The Devil and Sherlock Holmes

Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession

By: David Grann

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's Summary

Acclaimed New Yorker writer and author of the breakout debut best seller The Lost City of Z, David Grann offers a collection of spellbinding narrative journalism.

Whether hes reporting on the infiltration of the murderous Aryan Brotherhood into the U.S. prison system, tracking down a chameleon con artist in Europe, or riding in a cyclone-tossed skiff with a scientist hunting the elusive giant squid, David Grann revels in telling stories that explore the nature of obsession and that piece together true and unforgettable mysteries.

Each of the dozen stories in this collection reveals a hidden and often dangerous world and, like Into Thin Air and The Orchid Thief, pivots around the gravitational pull of obsession and the captivating personalities of those caught in its grip. There is the world's foremost expert on Sherlock Holmes who is found dead in mysterious circumstances; an arson sleuth trying to prove that a man about to be executed is innocent; and sandhogs racing to complete the brutally dangerous job of building New York City's water tunnels before the old system collapses. Throughout, Grann's hypnotic accounts display the power and often the willful perversityof the human spirit.

Compulsively listenable, The Devil and Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant mosaic of ambition, madness, passion, and folly.

©2010 David Grann (P)2010 Random House

One good story, but mostly ho hum.....

Overall, I can't really recommend this book. I found only a couple of the stories really interesting. My favorite was the story of the sand hogs and New York's water storage system. For the most part you can hear more interesting stories on weekly TV news magazines, such as 60 Minutes. The rather dull narration hurt the book and the lack of distinct pauses, breaks or lead-in's between stories was also annoying. If I had it to do over, I'm not sure I'd buy this book. The premise was promising, but the author didn't really deliver as promised. Sherlock Holmes was much more exciting than this guy.

A box of nonfiction candy

This is one you can dip into whenever you feel like it and enjoy it. Strong narration.

An excellent listen!

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I awaited each new chapter wondering what the next topic was going to be. The narrator did an excellent job. I was sad when it ended.

About 50/50

A few really interesting stories about interesting people and an equal # of clunkers about boring sports stars or other dull narratives about uninteresting people doing uninteresting things. I would probably recommend the reader skip it. If you're interested in Holmes, you will likely be bored by stories of squid hunting. If you're interested in bank robbers, you'll probably be bored by tedious stories of sports stardom, and vice versa. Overall it's hard to imagine the listener who won't skip about half of these.

Wanted to love it but.....

It’s a book of very random news stories. There is one story connected with Holmes so I’m not sure how that ended up as the title. I felt it rather dragged on and on (I’m not a news junkie). Some of it was interesting but it went on far too long......

Some are much better than others

Not impressed by the the reading performance at all. Some of the stories are very weak.

A masterful set of stories from David Grann

For as much as I have read, I believe David Grann might be the most lucid storyteller and hubristic writer I have read. Once again the truth-oriented prose is interesting, enlightening and riveting. This work, an amalgamation of recent history and stories at first put me off - like books of short stories, I expected some to be good and others - meh. I was very wrong - every story was as good as the other. My hats off .... again to David Grann and all of us lucky enough to share his work. Richard

True Crime reporting at its best

I have enjoyed David Grann's books on The Lost City of Z and the impetus for the FBI (Killers of the Flower Moon). I unhesitatingly picked up this book based on my regard for Grann but also my interest in Sherlock Holmes. The book is a collection of articles/stories, each of which reports on some odd tale of madness or murder. I found the book fascinating and readable, and a wonderful way to start off my 2019 Month of Horror (aka October). I recommend to any true crime fan. This was a page turner.

Great stories... But rather random

I thought this book would connect Sherlock a lot more, though it is well written, and the stories are captivating. I think the title should include " short stories of..."

Interesting style

Thoroughly enjoyed this compendium of short stories. Some, I enjoyed more than others. Just a bit disappointed that there wasn't more on the Sherlock Holmes note. Sometimes the role of Holmes in the big picture could be confusing. All the same, I think I liked this piece because it is so different. Learned a lot. I like Grann's literary style.