the edge. Luckily, the author backs off of that after a bit. Along the same lines, Sam's Dad's absent mindedness, robot Watson's awkward disapproval of Sam, Sam's conflict with his older sister all seemed a bit much at the outset. Again, don't be concerned. All of that just seemed to go along with the authors warming up, and it faded into the background pretty quickly.

What we did end up with was a decent mystery, indeed a perfectly fair classic mystery, which is unusual for an elementary grade level book. No overheard conversations, or odd coincidences, or lucky hunches here - Sam proceeds to collect and analyze evidence, with frequent references to principles like Occam's Razor. I truly believe that even very entry level mysteries, (who stole the class hamster?), should follow the rules, and this book plays fair. Sam even gets to do a big reveal monologue at the end in front of everyone during which he fingers the guilty party, which was a hoot.

And as an added treat, Sam becomes more dimensional and appealing as the book progresses. Robot Watson settles down. Cousin Jimmy and sister Wendy get to help. We end up with a sort of family team effort, which is a nice way to go. Unlike some I didn't see the humor here as "hilarious" or "uproarious". It was mild and gentle and a bit deadpan in an engaging way. Even Watson, as a comic foil, was low key, which sometimes strikes me as the best way to go with young readers anyway.

So, the upshot for me is that this is a fresh, ambitious and slightly off the usual path read for youngsters and a very nice choice for kids with an interest in mysteries or in novel heroes. That's a nice find.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book in exchange for a candid review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

I like that Sherlock Sam is a smart kid, but a normal kid as well. He likes his pastries, and while investigating a missing cookbook, he just says, "Cabbage makes me fart sometimes," to which his robot, which he built by the way, says "many things make your fart"

I have noticed some reviewers complaining about how provincial this story is, how you are to read the appendix to find what local foods and places Sam is talking about in Singapore. I did not find this a problem, because once you get past the part about the words and places being different, Sam is not that much different from any 10 year old boy in West. He adores Batman. He has read Logicomix, and he admire Sherlock Holmes. So what if the pastries he eats have names we are not familiar with?

I decided to check out this book from Netgalley because the seven-year-old is in a robots phase. There's not exactly a plethora of those books to find, so I was delighted to see this. Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom of Katong is a pretty good kids mystery, all things considered. It teaches kids simple problem solving techniques. There wasn't much of a mystery involved, but it's perfect for beginning chapter readers who fancy themselves mini-sleuths .

I liked the smart-mouthed Watson, and the way he interacted with Sherlock. Some of his lines will probably sail over younger kids heads, but older kids and parents will appreciate them. On the other hand, parents need to be careful here. The other characters' (robot included) teasing about Sam's weight and eating habits is a bit bullying. It's fine to read it in a book (to an extent), but impressionable kids might think its okay to do.

Overall, it's a fun, simple story with non-white characters that is a great introduction into mystery/detective stories for young readers. The teasing is a bit much, but with discretion its fine. My seven year old had no problem telling me that saying that stuff to people in 'real life' was not appropriate, even if it was funny to read. We look forward to reading more in this series together.

The first in a pretty long series of detective novels for kids, with a few drawings sprinkled amongst the text.
Every Sherlock—which is almost his real name, close enough for him to insist on it—needs a sidekick, so he builds a talking robot; what could be better, right? His dad blunders in at the wrong time and inadvertently names the robot perfectly.
Besides science and solving crimes, Sherlock’s great passion is food; he’s chubby compared to his older sister, though he’d never admit it. It’s a bit tough understanding all this unknown food, though there is a glossary at the end. All of this leads to more fart jokes than one would expect.
The background is interesting; the writers are Americans who moved to Singapore, which is where the novel is set. There’s plenty of humor, especially from the robot. Sherlock isn’t perfect, thankfully; he just a smarter-than-average kid who learned how to put his nerdiness to good use.
Along with the glossary, mostly of cooking terms, there’s a character study at the end. I’d put the reading age of this around third grade and above.
3.5 pushed to 4/5

Part of what makes me squee in delight is that this takes place in Singapore, which is close enough to Malaysia geographically and culturally for me to relate and not have to keep checking the glossary. It is a cute mystery story with a smart but perpetually hungry kid and his wisecracking robot sidekick. In this first book, Sam invents Watson the robot, who immediately embarks with him to solve the mystery of a missing cookbook while traipsing all over Singapore's food heritage.

I found that there's actually a lot of books in this series already, so congratulations to the authors AJ Low getting picked up by Andrews McMeel!

Cute and funny story that is perfect for kids!

Kids are sure to like this fresh fun series featuring Sherlock Sam.

I am so excited about this series! Living in Southeast Asia, it has been so hard to find books that my kids like that are set in this part of the world! And the fact that this is a Sherlock Holmes spin-off is just fabulous since we are all mystery lovers! I can't wait to read them all!

Straight up, I love Sherlock Sam. Almost immediately, this book reminded me of the Encyclopedia Brown books I devoured as a kid (though this is a full-length book, as opposed to a collection of short mysteries) - and if this first-in-the-series is any indication, Sherlock Sam is just as deserving of as much fame and attention from fans around the world. The story: Samuel Tan Cher Lock (aka Sherlock Sam), lover of maths and mysteries, is a stocky/slightly chunky young boy in Singapore who, along with his newly-created (and often sarcastic) robot named Watson, fancies himself a detective ... who soon gets his first case when Auntie Kim Lian's heirloom cookbook, in her family for generations, disappears. Following clues and logic with equal measure, Sherlock Sam and Watson - along with Sam's sister Wendy and his schoolmate Jimmy - set out to find the precious heirloom so Auntie Kim Lian can keep making the delicious dishes Sam so loves to eat. The mystery and Sam's detection are logical and easy for young readers to follow along with, and the book's cast of characters are easy to like. The fact the books are to be set in Singapore, with an Asian lead/characters populating them, was a first for this reader and hugely appreciated; there's even an index in the back, complete with definitions, for words and phrases (English or not) used in the book, educating the reader about a different culture and customs, as well. A warm, welcomed and lighthearted addition to the children's section of any bookstore. ****1/2

Note: I received a free ARC of this title via NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

'Sherlock Sam and the Missing Heirloom in Katong' by A.J. Low and Felicia Low with art by Drewscape is a fun new young reader series that introduces a smart young man who likes to solve mysteries.

Sherlock Sam lives in Singapore. His name is similar to Sherlock Holmes, so that is one of his favorite characters. He also likes to eat, and when his Aunt Lian's family cookbook goes missing, it might mean Sherlock Sam doesn't get his aunt's ayam buah keluak anymore, which is his favorite. Along with his robot sidekick Watson and his family members, he sets out to find the missing cookbook.

I found this a delightful new character and I feel lucky enough to read the second book soon. It's a chapter book with some wonderful illustrations. I loved that the resolution of the mystery wasn't completely obvious. A funny, brave new hero and his loving family made this a win for me.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

Interesting story in nifty artwork. Would highly recommend for kids.