Investigating Sherlock

Let me first say that I had a fangirl moment when I saw this on Netgalley. I'm a huge BBC Sherlock fan to the point where I sit through 90 minutes of a "kinda okay" live stream of Sherlcok when it airs in the UK cause I don't want to wait the several months until the States pick up. SO this book made me a very happy fangirl.

Now the book -

I enjoyed this book. I love how the author took the time to talk about the characters, the actors, the creaters of the show, and the author behind the amazing Sherlock. This would be a fun book to have while watching the show - watch an episode than read the chapter for it and so on.

Some of the material I knew from being a fangirl for the show but some was new material for me. I enjoyed learning new things about the actors. I Also learned new information about the author who created Sherlcok. I was shocked to learn that he got paid a one time check for his first novel and recieved no royaliies after. The profit lose now is most likely huge!

The set up of the book is great - talks about each episode than provides readers with fun facts, hints for the next episode, goofs, and fun details.

OVerall a great book that I enjoyed and think all fans of the Sherlock show would enjoy.

For those of us suffering Sherlock withdrawal until the next season, this book is a Godsend. It's an in-depth guide to Sherlock so far. It begins with background on the creation of the series and includes profiles of the creators, stars, and Arthur Conan Doyle himself.

Then it continues with an episode by episode description of the show. Each season has a short introduction as well.

The descriptions are fantastic and point out many aspects, especially within the context of the season's theme, that are easy to miss. As a result of reading these I am watching the series again and I am definitely seeing more in them thanks to the book.

Each episode's chapter has a long description of the episode. They also include highlights, nit picks, and mistakes. Lovers of the Holmes stories will find the sections "ACD to BBC" particularly delightful. These sections point out things from the other Holmes stories that are included in the episode and how they might be changed.

With a huge section of references at the end, there's plenty of places to learn more.

This book is great for lovers of Sherlock or for those perplexed by the show.

This unofficial guide begins with an account of how the show came to be - if you're a fan of the BBC Sherlock, you're probably already aware of the way it came to be, scribbled out on a train journey between Cardiff and London. It travels on, coming across as being a fairly careful, neutral account - simply what happened. This account goes on to say how the actors were cast, and also includes a short history on Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Doyle himself. Throughout it contains interesting tidbits or quotes, such as a comment from Benedict Cumberbatch on Sherlock: 'I always make it clear that people who become obsessed with him or the idea of him - he'd destroy you ... He is an absolute bastard.'

It moves on to full accounts of each episodes, how it compares to the original stories, interesting facts, nitpicks, and information such as the use of the word deductions is wrong - it should be 'inductions', as 'deductive reasoning begins with a collection of statements known to be true', rather than guesses. The amount of information it has on each episode is staggering, interesting, and yet remains easy to read - making it a joy to relive each episode from wherever you may be cozily reading.

Also important to note, is the huge section of references at the end - enough to keep any fan busy as we wait for the next episode to come about.

This is written with an easy hand, taking quite a lot of fact and blending it in as though it's an easy conversation between friends as you squee over a piece of fandom that's important to you. There's a bit of comic timing included in the writing that Stafford should be proud of. As a fan of the show who is online far too much, I honestly thought there wouldn't be too much I didn't already know - having read the original stories countless times for many years, and seeing many of the adaptions well before and after Sherlock. I'm surprised to say that this account told me quite a bit that I didn't already know (or perhaps had shoved out of my head some time in the past to make room for new information, and has now refreshed itself!), so I completely endorse this guide as being for all fans - even those who think they already know too much. Because really, there's no such thing, is there?

Being a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and a bigger Sherlock fan I was thrilled to see this book on Netgalley. . This book is chock full of information on this loved tv show . It describes how the show came to be and how the actors came to take this roles. . It gave me a lot of facts I knew nothing about. the other thing I enjoyed about this is the book reads like you are a hiving a conversation with one of your friends

An interesting book. Excellent work has been done to demonstrate how the Sherlock TV series draws heavily on the Canon rather than being a mere spin-off.

“Investigating Sherlock” by Nikki Stafford is an unofficial guide to the amazing BBC series, Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson. If you’ve not seen the series yet, be warned… this book is FULL of spoilers! Stafford starts with a brief history of the genesis of the show, including a bit of background on its two creators, Steven Moffitt and Mark Gatiss. She then presents brief biographies of Cumberbatch, Freeman, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with lots of interesting trivia about the two actors (apparently Freeman hates the constant comments that he’s an “everyman” and Cumberbatch is easily pranked). But the meat of the book is an extremely detailed episode guide to the first three seasons of the show. Each episode is analyzed in detail and Stafford also includes a lot of additional material, such as things that hint at future episodes, stuff happening in the background that viewers might miss, interesting behind-the-scenes information, references to the original Doyle canon, and bloopers and nitpicks.

Stafford clearly is not only a devotee of Sherlock but is also very well-versed in Doyle’s original works. This book is not just a simplistic summary of the episodes but an in-depth analysis of the characters, their relationships, and their development over the three seasons. In addition to discussing each individual episode, Stafford also looks at each season and examines how the show and the characters evolve. She shows how Sherlock grows and changes over the course of the three seasons, and how his relationships with other characters (such as John, Mycroft, and Lestrade) and their reactions to him change as well. If you are a fan of Sherlock, you definitely will enjoy reading this book.

