Review of "The Sherlockian: A Novel" by Graham Moore

This dual-timeline mystery was inspired by real life events. When Sherlock Holmes' creator - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - died in 1930, some of his papers vanished. The missing items included letters, incomplete stories, and a volume of his diary - in which he was wont to record details of his life.


Example of a page from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's diary

'The Sherlockian' alternates between 2010 - when a Sherlock Holmes expert claims to have discovered the lost diary, and the late 1800s - when Arthur Conan Doyle got involved in a couple of real life mysteries.


Arthur Conan Doyle

*****

The book opens on January 5, 2010, when 29-year-old Harold White is attending his first meeting of 'The Baker Street Irregulars' - the world's preeminent organization devoted to the study of Sherlock Holmes.



Only the most worthy fans are allowed to join the Irregulars, and Harold is thrilled to have been accepted and excited to be at the society's four-day convention, being held at New York's Algonquin Hotel.


Sherlock Holmes Convention

What's most eventful about the Irregulars symposium is the announcement by long-time member Alex Cale that he found Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's missing diary. Cale is being cagy and mysterious, but promises to present the journal on January 6 - Sherlock Holmes birthday.



Unfortunately, Cale is murdered before he exhibits the diary, and it disappears once again.

Harold is present when Cale's body is discovered, and decides to investigate the crime like Sherlock Holmes would. So - before the police arrive - Harold quickly looks over the body, studies the carpet, examines the walls, and so on.



Harold discovers the word 'ELEMENTARY' scrawled on the wall in blood and deduces that the murderer must be a Sherlockian - a person familiar with the Sherlock Holmes canon. Moreover, Harold believes the killer is leaving a string of clues, which he'll follow to find the perpetrator AND the diary.

As it happens, an attractive journalist named Sarah Lindsay wants to write an article about the diary, and she decides to tag along with Harold.



Thus the pair are reminiscent of Holmes and Watson.....except that Harold fancies Sarah. 😍

Harold and Sarah aren't alone in their hunt for the journal. Other Holmes aficionados want to find it as well, as does Sebastian Conan Doyle - Arthur's great-grandson - who believes the diary rightfully belongs to him.



Sebastian offers to finance Harold's search for the journal, which takes Harold and Sarah from New York to England to the continent. The duo's lives are endangered by people following them, and there's plenty of angst and excitement.



Developments in 2010 alternate with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's activities in the 1890s, starting with his decision to 'kill off' Sherlock Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls.


Sherlock Holmes struggling with Professor Moriarity at the Reichenbach Falls

Fans were devastated and angry about Holmes' demise, and Conan Doyle was lambasted.....and even assailed in the streets.



Conan Doyle was also unpopular with progressive women because he was a vocal anti-suffragist and had a decidedly backward view of women's place in the world. Thus, when a letter bomb blew up Conan Doyle's office there were plenty of suspects.....from fans of Sherlock Holmes, to angry females, to terrorists protesting Arthur's military service during the Boer War.


Arthur Conan Doyle in his military uniform

Conan Doyle reported the bombing to Scotland Yard, but found the lead Inspector to be an ineffectual boob.



Thus the writer decided to investigate the bombing incident himself, with the help of his friend Bram Stoker.....who wasn't yet famous for creating Dracula.


Bram Stoker

During Conan Doyle and Stoker's search for the bomber they became aware that a serial killer was brutally murdering women in London. Once again Scotland Yard was sluggish and impotent, so the amateur sleuths decided to go after the serial murderer as well, using Sherlockian deductive reasoning.

As was Conan Doyle's habit, he faithfully recorded everything in his diary, including particulars of his detective work. And this is the volume of the journal that's missing!!

So what happened? You'll have to read the book to find out.

The story is an entertaining take off on Sherlock-mania, with the amateur detectives in both timelines 'doing what Sherlock Holmes would do.' In addition, Graham Moore's chapter headings - most of which are quotes form Sherlock Holmes stories - add an additional fun element to the novel.



I enjoyed the book and recommend it to fans of the legendary fictional detective.



Rating: 3.5 stars