| Title | : | The Future Door (No Place Like Holmes, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1400317304 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781400317301 |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 224 |
| Publication | : | First published December 6, 2011 |
When Sherlock Holmes moves out of Baker Street, a new tenant moves in'a mysterious woman named Elizabeth who has long been a fan of Holmes. When she discovers that Griffin and his uncle are also detectives, she becomes very friendly. So when Elizabeth goes missing along with a special invention, Griffin sets out to rescue her. But finding Elizabeth will take them on a race against the clock that bends time itself!
The Future Door (No Place Like Holmes, #2) Reviews
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Good...but pales in comparison to the first one.
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The second in a kid's mystery series that combines steampunk and Sherlock Holmes. Griffin and his uncle have raced home to see what has happened to his parents only to almost be killed as soon as they've arrived. Why? The answer lies back in London and may lead to the end of the world as we know it. I was enjoy this book despite some over writing until I hit the climax which was a cheap way to end things. Not a bad book, but a disappointing finish.
Read my full review at
Carstairs Considers. -
The Future Door is actually the second book in a series. Normally I would go and read the first book first, but I had this sent to me by Amazon Vine for review so I decided I'd jump right in rather than seeking out the first book. I hadn't read the first book but recognizing that it is aimed at a younger "middle grade" audience I hoped it would either work as a stand alone or give me enough details to catch me up if I needed material from book 1.
The concept sounded fun. The overall series is about a young boy, Griffin Sharpe, who is living with his Uncle Rupert in London…but not just anywhere in London. Rupert lives in apartment 221 A on Baker Street, right next door to Sherlock Holmes. Rupert is a much less successful detective than Holmes but he is very passionate and competitive and hopes to be as famous as Holmes. He has a knack for inventions and he's created a wide assortment of inventions to help him in his sleuthing. The inventions are pretty amazing and frankly should make him more famous than his detective abilities…but that's not what he's after.
Fortunately young Griffin is a much better detective than his uncle. Griffin has the innate hyper-observant abilities we've seen and loved in Sherlock Holmes stories over the years. He is critically aware of his surroundings. He's able to quickly identify nuances and discrepancies that escape the notice of casual observers. In other words, he's Sherlock Holmes in young-boy form.
Apparently in the first book Griffin and Rupert work to solve a mystery involving the Moriarty family. To keep the dynamic balanced, the famous Professor Moriarty also has a young counterpart about Griffin's age. Since I haven't read the first book, I'm not entirely sure of what happened, but what quickly becomes clear is that the Moriartys recognize the skill and persistence of Griffin and his uncle and intend to keep them "out of the way." Furthermore, they've recognized the inventive skills of Rupert and have their eye on one of his inventions in particular. As the title might suggest, "Time" (with a capital "T") plays a factor in this book. Rupert has invented (but not perfected) a Time Machine…and the Moriartys want it.
Because this is a mystery novel, I don't want to give away anything more about the plot. It is aimed at kids but I still found it fun and engaging as an adult. There were still twists and turns to be had that left me wondering what might happen as the story progressed. The author did a good job of handling the paradoxes and intricacies of time travel (which can certainly be problematic) without being either too confusing or too simplistic…either of which was possible. I thought the way the "Future" was presented was interesting and humorous, albeit a little cheesy and tongue in cheek at times.
One thing I found interesting when I received the book is that it was (according to an insert) subcategorized not only into mystery and children's fiction, but also into "religious" fiction. This was definitely not off-putting to me, but it made me curious and so as I read, I kept an eye out for religious elements. As it turned out, I didn't need Holmes-like scrutiny to find them, but I also acknowledge that the religious nature was not terribly overt.
Griffin is the son of a Methodist preacher and as such he speaks and acts like the good son of a preacher might…there are moments when Griffin is in a jam for one reason or another and in a single sentence or two he whispers a brief (but not formal) prayer to God for help. He also has a couple of very short comments on the morality and mortality of characters in the book. Each of these instances were casual and simple and could be glossed over without thinking much of anything about religion. There was only one small scene where religion was explicitly and specifically on display…when in the Future, Griffin finds a Bible and opens to one of his favorite verses of scripture which states that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Griffin comments that any future that still has God can't be all bad. The scene was short and was handled very well. It didn't attempt to preach or rebuke in any way, but it did acknowledge the nature of God and the nature of the world. I felt like it was well done…but any anti-religionists may want to be warned. ;-)
Semi-related to the small religious aspects of the book, I can also say that this book is very well suited for a young audience. Even though it is a mystery (with theft, violence and murder) I dare say the book is "wholesome" and very child friendly. Any actual violence happens "off-page" and is tactfully presented in a way to propel the story and the tension without being problematic for younger readers. The language is also very child appropriate which I appreciated.
