We recently took an informal poll at the bookstore, and despite us all being Sherlock Holmes fans, very few of us had actually read any Arthur Conan Doyle. Embarrassing as that may be, I’m willing to bet that many of you have also failed to take the time to read his novels or short stories. I was equally inspired to this choice by the recent reissue of The Silent Bullet by Arthur B. Reeve, whose main character Professor Craig Kennedy is often called “the American Sherlock Holmes.” Reeve is quoted as saying his main inspiration as a writer was the perfection of Doyle’s novel The Sign of Four, but as The Silent Bullet is a collection of interwoven stories, I wanted to make sure that Doyle’s first collection, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, was also included. So, you’ve got lots of choices for your Sherlockian adventure. - McKenna
Official Selection
Official Selection
Bonus Recommendation:
Described as the first modern detective story, The Murders in the Rue Morgue changed the history of literature.
C. Auguste Dupin, a detective in Paris, exhibits many of the classic tropes of detective fiction, and proved to be a huge influence on Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Christie’s Hercule Poirot.
Bonus Recommendation:
A contemporary take on Sherlock Holmes, Joe Ide’s series featuring Isaiah Quintabe offers some of the best modern deduction around. An unlicensed PI operating in inner-city LA, ‘iQ’ and his brilliance make for engaging, gritty, compelling reading.