THE SHERLOCKIAN by Graham Moore

My husband got me this when I couldn't stop raving about the brilliant new Masterpiece Theater depiction of Sherlock Holmes in today's London, and because I love seeing new takes on old stories. Moore's absorbing story is another creative spinoff with two alternating narratives happening a century apart. Both are based on true stories. One thread, set in 1900, follows Arthur Conan Doyle and Bram Stoker as they search for both a bomber threatening Conan Doyle and a serial murderer who marries and then murders young suffragists. This takes place during "the great hiatus," when Conan Doyle had seemingly killed off Holmes and as a result found himself quite unpopular. In the second story a modern-day Sherlockian seeks the killer of a fellow Baker Street Irregular who may have found a long-sought Conan Doyle diary. Both plots rapidly thicken, and gradually each enlightens the other, leading to a wonderfully satisfying conclusion. A perfect antidote to post-Christmas blahs. (In my Kindle version, a must-read Author's Note comes before the text, but you'll want to read it afterward--and possibly continue exploring the story of Conan Doyle, as I am going to do in Julian Barnes' Arthur and George.)