Pocket Essential Sherlock Holmes

Review: The Pocket Essentials series does live up to its name. I’m very impressed with Mark Campbell’s Pocket Essential Sherlock Holmes, whose 96 pages contain clear, accurate information about Holmes, his adventures and his creator, together with a run-down of the more important parodies and pastiches, famous (and not famous) actors who have played the detective, and recommended books and websites. Mr Campbell is not afraid to be opinionated (he thinks The Hound of the Baskervilles is ‘much overrated’), but he carefully distinguishes between fact and opinion. The Pocket Essential Sherlock Holmes is the best thing of its kind since The Sherlock Holmes Companion. Actually, I think it’s better.

Reviewed by: Roger Johnson, [District Messenger 212, 2001]