The Sherlockian

If you love the Sherlock Holmes mythos you'll like this one in spite of itself. This is a spirited, fun--if fantastical--first mystery from a talented author who is sure to produce better. The plot is double, told in alternating chapters between near current day and 1900. The current day plot features Harold White, virgin Sherlockian with all the 20-something angst of a Gen-Yer finally on his own. The love interest is Sarah, the curiously quiet but beautiful one who is more--and less--than she seems. They interact with a predictable set of cardboard characters in a quest after a putative missing diary of Conan Doyle, with lots of predictable mystery/chase scenarios along the way. The second plot is much more fully realized--and interesting. It features the original Sherlockian, Conan Doyle himself, and his dear friend Bram Stoker in pursuit of--at first--the culprits who sent Doyle a mail bomb that nearly kills him and about whom New Scotland Yard hasn't a clue. The Doyle plot rapidly devolves into the pursuit if a vicious serial killer, the violence of which sets it apart from many of the original Holmes stories. All novels require the willing suspension of disbelief, this one more than most. At times it seems self-conscious with the silliness of its plot devices and character motivations. On the other hand, at times it shows genuine insight into the nature of the mystery genre and the reading experience. There are some great passages--with rather long gaps between them--and if you can loosen up and take its contrivances in stride, you will enjoy the experience.

At first it seemed a bit choppy switching back and forth on the two story lines after each chapter but it bothered me less as I went along. I enjoy most Holmes books, movies, TV programs because I love how Holmes seems to deduce so much after a seemingly brief contact with any person or situation. In The Sherlockian I enjoyed the the Arthur Conan Doyle storyline the most and found the part about the suffragettes and resistance to change thought provoking. One would expect change and modernization to be widely embraced and welcomed by all and was surprised to read otherwise. I particularly enjoyed with bits about Conan Doyle's friendship with Bram Stoker. The modern plotline was interesting as well, but I didn't like the characters as much. All the characters were well developed and the plot moved along at a brisk pace. I think any fan of Sherlock's would enjoy this as well as any mystery fan.

I believe any fan of Sherlock Holmes will enjoy this delightful journey through Arthur Conan Doyle's past, and our Sherlockian protagonist's present. It is a nice bit of historical fiction and deftly handles the transition between past and present. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

The author Graham Moore has done an excellent job of recreating the magic and the mystery of "Sherlock Holmes". The story line shifts back and forth from past to present with Arthur Conan Doyle and his friend Bram Stoker investigating crimes without Sherlock,.While in the present a young pair try to solve a crime involving the Sherlockians and the "long lost diary" of Sherlock Holmes.. Graham Moore moves the action along and and I became captivated by the interplay of the current sleuths and the historic and very classic characters of the past, Sherlock and Bram Stoker. If you love Holmes you should read "The Sherlockians"!

I love Sherlock Holmes books, movies, radio and television - anything! This was a really good book, loved the parallel stories and getting some insight into Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a genius! Really enjoyed it. Can't wait until my now senior citizen memory starts to forget it so I can read it again. :)

I just finished The Sherlockian and thoroughly enjoyed it. I did not have anything beyond basic familiarity with the Sherlock Holmes stories and found it easily accessible with anything requiring knowledge of Holmes explained within the natural flow of the story. If you enjoy mysteries of any kind read this book.

An amusing account concerning Alfred Conan Doyle's lost diary and the fervor of the Sherlockians (aka Baker Street Irregulars) to find it. Moore tells two stories in alternating chapters -- the first is set in the 19th century and dsecribes Doyle's decision to get rid of Sherlock Holmes, a character he's come to despise. Almost accidentally he and his friend Bram Stoker are drawn into solving the murders of several youngg suffragettes. In the present, a Sherlockinan who claims to have found the diary dies violently at the annual conference. A young newly initiated Sherlockian attempts to solve the murder and find the diary, apparently stolen from the murder victim. Moore leads the reader on a quest to solve two mysteries loosely connected by the missing diary. I loved Moore's skill in characterization and sense of humor. If you are a fan of the great detective, you'll definitely enjoy this novel and it's clever twists and turns.

