The Sherlock Society: Hurricane Heist (The Sherlock Society #2)
James Ponti
Aladdin
Published September 2, 2025
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About The Sherlock Society: Hurricane Heist
When a hurricane uncovers new information in a cold case, the Sherlock Society investigates a decades-old heist in this second book in the action-packed and funny New York Times bestselling Sherlock Society middle grade series from Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti!
When a category three hurricane hits Miami Beach, it uncovers a body buried at the renowned Moroccan Hotel. The body is identified as the man who served as the hotel’s bell captain sixty years ago…and the presumed culprit of the million-dollar jewel heist that took place just before his disappearance.
Since the bell captain clearly didn’t take off with the goods as had been long believed, the Sherlock Society sets their sights on uncovering the real culprit of the theft. But when the thief may also be implicated in the bell captain’s murder, even sixty years later, there are people who want the truth to stay buried.
My Review
I read the first book in the “City Spies” series earlier this year, and I enjoyed it. Going from that book to this one, I couldn’t help noticing how much tighter the writing is in Hurricane Heist. Like, City Spies was good. Hurricane Heist was so smooth. The pacing is quick, the shifts between timelines are well-managed, the characters are consistent and engaging. I probably could have read the whole book in a single sitting without even noticing the passing of time. (I got interrupted and had to stop.)
As a Floridian myself, I’m always a little nervous about books that include hurricanes. I’ve read some hurricane descriptions that truly made no sense in other books, but Hurricane Heist seemed pretty accurate. I think the author also lives in Florida, so I’m not surprised. It was also interesting that the hurricane doesn’t happen at the most intense parts of the story (in terms of plot). I like that Ponti did that– I think a lot of authors would have tried to orient the whole story around the storm, which gets tricky when you’re talking about a mystery that requires people, especially kids, to be out investigating.
The story handles the mystery elements and young characters really nicely, too. They’re involved in the actual investigation, and things get a little tense a few times, but it stays very appropriate to the middle grade audience.
I like that the characters of the Sherlock Society each have specific talents and niche interests, too. That makes them each valuable to the story in a different way.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the first one, too, and I’m already eager to read the next installment in the series.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
None.
Spiritual Content
None.
Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to murder and theft.
Drug Content
None.
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Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday
I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.
