The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

How it reads

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is mystery (detective fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is tense. The suspense is the kind you feel in your shoulders. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a big city setting, in the historical past, told in the first person by several narrators. Its central concerns are justice, secrets and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It's a later book in a series — you'll usually want to start earlier. The ending resolves happily. At 378 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.