The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession

The author of this book, David Grann, is the author of Lost City of Z, one of my all-time favorite books. Grann isn't a novelist, but rather he writes wonderful essays, and has been featured in the New Yorker. So you should assume immediately that this book isn't going to be another Sherlock Holmes pastiche, because it's not. Instead, it's a book of essays, but don't let that put you off. It is absolutely delightful. Grann has this thing about people who are absolutely obsessed about what they do, a fact you already know if you've read his splendid Lost City of Z. In this book, he takes his readers on a journey through a dozen different profiles, all completely true, all dealing with different types of obsessions. You have to admire his ingenuity in picking such different cases, yet having them all tie together so wonderfully. Structured in three parts, all headed by quotations from various Sherlock Holmes stories, the first section is subtitled "Any Truth is Better Than Infinite Doubt." Here's the guy whose lifelong ambition was to write the ultimate and the definitive biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. After there was a dispute over some of Sir Arthur's papers, the subject of this essay was found dead under some murky circumstances. Was it murder or suicide? Then there's the incredibly sad and horrifying case of the Texas man who may or may not have set his own home on fire, killing his children, and who may have paid the ultimate price due to the zealousness of certain arson investigators. The third entry in this section is the odd story of a French man that reads along the lines of Tey's Brat Farrar or even the movie "The Changeling," leading into the strange account of a man who may or may not have been guilty of murder, based on a book he wrote. Finally, there's the story of a firefighter who lost all memory of what happened to him on 9/11 as his unit went into the towers before they collapsed. Part Two, entitled "A Strange Enigma is Man," contains four stories: one about one man's obsession with giant squids, one about the Sandhogs deep under the streets of New York City, one about a man whose life was spent as a criminal, and the fourth relating to why a championship baseball player won't give up. Part Three, "All that was monstrous and inconceivably wicked in the universe," contains three essays. The first of these is about the Aryan Brotherhood and how it got its start, as well as its impact on prisons and law enforcement. The second focuses on Youngstown, Ohio, a city long under mob control. The final essay in this section (and in the book) stopped me cold. It focuses on a known Haitian political and death-squad leader who somehow ended up in New York as a real-estate agent. Even though the US government knew that this guy was an assassin, for "political" reasons, he's still free here in our country. If this one doesn't creep you out about the political system in our country, nothing will. Grann is an absolutely fabulous writer and his essays will keep you interested up to the minute you turn the last page. His approach is different and definitely holds your attention, and the added bonus is that you get a chance to learn a lot about things you probably had no clue about otherwise. I can most highly recommend this book and this author.And as a sidebar, if you have not yet read his other book, run, do not walk, and go get it.

While some of these stories are engrossing, a few bored me to death. I don't care to know about the Aryan Brotherhood or the Mob. But it's good to read stories about the goings-on in this country and other parts of the world.

Excellent novel with multiple stories

I didn't read other reviews. The title grabbed me, and I bought this book. Turned out to have little to nothing to do about Sherlock Holmes. More a series of true crime tales. Disappointed.

Interesting stories but in most cases there is a question in mind as "what is the rest of the story"

If you like real-life stories that impact the culture, this is a book for you. I am in the process of reading everything he's written. No weak link so far.

I loved each and every story in this book (the New York tunnels/aquaduct was my favorite). Wonderfully written. Made me read straight through the evening and the following day. Can't rate this high enough.

Well written, researched and documented tales of several smarmy, antisocial or eccentric individuals who captured significant public attention. Great if you are voyeur-inclined. Otherwise, you may feel like taking a shower after reading these.

Excellent seller

What can you say, another David Grann triumph.

David Grann has been called the greatest narrative journalist, and his ability to interview difficult subjects is attributed to his skill, persistence, and reputation. This is a collection of 12 articles. Nine were formerly published in the New Yorker and three in other magazines. His full-length true stories, intensively researched, are among my non-fiction favourites. These are the Lost City of Z, Killers of the Flower Moon, and his latest, The Wager. Readers will find some of these articles fascinating, others less so, depending on the reader's preferences. These stories were a mixed offering with little cohesive theme or subject matter. I was familiar with some accounts, but he added interviews, more details, and updates. Some articles would be 5 Stars for me, others less, and a couple I did not finish.

This is a great book and gave me hours of good reading.

I wanted an easy reading book for the holiday season and "The Devil and Sherlock Holmes....." did not disappoint. Short interview/documentary type stories that really catch your attention and made you think. I can read stuff like this all day. David Grann is an excellent writer, I own other books by him that are very good. But it only had 1 Sherlock Holmes story in it!