THE IMPROBABLE TALES OF BASKERVILLE HALL

A return to Baskerville Hall offers more opportunities for sleuthing and self-discovery.

When readers last left the students of Baskerville Hall, they had rescued a mysterious pterodactyl and destroyed an immortality machine and exposed its villainous creator. This volume finds the crew eagerly returning for their second term. Various scholastic and social challenges quickly arise: There’s the annual Invention Convention to prepare for, questions about the Clover (the school’s secret society), and the sorting of students into Circles by area of study (Iron, Dawn, Lightning, Spirit, and the Citadel). Heightening tensions, Arthur’s roommate and good friend Jimmie Moriarty is acting strange and standoffish. When Professor Sherlock Holmes and later two others are found comatose from a mysterious poison, Arthur must crack the case. Trips to the library’s dustiest shelves and some communication with spirits via classmate Grover’s Ghost Board provide a portal into the shadowy past of their strange school. A cinematically grand denouement makes for a delightfully dramatic read, but the substantial focus on sundry elements of scholastic life often feels only loosely tied to the compelling central plot. Gender parity and a socially diverse atmosphere remain an essential element of Baskerville Hall, with Scottish Arthur and South Asian British Grover (and his Ghost Board) leading the charge in this volume.

A satisfying return to a well-developed setting, rich with secrets and schemes.