The Mystery of the Yellow Hands

 The Mystery of the Yellow Hands (1995) by Jake & Luke Thoene

A Holmes pastiche offering up the origins of the Baker Street Irregulars--named here as the "Baker Street Brigade" for reasons best known to the authors. When a man with yellow hands starts kidnapping children in London, Sherlock Holmes is on the case. The kidnapper gives specific instructions to the parents to ensure the safe return of the children. But despite the first money drop going off without a hitch, the money wasn't returned. The police bungled the second drop by being too readily observed on the scene. Holmes is determined that the third time won't be as unlucky.

A chance remark causes Holmes to consider the children of the streets as an unofficial detective force, so he recruits Danny Wiggins and his friends Peachy and Duff to help look for clues. Details in a picture sent to the first set of parents (to prove that the kidnappers had their son) make Holmes certain that the children are being kept near the docks. He sends the boys out to look for clues in the hopes that children won't be noticed in the same way as an adult. 

Circumstances lead Holmes and the Yard to an arrest, but when Clair, the daughter of Inspector Avery of Scotland Yard--and a recent acquaintance of the boys, disappears, Danny, Peachy and Duff are sure the grown-ups have made a mistake. Will they be able to find the real kidnappers in time?

First up--the difficulties: The story supposedly offers up the backstory for the Irregulars (who appear in a few of the Doyle stories). But there isn't much logic in Holmes' choice of the boys. Here we have Holmes out on the street and someone makes a random comment that makes him think [my paraphrasing], "The missing children are being held near the docks. "Wharf rats" (children in the area) could look around and not be noticed. Hey--over there are three street children selling newspapers. I bet they'd be perfect." My first thought--would the children selling newspapers be familiar enough with the docks to know what to look for? He wants them just to look for anything "out of place." How would they know? Second thought: He just selects these random boys. Because they're there when he has the idea. It would be much more plausible if a scene had been set up where Holmes is obviously interested in someone in the area where the boys sell their papers. He questions them and the boys prove to him that they're pretty good at noticing details or whatnot. When the idea occurs to him that boys could be useful as undercover detectives, then he immediately thinks of those bright newspaper sellers. And last, as Holmes introduces Danny, Peachy and Duff to the methods of detecting, he repeatedly tells the eager young sleuths to NOT jump to conclusions. To wait until they have all the facts. So what does Holmes do? He jumps to a giant conclusion and arranges for Captain Mewsley to be arrested as part of the kidnapping gang. Not something Holmes would have done in the Doyle stories.

Okay, now that I have that out of my system: The mystery plot is a pretty good one and fairly sophisticated for what is essentially a children's story. Once the boys got the hang of detective work they did a really good job and were important to the wrap-up scenes at the end. Children reading this will be pleased with the amount of adventure and excitement as well the focus on the boys. An enjoyable read with a few hiccups for those of us familiar with the world of Sherlock Holmes. ★★★

First line: Fog shrouded the Caravaldi family home at No. 7 Trevor Place, London.

Last line: "Just like Tel el Kebir," Mewsley was saying, "where I had to shoot four cannons all by myself!"

Deaths: three natural