I downloaded the Kindle version of this book on a lark, and was very pleasantly surprised. I say I was surprised because I know (or knew) next to NOTHING about Sherlock Holmes or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. And believe me, such knowledge is NOT a prerequisite to enjoying this book and story. The author does an amazing job of pulling you into the history of these books while at the same time weaving an artful mystery around his characters. I was able to put this one down in a day and a half, and I'm a slower reader. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery, or yearns for something in between Dan Brown's books.

I finished the book because it seemed the thing to do. And I'll donate it to our library because SOMEONE might enjoy it. But, really, the plot and the writing were just so so and not worth the price. Much better to re-read Doyle's stories and donate the money you'd have spent on the book to a worthy cause.

Moore appropriates an idea from "Julie & Julia" and writes a novel of parallel stories in two eras, in this case not cooking stories, but mysteries featuring Arthur Conan Doyle (assisted by his reluctant "Watson", Bram Stoker), the other featuring a really young Sherlockian by the name of Harold White (assisted by his over-eager "Watson", a self-serving woman named Sarah). He appropriates a plot line from "The Spy Who Fell Off the Back of the Bus" by Marc Lovell (1988), involving the search for a missing Conan Doyle manuscript dealing with the killing off of Sherlock Holmes. And he appropriates an actual death of a prominent Sherlockian, that of Richard Lancelyn Green, who was found strangled with his own shoelace, exactly as in this book. In fact, the appearance of Bram Stoker in a Sherlockian story also has been done before, particularly in Carole Nelson Douglas' excellent series of novels.

The book is disappointing in that the characterizations are just dreadful. There is not a sympathetic character in the book, no one to root for, no one to really care about. Conan Doyle as depicted here is totally unlikeable, grouchy, selfish and mean spirited. Certainly not true to his real-life persona, even in the most critical of biographies. Harold White is grubby, foolish, a slacker in many ways, and certainly not a candidate for inclusion in a sophisticated and elite group like the Baker Street irregulars.

The insulting part comes from the exploitation of a real-life tragedy, the apparent suicide of Richard Lancelyn Green by the unique method of self-strangulation with his own shoelace. Moore's making the death a murder made to appear as a suicide reopens some damaging rumours pointing at a still-living and clearly innocent individual in the Sherlockian world.

The publisher, Twelve, purports to produce only 12 books per year, insisting that they are the very best quality. Not so much. More originality, characters with whom the reader can relate, a little bit of good judgement in the use of real-life cases would be better choices. Not recommended.

In his debut novel, Moore presents parallel stories in alternating chapters, involving the disappearance of pages from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s diary. The earlier story, involving Doyle and his close friend Bram Stoker (yes, that Bram Stoker!) tells of Doyle’s decision to kill Holmes, out of frustration that the fictional character has overshadowed his own fame. These chapters have more verisimilitude than the present-day ones, partly because the biographical information about Stoker is all true. A particularly moving chapter is the meeting between Doyle and Stoker to eulogize their friend Oscar Wilde. The missing diary pages turn out to document Doyle's fictional involvement in a serial murder case, although it is true that Doyle did consult for Scotland Yard. In the contemporary chapters about the search for the diary, Moore invents the characters of Harold White and Sarah Lindsay. As the main protagonist, Harold is a less-than-credible character, a newly initiated member of the Baker Street Irregulars who uncovers clue after clue, while other more knowledgeable Sherlockians are left in his dust. Sarah is an annoying and unnecessary character, since Bram already plays the part as Doyle's real-life "partner in crime". Non-Sherlockians will probably enjoy this more than devotees, since they bring less baggage to the lives of Doyle and Holmes.

I very seldom like the modern day attempts to write Sherlock Holmes stories because I find most of them to be a caricature of the great detective and not true to the man created by Conan Doyle. The main exception to that are the novels by Laurie King, largely because she focuses not on Holmes but on Mary Russell, the young wife who marries Holmes after his retirement. At first I felt that the Sherlockian might also rise above the usual attempts to recreate Doyle's genius as it focused, not on Holmes but on Conan Doyle himself in one time period and on young Harold White, an inductee into the Baker Street Irregulars in the current time period.

