Event Details from Book Soup:
The problem with Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories is that there aren't enough of them. Fans try to fill the gap with spin-offs, some of which work better than others. This engaging riff on the familiar themes by first-novelist Moore is one of the best. His book alternates two stories and two centuries. The modern hero is twentysomething Harold White—mild, bookish, and smart. He's just been initiated into the prestigious Baker Street Irregulars when a premier Holmes expert announces that he has found Conan Doyle's long-lost 1900 diary. Then the expert is murdered. Maybe. The game is afoot, and so's Harold. The hero of the alternate chapters is Conan Doyle himself, gleeful after sending that hawkshaw Holmes to his death at Reichenbach Falls and ready to write real literature. But murders intervene, and he and his friend Bram Stoker must investigate. All these gumshoes, past and present, use Holmes' methods. Moore spins his tale in prose that shifts easily from exposition to pathos to sly comedy. It's based on fact: in 2004, a premier Sherlockian was found dead after claiming he'd discovered Conan Doyle's lost papers. Mystery fans should love the mix of historical fiction and contemporary puzzle-solving. And Sherlockians? Try keeping them away. (Don Crinklaw, Booklist)
