The Sherlockian

The Sherlockian (2010) a historical mystery by Graham Moore, centers on a modern-day Sherlock Holmes enthusiast who stumbles upon a real-life murder that he must solve by thinking like Holmes. Receiving widespread critical praise for linking the past to the present, the book was nominated for various literary awards. Moore is an award-winning screenwriter and New York Times bestselling novelist. The Sherlockian, his debut novel, is available in thirteen languages in more than sixteen countries. Moore is best known for his screenplay, The Imitation Game, which won an Academy Award.

Harold White is a twenty-nine-year-old Princeton graduate who currently works as a literary researcher in Hollywood. He is obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, and when he isn’t working at his day job, he’s studying everything there is to know about the famous English detective.

“Sherlockians” like Harold are all lifelong Holmes enthusiasts. They know everything there is to know about Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories and novels featuring Holmes. Like most Sherlockians, Harold dreams about receiving an invitation to join a society known as the Baker Street Irregulars. No one can join the elusive society unless a current member nominates them.



One day, Harold realizes his dream: someone contacts him, inviting him to join the society. Everyone wants to meet him in New York City right away. Unable to believe his good fortune, Harold immediately boards a flight to New York. He checks into the Algonquin Hotel and buys a bottle of champagne to celebrate. However, before his celebration gets underway, news of a murder breaks out.

Alex Cale is found dead in his hotel room at the Algonquin. Someone strangled him with his own shoelace and wrote cryptic words on the wall in Alex’s blood. The news rocks the Algonquin to the core, but it is the Sherlockians and the society who suffer the most. Alex was a leading Holmes scholar who claimed that he had recently discovered Conan Doyle’s lost diary. Everyone is convinced that someone murdered Alex to steal the diary, because it is nowhere to be found.

Harold worries that everyone will blame him because he is the newest society member. Determined to prove his innocence, he decides to solve the case on his own. Putting himself into Holmes’s shoes, he sets about investigating the crime scene. The authorities want him to stay out of it, but Conan Doyle’s own great-grandson hires Harold to solve the murder. He trusts Harold more than he trusts the authorities. With so much pressure on Harold’s shoulders, failure isn’t an option.



Meanwhile, the narrative jumps back to the 1890s, when Conan Doyle kills off Holmes’s character in Switzerland. Devoted readers are furious and Conan Doyle retreats from public life. One day, someone sends him a letter bomb with cryptic words written inside the envelope. Interestingly, these are the same words written in the present day at the crime scene.

Although Conan Doyle asks the authorities for help, they don’t care about him. They are not interested because the bomb didn’t hurt him and, besides, it’s his fault for killing off such an iconic character. Disgusted at police incompetence, Conan Doyle sets out to catch the perpetrator. A fellow author, Bram Stoker, offers to help.

Conan Doyle is sure that he will find who is responsible for the letter bomb. After all, everyone loves his murder mystery stories. He reasons that if he thinks like Holmes, he will succeed. He keeps a diary where he jots down his findings. He notes how everything is progressing and he keeps a record of any evidence he collects. It is this diary that has gone missing in the present day.



Back in the present, reporter Sarah Lindsay arrives looking for details of Harold’s investigations. Harold doesn’t have any information to give her, but he invites her to join the team. Sarah acts as Harold’s very own “Watson.” The difference is that, while Holmes never fancied Watson, Harold is attracted to Sarah. Although he wants a relationship with Sarah, he refuses to let his feelings cloud his judgment, and he focuses his mind on the case.

Harold’s dedication to solving the crime draws attention from the Baker Street Irregulars. Not everyone is happy with Harold’s enthusiasm because he is no Holmes and he should stop pretending to be a detective. Others are not convinced the diary exists in the first place. They think that Alex made the whole diary up to impress the community.

Harold finally tracks down the diary and devours its contents. What he finds is disappointing. He learns that Conan Doyle and Stoker found the man who sent the letter bomb. They shot him dead rather than handing him over to the authorities. Harold is angry that the author he admires so much is a cold-blooded killer, but finding the diary solidifies his place in the society forever. Alex’s murder remains unsolved.