It is an interesting concept and I wasn't really bothered by Moore's technique of alternating chapters in each storyline, except I just couldn't get interested in the modern day story. I found White to be a weak, annoying character who really did not emulate Holmes all that well, but often seemed more like a bumbling Watson. The storyline of looking for Doyle's missing diary from the time period after Holmes "died" at Reichenbach Falls didn't do much for me and I found that as this storyline continued, it became more and more jumbled till it ended in what I considered to be a major cop out by the author.

I found the storyline focusing on Conan Doyle to be much more interesting and enjoyable, especially as so much of it mirrored what we know to be historically accurate. The use of Bram Stoker as a foil to Doyle's efforts to play Holmes added an interesting dynamic. I probably would have given the book a much higher rating except for the ending of this storyline which I found extremely abhorrent and out of character for what we know about Conan Doyle.

Would I read another book by Moore focusing on these characters? I doubt it. It took me a very long time to get into this book, and the only reason I expended the effort was because my husband recommended it to me and he knows my tastes well enough that I figured there must have been a reason. I did eventually get drawn into it to the point where I had a hard time putting it down, only to feel bitterly disappointed at the unsatisfactory ending of both threads. I am now left with a sense that I really wasted my time and would have been much better off quitting the book before I got too heavily involved in it.

This intriguing, entertaining mystery is two (two! TWO!) Sherlock Holmes stories in one. The first, set in 1800, launches when Arthur Conan Doyle kills off England's most beloved fictional character, the aforementioned great detective, and receives a letter bomb in response. The second, set in the modern-day, is about Harold White, the newest (and youngest) inductee into the Baker Street Irregulars, the most exclusive and prestigious Sherlock Holmes fan club ever ("fan club" is a phrase the Irregulars would hate, because the group clearly considers themselves to be Holmesian scholars, not fans, but they're kinda dorks that way, so I'm sticking with it).

In the early story, author Conan Doyle manages to trace the letter bomb back to its maker, only to learn it was not, as he assumed, a Holmes fan trying to punish him for committing the murder of the century, but instead a young woman trying desperately to hire him to help solve the murders of two of her friends, both suffragettes. Teaming up with his best pal Bram Stoker, Arthur vacillates between not wanting to help a woman whose method of asking for that help nearly blew his arm off, and being unable to resist the lure of demonstrating himself to be far superior to his creation.

As it turns out, Conan Doyle has quite an inferiority complex in regard to his fictional detective. Since Holmes became so popular, Conan Doyle has absolutely loathed him, in large part because he only wrote the Sherlock stories to make enough money to write novels on subjects he was far more passionate about, only to find nobody was interested in reading them. Living in the shadow of his own fictional character has been hell for Arthur, but, as Stoker keeps reminding him, he could never have created a detective so brilliant if he, Conan Doyle, were not so brilliant himself. If anyone can solve the mystery of the murdered suffragettes, Stoker says, it'll be the man who dreamed up the greatest detective the world has ever known. (And here we learn Bram Stoker was the absolute master of playing off people's inferiority complexes, probably because he had quite a huge one himself.)

Meanwhile, in the present day, Harold White is having the time of his life. He's at the annual meeting of the Baker Street Irregulars, having just been inducted into the group, something he's wanted ever since he read his first Sherlock Holmes story as a kid. Even more exciting, he's just met THE Alex Cale in the hotel lobby, the most famous and widely published of all the Irregulars, and the man whose presentation the next day promises to blow the minds of every Holmes worshiper in the world. Cale, you see, claims to have found the long-lost missing installment of Arthur Conan Doyle's diary -- the installment covering, obviously, the period we're being told about in the alternating tale. The diary holds the answer, all believe, to the question: Why did Arthur Conan Doyle kill off Sherlock Holmes, only to resurrect him a short while later with what eventually became his most famous work, The Hound of the Baskervilles? Something for Doyle changed dramatically after he pushed Holmes off a cliff -- something huge enough to make him want to bring his beloved (to everyone but him) character back to life.

Of course, since this is a murder mystery, Cale is found dead the next morning. And, also of course, since he's found dead by Harold White and a bunch of other Holmes groupies, a band of Irregulars immediately decide they're the only ones who will be able to solve the case, find the diary, and deliver it to the world.