Overall I found this book to be a lot of fun. It vaguely reminded me of Encyclopedia Brown or the Three Investigators mysteries that I read back in grade school. The world of Baker Street and London was familiar, yet unique. The mystery and adventure were well paced and entertaining. Now I need to go back and read the first book in the series and keep my eye out for a possible third book. I also need to get my kids to read this one. I'm sure they'll enjoy it.
****
3.5 out of 5 stars -
Sherlock Holmes is a crime solving legend to those who have read the Arthur Conan Doyle stories and watched the old tv shows and films. But with his exploits slowly fading into the literary past, what about the younger generation? Will they never get to experience the brilliance of the world’s greatest detective? Thankfully, Jason Lethcoe has brought Sherlock Holmes to the realms of juvenile literature with the series, No Place Like Holmes. A charming combination of history, adventure, and subtly presented Biblical principles, makes it a worthwhile read.
Volume number two of the series is titled The Future Door, and for you to jump part way into the series, let me bring you up to speed on the world you are about to enter. Sherlock Holmes (resident of 221B Baker Street) has for a neighbor Rupert Snodgrass (resident of 221A Baker Street), an amateur detective and inventor who has always resented Sherlock’s fame and his own lack of it. The main character of these stories is the twelve year old Griffin Sharpe, the nephew of Rupert Snodgrass. Griffin Sharpe is a detective with a Sherlock-like skill to notice details and put together the stories of what really happened.
Book two picks up with Griffin returning home to Boson after visiting his Uncle Rupert Snodgrass and saving the world in book one. But they are not done with adventures yet because one of the most recent inventions his uncle has created is a time machine in a tea pot of all things. Moriarty (Sherlock’s arch nemesis) and his equally evil nephew Nigel are out to get the time traveling tea pot and bring down the now retired Sherlock, and let evil reign the earth. They steal the tea pot and use information gathered from the future to kill Sherlock Holmes in the present. Can Griffin Sharpe and Rupert Snodgrass save time as we know it, and reverse Sherlock Holmes dreadful murder?
A great adventure that will appeal to both boys and girls, The Future Door is a read which your kids will not want to miss not just for the high speed excitement of saving the world, but also for the love of Sherlock Holmes begin transferred to the next generation.
The Future Door (No Place Like Holmes vol. 2) by Jason Lethcoe is a complementary book I received via BookSneeze. For links, cover images, and more, check out booksneeze dot com. -
The author's notes are amusing, as they tell the story like it was true. All the things he says Griffin did, however, seem slightly less believable. ;) As sequels go, I liked this very much. Most sequels don't seem to turn out very good (or maybe I'm just thinking of movies;)) but this one was done well.
There are many times when Mr. Lethcoe keeps repeating what 'amazing observational skills' Griffin has. This takes away from the 'real' feeling of the story, because if it were a real tale, he wouldn't have to remind us. Where it isn't spelled out, we can see for ourselves how unusual Griffin is. Just a pet peeve of mine. :)
The time story is pretty brilliant..I did get a little bit annoyed at all the paradoxes they were causing, but then, I'm a Whovian. xD Since time-travel isn't real, and this was a completely different fiction than Doctor Who, I think you can make it believable.
[*spoiler alert*] really the only problem I have with the time travel pot was when Nigel returned from the bookstore, he still had his 'tea pot'. Since he had known Griffin and his uncle were about to steal the device in his present day, he would have set a trap that prevented them from being successful. They never would have acquired the machine in the first place. Which maybe you could find a way around, but it doesn't say that Nigel took _any_ precautions. I didn't like that loose end. [/*end spoilers*]
With all these problems, you'd think I'd rate it less than the original book, book 1. But the plot was again compelling, and I fell in the love with the characters again (platonic love, not fangirl love >>). So still Four out of Five. :)
On a final note, this book had quite a bit of violence throughout, as opposed (and in contrast) to the short violence* that occurred only at the end of book one. Torture is referenced, and poison is one of the reacquiring problems. Fine for me, but I'm not sure if I would have given it to my 13-year-old self (since we're talking about time travel). :) Just something to check on.
*by violence, I'm basically referring to blood wounds and such. For instance, wrestling or being stalked wouldn't count as the 'violence' I refer to in this summary. -
FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.
The Future Door (No Place Like Holmes Volume 2) by Jason Lethcoe
From the back of the book:
Griffin Sharpe and his uncle Rupert Snodgrass are fast on their way to becoming the most secret and skilled detectives in London since Sherlock Holmes' retirement. Griffin's unique ability to notice everything combined with his uncle's fabulous inventions make them an unbeatable team -- until Rupert's time travel device is stolen by the Moriartys and they way their future begin to unravel.
