The Sherlock Society: Chapters 1–4

by James Ponti
Alex and Zoe Sherlock, with friends Lina and Yadi, start a detective agency in Miami. Helped by their grandfather and guided by the family motto, "Do what's right, not what's easy," their first case entails a notorious crime boss, corporate corruption, and a near escape from a burning yacht; but do they have enough evidence to solve the case?

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–14, Chapters 15–24, Chapters 25–35
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    In every way imaginable, we were in over our heads. And as we treaded water with the acrid stench of burning fiberglass in the air, boring and sweaty suddenly didn’t sound so bad.
  2. delve
    consider in detail in order to discover essential features
    “Uh, they may not have realized we were onboard,” I admitted sheepishly, not wanting to delve too deeply into the Pandora’s box of our stowaway status.
  3. transgression
    the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle
    “We should be fine with the police,” Grandpa said. “We haven’t broken any laws.”
    Zoe gave him a disbelieving look and started counting off our transgressions on her fingers. “Breaking and entering, trespassing, unlawful recording of a private conversation—”
  4. dub
    give a nickname to
    A profile in the Miami Herald once dubbed our mom the “Lawyer of Lost Causes,” because she regularly took on seemingly unwinnable cases, far more concerned with right and wrong than dollars and cents.
  5. deportation
    the expulsion of a non-citizen from a country
    She’d represented migrant workers who faced deportation, fought to save a senior center that was about to be demolished to make way for condominiums, and filed a lawsuit against a golf club that wouldn’t admit women as members.
  6. demolish
    destroy completely
    She’d represented migrant workers who faced deportation, fought to save a senior center that was about to be demolished to make way for condominiums, and filed a lawsuit against a golf club that wouldn’t admit women as members.
  7. condominium
    housing complex in which each unit is individually owned
    She’d represented migrant workers who faced deportation, fought to save a senior center that was about to be demolished to make way for condominiums, and filed a lawsuit against a golf club that wouldn’t admit women as members.
  8. demeanor
    the way a person behaves toward other people
    Once he left the room, her demeanor changed from confident to confused. “None of this makes any sense,” she said as we sat down around the table.
  9. perturbed
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    “Zoe, do you understand how serious this is?” Mom asked, perturbed. “We don’t have time to play games.”
  10. aspirational
    having a strong desire for success or achievement
    “Don’t you think it’s a bit of an overreach for a club with only three members to call itself a ‘society’?”
    “It’s… aspirational,” I replied.
  11. delusional
    suffering from or characterized by erroneous beliefs
    “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘delusional.’”
  12. ominous
    presaging ill fortune
    “What does it say?” I asked excitedly.
    She took the clue out of the plastic baggie it was sealed in and unfolded it. “‘The Final Problem.’”
    “That’s ominous,” Lina said.
  13. controversial
    marked by or capable of causing disagreement
    “Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story called ‘The Final Problem,’ in which Sherlock Holmes plunges to his death from the Reichenbach Falls. It was so controversial it created a huge backlash, and the magazine that published it almost went bankrupt as a result.”
  14. backlash
    an adverse reaction to some political or social occurrence
    “Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a short story called ‘The Final Problem,’ in which Sherlock Holmes plunges to his death from the Reichenbach Falls. It was so controversial it created a huge backlash, and the magazine that published it almost went bankrupt as a result.”
  15. tersely
    in a short and concise manner
    “I’ll ignore all the government health warnings and let you lick the spoon,” she offered.
    “Can’t,” Zoe responded tersely. “I’ve got a project to work on.”
Created on Fri Jul 24 20:37:12 EDT 2026 (updated Tue Aug 25 12:44:16 EDT 2026)

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