This is a really entertaining novel, though I had some issues with the writing style. I wasn't surprised to learn the author was 28 and this was his first book -- the writing is a bit on the over-flowery/over-done side. (Hey, Graham, for your next one, repeat after me: Less is Moore). The Conan Doyle story wasn't as riveting as I think it could've been either, but I found the modern-day part satisfying enough, and I enjoyed the historical elements, especially the friendship between Arthur and Bram, intriguing as well. Overall, this was a great pick for a recent camping trip -- the perfect book to devour lake-side, for sure, and a really fun idea for a story that I think many Sherlockians will enjoy.

Recommended!

This is a cleverly done work of historical fiction in which Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, attempts to solve a series of murders at the turn of the Twentieth Century while at the same time a devoted Sherlockian named Harold White attempts to solve two baffling mysteries at the turn of the Twenty-First.

As the book opens, all of England and most of the English-speaking world is in mourning because Doyle has killed off Holmes, the world's most popular detective, so that Doyle can concentrate on more serious writing. After sending Holmes over the falls, Doyle is then drawn into the murder of a young woman who has been strangled and left in a bathtub in a house known for illicit sexual behavior. The police assume that the victim is a common prostitute and have little interest in attempting to solve the crime. Doyle believes that the police are wrong and doggedly pursues the case, believing he is on the trail of a serial killer.

One hundred and seventeen years later, Harold White is initiated into the Baker Street Irregulars, the most prestigious of the groups devoted to Sherlock Holmes. This happens at a special meeting of the group in which a long-running mystery relating to Arthur Conan Doyle is about to be resolved. Doyle faithfully kept a series of diaries, but one volume has long been missing and presumed lost.

For Sherlockians, this lost volume is the Holy Grail and now one of the formost authorities on Doyle and Holmes claims to have found the diary and is going to reveal its secrets at the meeting. But then the scholar, Alex Cale, turns up murdered and the diary has disappeared again. Harold White joins forces with a beautiful reporter in an effort to solve the murder and recover the diary.

What follows is a very entertaining book that alternates chapters between Doyle's search for the serial killer and Harold's efforts to solve his twin mysteries. There are a variety of cleverly-drawn scenes involving people like Doyle's friend, Bram Stoker, who frets that no one will ever remember his name or that of his own famous creation, a certain Count from Eastern Europe.

This book should certainly appeal to fans of Sherlock Holmes and they will doubtless get even more out of the book than will the casual reader who has not spent a lifetime immersed in the Holmes stories. But even the latter should find the book very entertaining.

I thought the screenplay of "The Imitation Game" was so well crafted that I decided to check out what else Graham Moore had written, and discovered this gem. I thought it was a totally enjoyable read, with interesting characters, fun Sherlock Holmes references, and a solid, satisfying plot. Moore does great work, I think, at taking a theme, like the drive to know or achieve or obtain and then riffing on it in small and big ways with major and minor characters. The book alternates between two storylines - the modern day Sherlockian mystery and the historical Arthur Conan Doyle pursuing his own quest - and I liked how the stories echoed and played off one another.

One of my favorite characters, to my surprise, turned out to be Moore's version of the historical Bram Stoker, a friend of Conan Doyle, but he emerges as an intriguing man, a little morally slippery but also remarkably tolerant, wise, and sometimes compassionate. He was really the highlight of the book for me.

Firstly, please read the reviews for "the Holmes Affair" - the British edition of the same book - as well as the ones listed here. (the average rating from the Brits is rather lower than the Americans gave it)