Now Griffin and Rupert must race to find the time machine and attempt to undo the damage their enemies have done. As the future, past, and present come together, it will take Griffin's faith and inventive thinking and his uncle's mechanical genius to save London and their future selves.
I love the original Sherlock Holmes stories and most books that are related to Holmes. That's why I signed up for a copy of this book. I'm glad I did.
What I liked about the book: It's a mystery. It's a fantasy. It has a spiritual aspect that compliments the story without being overwhelming. it's a quick read. There are just so many things to like about this book. The story is well written and the characters are well developed. I liked Griffin right away. He certainly reminds me of a young Sherlock Holmes. I even liked crochety old Uncle Rupert. This is the second book in the series. I have not yet read the first one, but I was able to follow the story easily. I enjoyed this one so much I've already requested a copy of the first book from the library. Young readers that enjoy mystery and fantasy (time travel, futuristic inventions) will enjoy this book. I highly recommend this story for not only young readers who like mysteries, but adults as well.
What I didn't like about the book: I liked it all.
Recommended for 3rd grade and up.
AR Level: (Not an AR Book as of 1/1/12)
Mrs. Archer's rating: 5 of 5 -
I received my copy of The Future Door for free from
www.Booksneeze.com which is a great resource offering bloggers the chance to read books free in exchange for their honest reviews. Check it out everyone!
So I was browsing the selection of available print books on the website and since I am trying to read some YA/Children’s books in order to recommend them to my niece and nephew I decided that this is the one I wanted to try.
I was skeptical at first because I have read other YA books that were dealing with a child sleuth and sometimes…it feels like the author was trying far too hard to make the main character seem witty and we all know that when an author tries too hard things can go bad. Very bad. Good thing for me though it seems that I picked a good book to review. I say this despite of it being Volume 2 in the series and I have not read the first volume I found it easy to follow and I plan on reading volume one soon.
I absolutely adored Griffin! I love how serious he was but still managed to have moments when I was reminded that he was still a kid, despite being a genius. I loved how passionate he was when dealing with the Moriarties! I also loved his uncle Rupert though I like Griffin believe that he should have gotten more credit for inventions. Plus having Toby Sherlock Holmes’s dog in the book gave it extra brownie points for me. I love how the author Jason Lethcoe added humour into this book. It gave it a nice touch. I found it to be a great book for kids and adults and highly recommend it to everyone. In fact I think I may be passing my copy on to my nephew for Christmas time. I hope the series continues because I would love to read more of Griffin’s adventures. -
THE FUTURE DOOR by Jason Lethcoe is the 2nd story revolving around Sherlock Holmes neighbor, the mechanical genius (detective wanna be) Rupert Snodgrass and his 12 year old nephew Griffin Sharpe. Griffin, although just 12, has the unique (Sherlock Holmes style) ability to observe even the minutest details surrounding him, while Snodgrass is always trying to invent something that will enable him to become a famous detective. In this story Rubert Snodgrass invents a time machine.
Sherlock Holmes has moved from 221 Baker Street to Sussex to live a quite life of retirement and a mysterious, precocious woman, Charlotte Pepper presses Mrs.Hudson into renting her Sherlock's former residence.
The time machine is stolen, Charlotte disappears and the evil Moriartys are most certainly involved and this begins the time bending adventure where Snodgrass and Griffin must save London from Moriarty and his henchmen.
This book would be a great read for 8 -12 yr olds or for a family to read together. It's entertaining to read about Snodgrasses inventions and also to watch Griffin as his keen mind works.
At the end of the book, there are questions (to see how much your child was paying attention...teehee...)and even instructions on how to properly make a British pot of tea. I would recommend this book and give it a 4 star rating!
I received this book for review from Thomas Nelson Publishing. The opinions expressed are mine. If you are interested in purchasing this book, please visit:
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/... -
"The Future Door", by Jason Lethcoe, is the second in a series written and directed towards the younger teenage reading group. As I did not read the first in the series, I had to learn the characters from the start, which was not a problem in the least. Lethcoe has a knack for reaching the younger mind and I'm sure that this selection will be a hit with the reader group.
The main character, Griffen Sharpe, is a young man around the age of 10 to 12 years who has a gift of being able to remember everything he sees. This helps him discover many clues which in turn assist both his uncle, Rupert Snodgrass and himself solve crimes. In the spirit of Sherlock Holmes, which by the way is one of Griffen's favorite detective's, both Griffen and Rupert go about their business of solving crimes.
In this selection, Rupert has invented a Time Machine, in the shape of a Tea Pot, and as you can imagine, this Time Machine will come into play with the story. Following Griffen and Rupert back and forth through time in order to solve crimes and right the wrongs committed by their arch enemy the Moriarty's is a wonderful way to escape for both young and old alike.
