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A secret plea for help leads Sherlock and his friend Matty to Egypt, where the French are busy constructing the famous canal which is destined to shorten sea journeys. Our own government, sadly, is more focussed on the disaster such a feat of engineering would mean for British trade than on its benefits, and in order to save a life Sherlock finds himself having to accept a pact with dangerous enemies. It is as much the dilemma of such a compromise, where there is no good but only lesser evils, which will make this book more attractive to teen readers. Don't be fooled, though: action sequences, hidden codes and even a little light burglary keep our hero and his sidekick very, very busy indeed. In fact there's one particular scene where, frankly, it will be impossible for readers not to feel their skin crawling – but you'll have to read the book to see just how literal that image is!
This is the eighth book in the series, and the style and content has matured along with its hero. There's far less overt violence, which means it's also suitable for the upper end of the Confident Reader category, and the resolution, while as bizarre and exciting as ever, remains firmly within the bounds of logic. If you want to go back and watch Sherlock develop his many, many skills, Bookbag particularly recommends [[Young Sherlock Holmes: Fire Storm by Andrew Lane|Young Sherlock Holmes: Fire Storm]], [[Young Sherlock Holmes: Knife Edge by Andrew Lane|Young Sherlock Holmes: Knife Edge]] and [[Young Sherlock: Stone Cold by Andrew Lane|Young Sherlock: Stone Cold]]. And then, for another series about a young detective from the past, set in the Wild West this time, and with a slightly more light-hearted tone, you could turn to [[The Western Mysteries: The Case of the Deadly Desperados by Caroline Lawrence]], then [[The Case of the Good-looking Corpse by Caroline Lawrence|The Case of the Good-looking Corpse]] and [[The Case of the Bogus Detective by Caroline Lawrence|The Case of the Bogus Detective]] by the same author. All thumping good reads!
{{amazontext|amazon=1447294564}}

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