As a Brit, I found following the story, although a good mystery (well, two), was very difficult because of the distractions caused by the author's woefully inadequate research.
The use of modern American vernacular in the mouths of Victorian-era Englishmen ("gotten" for example),
a complete misunderstanding of pre-decimal currency,
motorcabs in 1900,
a Queen Mother in 1893 (when the Queen herself was in her mid-seventies),
Victorian gentlemen addressing each other by their Christian names (did Watson EVER address Holmes as "Sherlock?),
drinking bitters (an aperitif: not bitter - which is beer) by the pint,
non-existent spires on Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral,
a Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury (friars, vespers etc),
Zermatt being within a day's walking distance of the Reichenbach Falls (in 1893 it was a 200 mile journey by train and lake steamer),
a policewoman in the German-speaking part of Switzerland making announcements in Italian,
making a long train journey from Limehouse to the London terminus (it is less than two miles) and arriving at Waterloo instead of Fenchurch Street),
a character killed off in the 1900 plot has a real-life namesake who famously died in 1913,
making a round trip from London to Hindhead by cab in three hours - it's 100 miles, and in 1900 all London cabs were still horse
electric lighting is remarked upon as a luxury item, still only found in very few houses, but a light in a tenement is "clicked" off
drawn!
a car chase through London which only makes sense if everyone - not just those involved in the chase - is driving on the right.

Get past that lot, and the plot is actually quite a good one, although the denouement was a little disappointing - not so much predictable as a deus ex machina.

1893: Arthur kills off Sherlock because he just can't take writing about him anymore! Much to the chagrin of the entire world... 2010: Harold Smith is finally inducted into the Baker Street Irregulars, a prestigious Sherlock Holmes society. 1901: Arthur bring Sherlock Holmes back but not before he does a little sleuthing of his own. 2010: Harold is in for a surprise when a fellow Sherlockian, claiming to have found the lost diary, ends up dead. Is it "elementary' or is there more to both of these stories?

I must admit, at first, I hated Harold. I thought he was an imbecile and I almost put the book down but I am glad I stuck with it. Both tales- 1901 and 2010- kept my attention wondering what was going to happen next. While I enjoyed the book but the ending was not the big reveal I expected. For the author, I think it is a great first work and would be interested to read his next novel. Overall would recommend it as a light read for Sherlock enthusiasts!

I have read several really good books already this year, but this book was by FAR the best. If you like mysteries or Sherlock Holmes stories at all you need to go buy this book (or put it on hold at your library).

The biggest stand out of this book is the writing. The style made me feel like I was reading a Holmes story. It had the two stories, one set in the early 1900s and one set in modern times, which was cool on its own. What really made it different is that something that happened in the past would happen in the present or effect what was going on in the present. It made for a very unique narrative and made the book so much fun to read!

It was also a lot of fun to read the parts with Arthur Conan Doyle because he was such an fascinating guy! His hatred of Holmes and his decision to kill him made me think about how a character as iconic as Sherlock could affect an author and at times it had me laughing a little because of what I knew that Doyle didn't. Bram Stoker was also an influential character in the book and Orson Wells is even mentioned! Seeing unromanticized an version of london at the time made for a great setting!

The modern mystery was really exciting too. I did not even know there were Sherlockians (yes it is real. This is a historical fiction book and that is an accurate aspect. The author actually has what is true and what isn't at the end which made me appreciate the book and author so much more!). Harold is a great character because he is a complete nerd who has finally found his place in his society and has to go off and be like his favorite detective.

This book was so much fun to read. I really look forward to reading more by Graham Moore, since this book was such a joy to read!

I chose "The Sherlockian" due to interest in historical settings and Sherlock Holmes. As soon as I started the duty of reading this work for review, I was hooked well-and-good. Graham Moore writes in a literate intellegent manner well-suited for Sherlockian mystery. Yet it's also lucid and clear for most readers. The later Victorian era and contemporary parallel settings are spot-on and complement one another. The characters are well-presented and so there's a sense that contemporary Harold and Sarah as well as Victorian era Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker are quite alive. Likewise the parallel plot moves along with a flow that gives a reader a sense of following okay to keep-up -- but with fine turns and twists to keep mystery alive. Notion, emotion and motion of the investigation, allegation and action are lively and vigorous.

Also especially well-suited for Sherlockian mystery is the well-done build-up of the plot via initial and on-going factual details [or clues] -- that when added-up do not subtract or contradict one another. Much of a reader's feeling of turns and twists is via excellent presentation of such information via timing and character views of such. So there's no need to delete, delude or distort via such information. Reader perception and assumption based on such first, second and third person information is quite sufficient. So the how, what, when, where, who, whom and why of it all are in on-going revision without the specifics negating one another -- quite an exemplary feat +++

When I think of the character Sherlock Holmes, I think tension, quick quips, and above all, a very logical plot. The stories flow and move along in a way that always makes me feel as though all of life can be explained as long as you observe those around you. Graham Moore captures a bit of that feeling in THE SHERLOCKIAN and spins a tale full of characters that make his first book a fun read.

