Book Beginnings: Basil of Baker Street

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

Gillion @ Rose City Reader

The mystery of the missing twins could never have been solved by an ordinary detective.

Chapter 1: “Basil, the Super Sleuth”

This week, I’m reading the Basil series of books by Eve Titus, beginning with Basil of Baker Street. The flap copy about this “Sherlock Holmes of the Mouse World” says:

Meet Basil, mouse sleuth extraordinaire. He lives in the cellar of Sherlock Holmes’s house, where he studies at the feet of the great detective himself.

In 1986, Disney released The Great Mouse Detective, featuring Basil and his companion, Dr. David Q. Dawson. Hence the rebranding on the cover of my 2016 edition of the book.

The mystery in the book is different from the movie, as well. In the book, Basil is hired by Mr. and Mrs. Proudfoot to find their missing twin daughters, Angela and Agatha. The back cover copy is the ransom note:

Baker Street Mice — Beware!
So far the twins are safe. They’ll stay that way if you do what we say. We’ve decided to make your Baker Street cellar the headquarters for our gang. Everybody must be out in 48 hours. It’s Basil’s job to move you all out, just the way he moved you in. Better make it fast! And leave the furniture — we need it.
This is the only warning you’ll get. And listen — if you don’t follow our orders, you’ll never set eyes on those twins again!
THE TERRIBLE THREE

I’m looking forward to finishing this and the sequels, which are currently stacked up on my desk. What are you reading this week?