The soprano's last song

No sooner do teenage sleuths Irene Adler, Sherlock Holmes, and Arséne Lupin reunite in London than the murder of a renowned opera composer's assistant and the subsequent disappearance of a world-famous singer send them out into some shady neighborhoods in search of clues. Adler's narrative, a translation from the Italian, uses some anachronistic language a character is described as ditzy, for instance but readers will enjoy the sometimes quarrelsome trio as it puzzles its way to the truth through double-crosses, sudden attacks, credible clues, red herrings aplenty, a barely prevented second murder, and a developing romantic triangle. Note: author Alessandro Gatti is using the pen name Irene Adler here.--Peters, John Copyright 2014 Booklist

It's fall of 1870 when Irene, Sherlock, and Lupin team up for their second case. This time, they're all in London--the teenage Sherlock's hometown--when an opera composer's assistant is murdered, and Lupin's father is framed for the crime. Despite a handful of inaccuracies (anachronistic and otherwise), the mystery is action packed, and Irene's a feisty, likable narrator, with detective skills to boot. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.