In 1893, Sherlock Holmes dies, or at least his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writes his death to finally divest himself of a character he has come to loathe. The public's reaction to Holmes's death is more than Conan Doyle can stand --- a few of his most fanatical readers hurl things at him on the street and others make threats on his life --- and he becomes even more adamant that Holmes will not return. During this period, Conan Doyle becomes involved with a real crime investigation when a fan sends him a letter bomb and he decides that Scotland Yard is incapable of handling the situation correctly (or at least to his standards). He takes it upon himself to solve the crime with the assistance of his friend, Bram Stoker. As he points out, he created the world's greatest detective; he should be capable of solving this crime just as efficiently as an invention of his imagination. Along with Stoker, he embarks on the investigation and records it all, good and bad, in his journal.

In 2010, scholars of Sherlock Holmes are gathering at a conference to hear about a major discovery involving a missing journal of Conan Doyle's --- the contents of which have always been a topic of interest and discussion among the group. When the prestigious and well-known scholar who is to announce the discovery turns up dead in a hotel room, Harold White, another Sherlockian scholar, decides to take a page from Conan Doyle's Holmes character and investigate the murder. Following clues right out of the Sherlock Holmes tales, White takes his obsession with the imaginary detective to new heights in an attempt to find a murderer.

Told interchangeably between 1893 and 2010, THE SHERLOCKIAN jumps between Conan Doyle and White both trying to solve crimes beyond their capabilities and both trying to channel Holmes to find an end to the mysteries in front of them. I worried that I would find the style tedious, but I found myself getting pulled into each story simultaneously since Moore deftly parallels the action taking place in both stories. Although there were a few times that I couldn't wait to get back to the other mystery, at no time did I feel that I was missing anything.

Moore is obviously an ardent fan of both Sherlock Holmes and his creator. He does a good job of capturing the time period in 1893, even including some new scientific discoveries such as indoor lighting, which adds a nice authentic touch. Even if you're not a fan of Conan Doyle, Moore will incite some interest in reading a few of his stories. He doesn't overwhelm the reader with information about Holmes, but does include enough to make you want to see if you own a copy of THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES or A STUDY IN SCARLET.

I always say I'm not a mystery person, and in truth it's not a genre I read often, but lately I've found myself reading more of these novels. While I'm not ready to say I've become a diehard fan, I do have to admit that the genre is growing on me thanks to authors like Moore who are able to capture a moment in time and bring the reader with them on the journey.

--- Reviewed by Amy Gwiazdowski

The Sherlockian opens in 1893 during the "Great Hiatus," which to all non-Sherlockians is the period of time when Arthur Conan Doyle had "killed off" the legendary dearstalker-wearing sleuth Sherlock Holmes and the fans were deprived of any new Holmes mysteries. Conan Doyle has made quick work of the great Sherlock by sending him over the falls, and he was presumed dead for several years. Any soap opera watcher knows that unless the body is found, there's no dead character. And so it was with Holmes when Conan Doyle slyly resurrected Holmes to the thrill of his fans worldwide.

We then fast forward to 2010 New York, to the bastion of all-things-literary, The Algonquin Hotel. It's there that the most ardent of Doyle/Sherlock fans, The Baker Street Irregulars, are holding their private induction meeting to welcome their new member Harold White. All of the members were excited with news Alex Cale had finally located the long lost diary of Conan Doyle. Alex had arrived at the Algonquin on "a dark and stormy night", announcing to Harold that he was being followed and feared for his life. A well founded fear, as it happens.

In The Sherlockian, author Graham Moore sets two clearly defined stages, telling two stories, both using Sherlock Holmes as a main character. While in the past, Doyle is aided by his real life friend, Dracula author Bram Stoker, as they try to solve a mystery surrounding the deaths of young women by using the techniques that Conan Doyle employed while scripting Holmes. A very clever and fun aspect of the story that first time author Moore uses brilliantly.