I'd like to thank BookSneeze/Thomas Nelson Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this latest selection by Jason Lethcoe. "The Future Door" is sure to be a Best Seller. It is refreshing to see that there are some authors out there who are willing to write literature that is both fun and meaningful. -
This was the second book in the No Place Like Holmes series. It was a better book in some ways, but in other ways, it was not quite as good.
This book has some quite far-fetched ideas .
Under the wide branch of fiction/fantasy, this is totally fine, but the author's notes leave the impression that this is based in some form of truth. Even if this is meant as a fictional author's note, it does lose credibility of the story telling. I do understand that Sherlock Holmes is fictional, but the guise of how the entire story is fit together makes it seem like it is trying to be an accurate re-telling of truth.
I enjoyed the fact that this story seemed to flow better from beginning to end, with less jumps in story telling to add in Christian elements. This time when elements of faith were added, they were more natural and added to the story rather than stood out.
Overall, I give the book 2 stars (would have preferred to give it 2.5 stars). I did enjoy the writing style as it was very easy to read and would be well suited to the middle-grade level, but the story did not overwhelm me and wrap me up in it. -
For me this was just an okay read. I have tried to put the story in the context of the characters, but again I didn’t think it was all that believable. But, I am not so sure that the believability matters. After all, how believable is Sherlock Holmes (I say that as a huge Holmes fan.) Again, this was a fun and light read. If you don’t think about it too much then you’ll definitely enjoy it.
I like the dynamics between Griffin and Snodgrass a lot more in this book than in the first. I was not at all shocked to discover that the ending in No Place Like Holmes was a set up for the story here. It’s an adventure for Griffin and Snodgrass, and one that holds many challenges for the duo. Maybe I was not the best fit for this read, but I do think this is perfect reading for middle graders.
I received this book for review from the Booksneeze book blogger program, free, in exchange for my honest review. -
Reviewed at:
Over A Cuppa Tea
Review date: 18 Jan 2012
Review link:
http://cleffairy.com/?p=6619
This is the second time I read Jason Lethcoe’s book. The first one was ‘No Place Like Holmes’ and I must say that this book does not disappoint. I absolutely love this book and I enjoyed it as much as the precedessor.
There’s so much to be discovered in this book and I couldn’t get the mystery out of my head when I read this book. Absolutely page-turning and I wouldn’t mind reading this book again and again in the near future.
I highly recommends this book to those who loves a good juvenile mystery with plenty of moral story. Suitable for young children and teens. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. -
For children's fiction written about Sherlock Holmes, I'm impressed. This book presented so much adventure, it can keep anyone intrigued. Above all, I'm stunned with how well the author inserts little tidbits about young Griffin's life as a Christian. It seems so effortless, and I wonder why other authors cannot achieve the same level of presenting true Christian children in their stories.
"The Future Door" had me hooked. I don't think I'm giving anything away by saying that my favorite parts happened when Griffin took a leap through time and landed in modern day. I was tickled so many times by the "discoveries" Griffin made as he adjusted to the everyday life we live in. It was hilarious and it just kept going. Loved the book!
Mr. Lethcoe, please write more books for this series! -
It was.. kind of disappointing. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, and was looking forward to reading the second, but it was so dark feeling-I mean, there was a bit of creepy-ness with Moriarty, that I didn't care for, and his future self was so sad. It had its good spots, but I don't know that I really want to re-read this one. I prefer to keep my memories of the first one unspoiled. :)
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This second book in this series is much like the first, earnest but engaging, pious but not overly so. It was a quick and enjoyable read for the most part but it felt a little thin to be honest. As if some of the creativity had leaked out of the hook the second time around.
Then again, the young folks reading this series might not expect the depth and complexity I do. -
Great story lots of action and excitement. I loved the steam punk elements. The time travel parts got a little confusing but then it's been handled worse.
My favorite part though was the message at the end of the book. It's not something that shows up in children's book very often. -
An enjoyable, and what appears to be the last, Griffin Sharpe/Rupert Snodgrass mystery. All the inventions mentioned here were fun and added to the 'steampunk' feel to the story.
And, we get a glimpse of Holmes and Watson in this story, rather than a mention.
Sadly, I don't see any further adventures but this story seemed to wrap things up nicely. -
a brilliant ending to this two parter book.
the characters and plot line make it an easy and quick read.
love the hint of God quotes from Griffin along the way as he looks inwardly at his uncle.
have a feeling there will be more of these... ;) -
I enjoyed reading this book and hope you will too.
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still an enjoyable series. age appropriate for its target audience and a fun and quick read for parents and kids alike.
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Pretty enjoyable. Luke loved the story, and asked for extra read aloud time to finish it.
