Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, first appeared in A Study in Scarlet in 1887. Four novels and 56 short stories later, the popularity of Sherlock Holmes continues into the 21st century and has inspired several movies and TV shows. In honor of his “birthday” on January 6, we are highlighting some of the novels written based on Holmes and/or characters from his stories.
First, start with Conan Doyle’s classic tales: Sherlock Holmes: the complete novels and stories, Volume 1 includes A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, and the ever popular The Hound of the Baskervilles.
And Volume 2 includes The Valley of Fear and the final story, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, which was published in 1927.
The most recent pastiche is The Sign of Four Spirits by Vicki Delany (coming soon to the library catalog and cloudLibrary), book #9 in The Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries. The series starts off with book #1, Elementary, She Read. Gemma Doyle moves from England to the US to become part-owner and manager of her great-uncle, Arthur’s, Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, located at 222 Baker Street, New London, MA. Gemma’s best friend, Jayne, runs Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room, next door to the bookshop. Moriarty is a regular feature in this series, but in the form of the shop’s resident black cat. Gemma shares Holmes’ ability for solving crimes.
Mrs. Hudson, Holmes’ housekeeper, is a regularly featured character in the Three Tomes Bookshop series by Colleen Gleason. Former librarian, Jacqueline Finch, inherits an enchanted bookshop where literary characters come to life. This series combines cozy mysteries with fantasy and magical realism. The first book in the three book series is Tomes Scone & Crones.
More series that might interest you:
Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft, is featured in the Mycroft Holmes Novels by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse. The first book, Mycroft Holmes.
The little sister of Sherlock and Mycroft is the main character in the very popular teen series, Enola Holmes Mysteries. The most recent book in this series, Enola Holmes and the Mark of the Mongoose.
Sherlock Holmes retires and takes on a new partner in the Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King. The most recent edition to this series is Castle Shade and can be found here:
(If you enjoy this series, keep an eye out for The Lantern’s Dance, book #18 in this series which will be coming out in late February 2024).
In this twist of Conan Doyle’s tales, Charlotte Holmes is solving crimes under the name Sherlock Holmes, with the help of Mrs. Watson. A Study in Scarlet Women is the first in the series by Sherry Thomas.
For digital copies of these titles and more, be sure to check out shelf in cloudLibrary!