Moore easily slips us back and forth between the end of the 19th century with Conan Doyle and then forward into 2010 with Harold and his "Watson" freelance reporter, Sarah Lindsey as they search for the long lost Conan Doyle diary.

Being a mystery lover, I enjoyed the plotting and twists that Moore brings to the story. The Sherlockian is a work of historical fiction, and many of the situations and happenings in the book are events in Conan Doyle's life. Moore writes an enjoyable book, encompassing the telling of two gripping tales within the single book. The Sherlockian is the kind of book that I read quickly, rapidly turning the page in anticipation, only to realize I had almost finished the book and slow down to enjoy the end. I enjoyed this so much I'd pay hard-earned money to buy and give as a gift.

I look forward to what comes next from Mr. Moore.

I'd give this one 4 ½ stars out of 5.

Source: I received this book from the publisher at my request and in no way did this affect my review.

Graham Moore's debut novel, The Sherlockian, was good for so many reasons. Half of Moore's novel is set in the world of obsessive Sherlock Holmes scholars in which Sherlock Holmes was real and the inconsistencies in the stories provide endless fodder for scholarly articles and debates. At a society meeting, a long lost diary of Arthur Conan Doyle (the creator of Sherlock Holmes) is discovered. The man who has spent years trying to locate the diary is suddenly found dead on the eve of presenting his findings to the society. The newest member of the society begins a Sherlock Holmes worthy search for the murderer.

In parallel, Moore tells us the story of a murder investigation conducted by Doyle himself with his sidekick, Dracula's creator, Bram Stoker. Moore expertly sets this narrative in late Victorian Britain.

In 2004, the New Yorker published an article about the mysterious death of a Sherlockian scholar, Richard Lancelyn Green. Moore used that basic story to create the first part of his narrative. One of the enjoyable parts of this book is how fact and fiction meld, which is exactly what happens in the world of Sherlock Holmes today.

As a Sherlock Holmes fan, I loved the book. Moore faithfully references the Sherlock Holmes stories (also known as "The Canon") without shmaltzing up the book with all of Holmes' catch phrases.

The book has appeal to any lover of mysteries, not just Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts. It has garnered several terrific reviews already. I am looking forward to Moore's next work.

In 1893 Arthur Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes, determined never to write another Holmes story again. But in 1900, he brought him back in a "flashback novel," THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, and then resurrected him. Why bring Holmes back? Doyle was a consummate diarist and his journal from that year might tell the tale--but is missing.

In January of 2010, a guest at the annual meeting of the Baker Street Irregulars states he has found the missing diary and will reveal its contents. He's also extremely nervous and fears he's being followed. The newest member of the Irregulars, Harold White, a shy, slightly chubby, nearsighted man in his early twenties, can't believe his luck being admitted to the society just as this revelation will be made. Then the man is found murdered in his room, with Harold as one of the witnesses to the body's discovery, along with Sarah Lindsay, a journalist reporting on the Sherlockians. As Harold is drawn into investigating the crime, a parallel story is told in alternating chapters: of Arthur Conan Doyle's investigation into a true crime, with the help of his friend Abraham "Bram" Stoker. The two investigations keep pace with each other, leading both Harold and Arthur into territory they begin to wish they never had penetrated.

Even as you wonder how the two crimes 110 years apart may relate, Moore keeps both narratives going at a good clip. I found the Doyle mystery a bit more compelling than the White (Moore's Victorian London is quite vivid and often disturbing), although Harold, as much as he resembles a Sherlockian "Trekkie," comes across very well and gains confidence as the story progresses. I would recommend this story to any Sherlock Holmes fan, but admit it might not be of interest of anyone who is not a fan of the Great Detective.

Graham Moore has written two novels invoking Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes and combined them into one book in alternating chapters. The first starts in August 1893 with Doyle at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland resolving to "murder" Holmes because the detective's popularity is taking attention away from his other writing. The remaining Doyle chapters chronicle an attempt by the author, accompanied by Bram Stoker, to turn detective himself and solve a couple murders in London.

