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Joe Sherlock, Kid Detective, Case #000002: The Neighborhood Stink

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Chapter One

Mystery Child

My name is Joe Sherlock.

But everyone calls me Sherlock, even my own parents. It sounds crazy, but my little sister didn't know my first name was Joe until she was almost six years old.

Of course, it makes perfect sense that I would be called Sherlock.

Why? Well, there's a bunch of old books written about a guy named Sherlock Holmes who smoked a pipe, wore a creepy hat, and solved mysteries like nobody's business. I've never read any of them. But I've seen lots of movies about him. So he's kind of like my hero. We almost have the same name--except for the Joe and Holmes parts. And like the great Sherlock Holmes, I was born with a natural gift for solving mysteries.

Some kids my age can play the piano, break a board with a karate chop, or remember to make their beds every day. Not me. Not even close. But I can find just about anything that's lost. I can figure out the answer to a riddle way before grown-ups can. And I just love a good mystery.

But don't get the wrong idea. I'm no brain. In fact, I'm pretty crummy at school. Miss Piffle, my teacher, once told my parents at back-to-school night that I was "a bit daffy," which is basically a nice way of saying "Your kid's a dope." But that's okay with me. I was born with a gift.

Sometimes I get a little helpfrom my little sister, Hailey, who is sort of like my assistant. Actually, she's a bit of a troublemaker, so I have to make sure she doesn't play in the kitty litter or drop Dad's golf balls into the garbage disposal. She tags along sometimes. To be honest, sometimes she sees things that I miss . . . but mostly that's because she's a lot shorter than I am.

Anyway, before you start snoring like a banshee, I'd like you to sit back, relax, and watch your step as we plunge into my second official case as a private detective: Case #000002.

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Excerpted from Joe Sherlock, Kid Detective, Case #000002: The Neighborhood Stink by Dave Keane Copyright © 2006 by Dave Keane. Excerpted by permission.
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