July 2025 — Welcome, Holmes!

What fictional character is more revered and ingrained in the Anglophile world than Sherlock Holmes? Some surveys in Britain have even shown that about 60% of those polled believed that Holmes was a real person! His seemingly magical powers of observation and deduction never fail to impress and delight, and many authors have adopted the detective and his associates for use in a limitless number of variations.

This month, I wanted to list some books dedicated to the beloved Sherlock and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Some of these seek to preserve the original character’s milieu, while others diverge (some very fancifully) from the original.

Fiction:
	*Mycroft & Sherlock -* Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse "The suspicious death of a street urchin and a mysterious Chinese woman lead the brothers into the London opium trade's dark underside."
	A Three Book Problem - Vicky Delany "Wealthy philanthropist and prominent Sherlockian David Masterson has rented Suffolk Gardens (when) a poisoned dart sails through the window of the library."
	Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone - G.S. Denning "Sherlock Holmes is an unparalleled genius. Warlock Holmes is an idiot. Thankfully, Dr. Watson is always there to save him from a gruesome death every now and again."
	Observations by Gaslight: Stories From the World of Sherlock Holmes - Lyndsay Faye "A new collection of Sherlockian tales that shows the Great Detective and his partner, Watson, as their acquaintances saw them."
	*Moriarty* - Anthony Horowitz "Pinkerton detective agent Frederick Chase and Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a devoted student of Holmes's methods of investigation and deduction, must track down a sinister figure who is determined to stake his claim as Moriarty's successor."
	*The House of Silk* - Anthony Horowitz "A year after Holmes's death, Watson--now in a retirement home--narrates a tale of Sherlockian detection that could tear apart the very fabric of society."
	*Echoes of Sherlock Holmes* - edited by Laurie R. King "What happens when great writers/creators who are not known as Sherlock Holmes devotees admit to being inspired by Conan Doyle stories?"
	*The Lantern's Dance* - Laurie R. King "Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, hoping for a respite in the French countryside, are instead caught up in a case that turns both bewildering and intensely personal."
	*Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram from Hell* - Nicholas Meyer "Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson cross the Atlantic at the height of World War I in pursuit of a mysterious coded telegram."
	*The Hollow of Fear* - Sherry Thomas "Under the cover of "Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective, "Charlotte Holmes puts her extraordinary powers of deduction to good use."
Nonfiction:
	*The Game is Afoot: The Enduring World of Sherlock Holmes* - Jeremy Black "Traces the evolution of Arthur Conan Doyle's plots and characters as culture and society changed dramatically in his lifetime."
	*From Holmes to Sherlock: The Story of the Men and Women Who Created an Icon* - Mattias Bostrom "Tells of the actors, writers, readers, and other players who have transformed Sherlock Holmes from the gentleman amateur of the Victorian era to the odd genius of today."
	*The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Reader: From Sherlock Holmes to Spiritualism* - edited by Jeffrey and Valerie Meyers "Collects works from all the genres in which he wrote, including mysteries, historical adventure tales, science fiction stories, ghost stories, plays, memoirs, essays on spiritualism, and reports on the Boer War and World War I."
	*Conan Doyle for the Defense: The True Story of a Sensational British Murder, A Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer* - Margalit Fox "Immerses readers in the science of Edwardian crime detection, telling the story of how Conan Doyle managed to get a murder conviction overturned by employing the methods of his most famous creation."
	Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes - Maria Konnikova "Drawing on twenty-first-century neuroscience and psychology, Mastermind explores Holmes's unique methods of ever-present mindfulness, astute observation, and logical deduction."
	*The Man Who Would Be Sherlock: The Real Life Adventures of Arthus Conan Doyle* - Christopher Sandford "The many events Doyle was involved in, and caricatures of those involved, would provide Conan Doyle with the fodder for many of the adventures of the violin-playing detective."

Summaries sourced from publisher materials.

July's Featured Review

The IQ Series by Joe Ide

Hop on the Holds List

The Surrogate Mother – Freida McFadden

We Are All Guilty Here – Karin Slaughter

The Last Letter – Rebecca Yarros

The Academy – Elin Hilderbrand

The Secret of Secrets – Dan Brown

Quote of the Month:

“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius.” - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Bookish News and Links:

Want personalized recommendations? Fill out a questionnaire to get a customized list sent directly to your email

Love Lists? Try these:

Want to hobnob with some upper-crust fans? Join the Sherlock Holmes Society.

For those with a true love for the author and a whole lot of time, The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia may hit the spot.

If you happen to be journeying that way, you could always make a stop at the official Sherlock Holmes Museum.

Adaptation News: Upcoming movies and shows based on books:

Summer is not the best time for adaptations, since screens are mostly devoted to superhero movies and blockbuster sequels.

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is a South African film based on the memoir by Alexandra Fuller that will have a limited release on July 11.

On August 1, Julia Whelan's memoir, My Oxford Year, will be released in theaters.

Recent Reads

I have recently finished reading The Woman in Suite 11 by Ruth Ware and The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North. I also just finished listening to No Road Home by John Fram.

I am currently reading We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter and Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. I am also listening to the audiobook of Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman.

Do you have a favorite Sherlock Holmes story or a movie adaptation you would recommend? Let me know at: jnmegan@gpl.

Until next time: Be safe, be well, and be well-read!

Joelle

So, who am I, anyway? I am a resident of West Groton, with a husband, 3 children in college (and one who just graduated from GDRHS) and a Samoyed that keeps my vacuum well-employed. I am currently working part time at the Groton Public Library and writing monthly reviews for Bookllist Magazine. In a former life, I was a Director of PR/Marketing at a high-tech consulting firm. My BA is in Psychology, but most of my time was spent in college earning a Concentration on the Novel. That is all to say that I make no claims at being an expert of any kind and my thoughts, opinions and mistakes are solely my own. I am just a person whose passion for books has continued to grow from the moment I was first able to grip and gnaw on them. I have been devouring them ever since.

Jul 01, 2025 / Joelle M Egan