I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Specifically the current BBC show, not Elementary, the movies, or anything else.
It starts, as one would expect, with a chapter on how the series came to be, with the long train rides during the filming of Dr Who giving the creators time to come up with this idea. There’s also a bit on the casting; it’s hard to remember Benedict Cumberbatch wasn’t a gigantic star before this show started, whereas Martin Freeman could at least be called semi-famous. Also a big chapter on Conan Doyle, from his start as a doctor and how he based the character on one of his med school professors to him being fooled by fairies. Nothing new if you’re a huge fan, but concisely done for the newbies.
Finally we get to the episodes, with each of the nine given a chapter that includes a synopsis—forget about spoilers, if you haven’t seen them yet you shouldn’t be reading this—highlights, “Did you notice?”, references to the original books, interesting facts, nitpicks, and bloopers. Since I’m a huge fan of the books, I like how the author compares them to the filmed version; shamefully I admit I missed some. There’s also plenty of interviews to keep things fun.
All in all, there’s really nothing here that a fan wouldn’t like.
4.5 rounded up to 5/5

Have you been Sherlocked?

If you love the series, Sherlock, you need to own this book! Filled with interesting facts, episode guides and Nikki Stafford's whimsical writing, it's a must-read!

I love Nikki Stafford and own her Buffy the Vampire Slayer guides (Bite Me!).

If you know someone who is a fan, please do them a favor and buy this book for them! They'll love you for it!

Note: There are spoilers in this book so if you haven't seen a particular episode, please skip over it. :)

The amazing story of the birth this modern classic

"The world's most famous man who never was" - Orson Welles

An unofficial guide of Sherlock.. Call me intrigued!

The author doesn't give you the usual fan guide that gushes about a show/celebrity/fandom, au contraire, she takes you back to the very beginnings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his life, and how he created Sherlock Holmes.

She then goes to give you the background of both Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, and how everything led to the moment they decided to give us the modern day Sherlock we know and love. The intrigue doesn't end here, Stafford also takes us through the process of casting the show, a glimpse into how Benedict and Martin's got the iconic roles.

If you haven't watched the show (the three seasons), I don't recommend reading the book because there are spoilers, I mean, there is an episode guide, so it is a given.

What I loved about the episode guide is that its not just a run through what happened each episode. It is far more superior than that. Each episode is broken down into:

- Guide
- Highlight for anything funny or notable.
- Did you notice? hints or things the viewers might have missed.
- From ACD to BBC all references tot he original Air Arthur Conan Doyle canon.
- Interesting Facts behind the scene information/explanations.
- Nitpicks little things that annoyed the author.
- Oops bloopers!

Isn't that awesome? As a die-hard Sherlockian, I believe that this guide is a must read. If you've been Sherlocked, it deserves a permanent place on your shelf.

* This arc was kindly provided by ECW Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

If you love the show then this is a must have.

The BBC series Sherlock became an international wonder. Placing stories in the present day introduce and re-introduce many to the wonderful tales written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Investigating SHERLOCK: The Unofficial Guide by NIKKI STAFFORD is a delight for any Sherlock series fan. It consist of 5 chapters beginning with “EVERYTHING HAD CHANGED IN 90 MINUTES” - The Genesis of Sherlock where we are introduced to the developers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatis, through the auditions and airing of the first episode. Chapters 2 and 3 are individual bios of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Chapter 4 is dedicated to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fifth chapter contains episode guides to the first three seasons of Sherlock.

The entire book is well-written and researched. However, it is the episode guides where Ms. Stafford's writing shines. Each guide interweaves an overview of the episode with behind the scenes development, nods to the original stories, analysis, notes regarding moments related to past and future episodes, public impact, special moments and even a few errors revealed. Also included with the episode guides are interviews with those who have studied Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writings and the many other television and film interpretations.
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The season three commentary was not quite as robust perhaps because it is the most recent. I look forward to a future addendum when seasons 4 and beyond are released. Hopefully with an updated season 3 perspective to tie it all together.

Special nods for the wonderful.artwork by Michel Vrana and Aleksandra Lech, publication support by the Canada Council for the Arts and special thank you to the publicist, Samantha Dobson at ecw press for sending me an Advance Reading Copy.

“This is not the story of a great detective and his sidekick, but of two men: John Watson, a man who is missing something in his life and who finds it in Sherlock Holmes, a man who doesn’t realize he needed someone until he finds John.”

This book starts with an introduction on how the BBC series started, casting Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch into their respective rolls, and a chapter on Conan Doyle. There’s nothing new in these chapters that I haven’t heard before or that can’t be easily looked up, but it’s nice having it all in one place or for someone not familiar with Conan Doyle’s original works.

What fan will really get a kick out of is the following chapters which is basically a highlight of each episode from the first three seasons of BBC’s Sherlock. Each chapter points out different facts about the episode and how it compares with the American movie version and the original book version. It even highlights references made to the book version (in the original (“A Study in Scarlet” the note left was rache referring to the German word revenge, while in “A Study in Pink” Anderson suggested that and Sherlock called him an idiot).

Overall, this would be a nice book for any fan of the BBC show.

Wonderful companion to the series. Great for anyone loving the show!!!