The second novel opens in New York at the annual meeting of the Baker Street Irregulars (BSI) in January 2010. The BSI is abuzz because one of its most prominent members claims to have found a long-lost Doyle diary, but before he can present his findings, he is found dead in his hotel room, apparently strangled with one of his own shoelaces and the diary is no where to be found. The newest BSI member appoints himself Holmes to solve the murder and find the diary.

The two novels are superficially related through Doyle-plus-Holmes, but their true relationship is not clear until the end.

Moore succeeds in making the material work, managing the transitions between novels without a jar, and he writes well. I think the book would have benefited from editing to eliminate about 50 pages because the momentum sags in the middle, but the beginning and end would be satisfactory for any detective novelist pro, let alone a novice.

What ever mystery hunter would love that is a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes would be to solve a mystery of their own!

Well in fact that is just what newcomer, Harold White, discovers as he attends his first official meeting of the Backstreet Irregulars, a private membership of those individuals who have an deep interest in all things involving Sherlock Holmes. The holy grail of all the members is the elusive diary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle which has been missing for years. Only when a member by the name of Alex Cale announces he has discovered it, does the mystery truly begin.

When Alex is found murdered, Harold White takes it upon himself to solve the mystery much like his nemesis, Sherlock Holmes would have.

In the novel, The Sherlockian by Graham Moore, the reader is immersed from the first page into two different time periods, one dealing with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the famous author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries and a modern day mystery involving solving the murder of Alex Cale who purportedly had the original diary of Mr. Doyle's in his possession.

For those of you that love following clues, and unraveling the unknown mysteries in a great novel by fireside, this one is a must for you. I received this wonderful book compliments of Hachette Book Groups for my honest review and uncovered a 5 out of 5 stars!

This book is available in hardcover, audio and eBook formats.

In the 2010 annual Baker Street Irregular convention, newby "Irregular" Harold investigates the murder of renowned Sherlock Holmes scholar Alex Cale. The homicide occurred just after Cale boasted he found the lost volume of Conan Doyle's diary. The valuable entry was not found in the hotel room where Cale was killed.

In 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle is bone weary of Holmes as he has no life seemingly without the famous literary sleuth. However, he never anticipated the uproar and anger when he solved his dilemma at Reichenbach Falls. In 1900 he has a bigger concern to deal with since someone sent him a letter bomb perhaps because of what he did to his "alter-ego". He turns to his friend Bram Stoker, who understands what it means to write a novel with a character that takes on a life of its own, to help him ferret out who wants Doyle as dead as Holmes.

This is a superb Sherlockian thriller with the focuses on why Doyle killed and later resurrected his hero. Readers see the same questions analyzed through the characters in the present day and over a century ago. The parallel subplots are rotated, which can be a bit overwhelming. The murder subplots though well conceived while enhancing the tale take a back seat to the overarching historiographical theme. Graham Moore proves modern day intelligent people unintended and unwittingly bring their imprint to Doyle and Holmes.

Harriet Klausner

When Nicholas Meyer wrote "The Seven Per-Cent Solution", he opened up a flood-gate that has warmed the hearts of Sherlock Holmes fans for decades, not least with the new PBS series "Sherlock" which is not only on of the best Holmsian pastiches, ever, it is also one of the best TV shows (of any kind) of the year! But, I digress. However, imitating Meyer imitating Doyle has become not only easy, but a bit tiresome. So it is always refreshing to see a new work that offers, not only a new approach, but one that is eminently successful. This is what Graham Moore has pulled off. Alternating chapters between the modern day mystery of a "missing" Conan Doyle diary, and an historically accurate (as far as this layman can tell) portrait of the great Holmes/Watson amenuensis himself (Doyle), as he wrestles with the unwanted fame of his (let's say) creations (this writer will take no stand on whether H&W were/are real),Moore manages to tell (essentially) TWO thrilling and exciting tales in one. (Of course, they DO, finally collide). If you are a Sherlockian, this is a must read. If you only dabble in the stories/films/TV shows, etc. This is a must read. If you have abaolutely no interest in anything Holmesian... what are you reading this for?

I was looking forward to reading this book after hearing an interview with the author on NPR. I'm a very fast reader yet it has taken me over 2 weeks to sum up the interest to even work my way through 2/3 of the book. I find the writing trite, puerile, and... Elementary!