All Sherlock Holmes fans know that he had a gifted sidekick and a narrator in Dr John H. Watson. What many don’t know is that the duo sought help from a street urchin named Wiggins and his gang of ‘Irregulars’.

Sherlock Holmes termed them his ‘eyes and ears on the streets’ in his first appearance — The Study in Scarlet and The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas is their first story with their Master.

This new series from the husband and wife team of Tracy Mack and Michael Citrin gives the Baker Street Irregulars their due and has been written and presented in the spirit of the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series as well as The Enid Blyton mystery novels (Famous Five, Five Find Outers and The Barney Mysteries). This first Casebook opens with the death of the Amazing Zalindas — a high-wire act in a local circus in which acrobats fell to their doom, hence the title.

Like most of Holmes’s stories, there’s more than meets the eye and Holmes discovers a more sinister plot behind the unfortunate accident. What could be more sinister than death of skilled acrobats? Why would Sherlock Holmes risk his life to solve such a case? Why isn’t Watson trusted with the facts in this case? To know the answers, you must check The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas which will surely make your day.

The book is a little different from regular Holmes mysteries. Here Dr Watson and Inspector Lestrade don’t have much to do as the story revolves around the life of the Irregulars, who are employed “to go everywhere, see everything and overhear everyone.”

Like the Barney character from Enid Blyton series, Ozzie is the central character with a mystery of his own to solve. He lives with fellow Irregulars including Wiggins is their leader, Rohan the smart boy and Elliot the tailor-cum-doctor. Little Alfie, Simpson, Fletcher, Barnaby, James, Pete, Shem and Wiggins Ferret Shirley also help in their capacities. They also befriend Pilar, daughter of the circus fortune-teller, Madame Estrella, during the case and her assistance proves invaluable at the climax.

Ideally written for readers who haven’t reached their teens, the series will also intrigue older fans of Sherlock Holmes. The book also includes a valuable glossary to the cockney rhyming slang used throughout as well as information on Victorian modes of transport and the art of deduction.

— Seema Faruqi