Attention Mystery lovers: this is a MUST READ!
The Sherlockian
by Graham Moore
- Hardcover: 368 pages
- Publisher: Twelve (December 1, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446572594
- ISBN-13: 978-0446572590
Price: Hardback $15.28; Kindle $11.99
Genre: Mystery
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0
Product Description from Hachette:
In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective's next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning -- crowds sported black armbands in grief -- and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.
Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had "murdered" Holmes in "The Final Problem," he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.
Or has it?
When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world's leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold - using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories - who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.
Review: You get a double dose of good mystery in this book! It isn't just the "who done it" but it's "how it was done."
In January 2010, a leading Sherlock scholar, Alex Cale, claims that he has discovered the missing diary of Arthur Conan Doyle (Arthur). The diary, which covers a several month span in 1900, is of great import to the Sherlockian community as it may explain why Arthur “resurrected” Holmes in1901 after killing him off in 1983. Alex is scheduled to present his findings and the details of the diary to the most select group of Sherlock scholars, The Baker Street Irregulars, but instead he turns up murdered.
Harold White, who is the newest member of the society, is present when the body is found. He immediately begins to gather clues which point to various Sherlock details, implicating someone from the prestigious society. Harold is pretty much a “brainy geek” and is surprised to find himself accompanied by a pretty journalist, Sarah, who insists on coming along on his investigation. She adds some down to earth resourcefulness as they dodge henchmen who are following them and search out clues through computer discs and library collections.
As the author follows Harold’s search and deductive reasoning in 2010, every other chapter reveals Arthur’s activity during the missing months in 1900. Arthur has been pulled into an investigation himself and (even if unintended) proceeds to emulate his character, Holmes. When Scotland Yard doesn’t provide much help Arthur sets out to try to find who sent him a letter bomb and then extends his investigation into the serial murders of several young brides. Arthur drags his friend, Bram Stoker, along to play the plodding side kick, “Watson”.
I really enjoyed how the author ran the two mysteries alternately in the chapters. Both mysteries, but especially the 1900 line, had a true Sherlock feel to them. The 1900 mystery probably had that feel because, as author Moore explains through Arthur’s dialogue with Bram: Holmes is a character of the foggy but romantic 1890s. Holmes would not have fit so well in the garish world exposed by electric lights and muddled with women’s rights.
At one point Moore has Arthur reach a point of frustration in his investigation. Arthur stops to think how his readers feel and his thoughts are described on page 149:
Another strange thought came to Arthur’s mind. .... Was this how it felt to be one of his readers? To be lost in the middle of the story, without the slightest of notions as to where you were headed? ....What trust his readers must put in him, to submit themselves to this unnerving confusion, while holding out hope that Arthur would see them through to a satisfying conclusion. .... What if it didn’t work? His readers took a leap, did they not? They offered up their time and their money. And what did the author promise them in return?
I will take care of you, he wanted to say to them. I know it seems impossible now, but it will all work out. You cannot see where I’m going, but I can, and it will delight you in the end.
Trust me.
Isn’t that quote wonderful? It is just what I, as a reader, look for in a book, whether it is mystery or romance. I trust the author to make it work out. (Hopefully with a happy ending.)
The only shortfall I found in this book was the ending. Although I like the ending as presented with Harold and his companion, they left behind a crime scene with loose ends and questions that I didn’t like unresolved. So for that minor annoyance I rate the book as 4.75 instead of a 5.0. Even so, if you like mysteries, this is a book you do not want to miss!
Thank you to TwelveBooks division of Hachette for the book to read and review.
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