The Sherlockian

Moore, Graham. (2010). The Sherlockian. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group.

ISBN: 9780446572590

Pages: 350

Genre: mystery, historical fiction

Annotation: An amateur detective searches a Doyle’s diary and a murderer.

Summary: Harold White goes to the convention of the Baker Street Irregulars in hopes of joining their elite ranks. He also wants to hear about a lost Doyle diary which has finally been found by Alex Cale, a prominent member of the Irregulars. He is shocked when Cale is found murdered, but his knowledge of Holmes lore shows him clues about what happened. Determined, he sets out to find the truth.  Meanwhile, in the past, Conan Doyle has a case of his own searching for the murderer of several women. Both amateur detectives will have to use everything they learned from Holmes, aid from others and their own intelligence to solve their mysteries.

Evaluation: good read

The plot was interesting: watching Harold go from clue to clue while trying to figure out who his enemy, or enemies, were was intriguing. Harold’s character had some engaging elements: he put his Holmes knowledge to good use and he panicked when I would have in his shoes.  The character of Sarah kept my attention: I wanted to find out which side she was on. I also liked seeing the Irregulars and figuring out why Doyle would resurrect Holmes. The dynamic between Doyle and Stoker made the story a good read as well. The portrayal of London in flux with conflict over women getting the vote (and their role in English society) and gas to electricity (with the corresponding end of a romantic age) was fascinating. What primarily leaves me unsatisfied is the resolution of both mysteries. When reading a mystery I want to feel like the world is better for the mystery being solved. The resolution of both mysteries left me wondering if such was the case for them. Another aspect of the book which bothered me, but I could look over by stretching belief, was Harold being a detective. First he spoils a crime scene by looking at it before the police were done with it. Then, he leaves not only the state, but also the country, after the police asked him not to. It seemed unrealistic that he would not have been arrested for one or both of those things. (He did get lectured for the crime scene search.) (One feature of the book that did not bother me, but might bother others, is that the two stories are told through alternating chapters.) This book is a good read for those interested in Doyle, England in the early 1900s or a look into Sherlock Holmes societies.

What else to read:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales are worth reading (or re-reading as the case may be).

Daniel Stashower’s Teller of Tales  and Jon L. Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower, Charles Foley’s Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters for more about Doyle’s life.

Julian Barnes Arthur and George is another tale involving Doyle solving crime.  

The Sherlockian was loosely inspired by the murder of a prominent Holmes scholar in 2004. Moore recommends the December 13, 2004 New Yorker article “Mysterious Circumstances” by David Grann and Click here for a link to the New Yorker’s abstract for the article. He also recommends the May 19, 2004 New York Times article "The Curious Incident of the Boxes" by Sarah Lyall. 

This book could be similar to Jedidiah Berry's The Manual of Detection. (Click here for my entry on this book.) Both feature heroes who are not established detectives, but whose eye for detail and reading help them in solving mysteries. Both also have the foundations of what they believe in shaken in the pursuit of the truth. The Manual of Detection is more surreal, but I wonder what would happen if White and Unwin were to have a talk somehow...