“What are the best books for fans of Sherlock Holmes?” We looked at 180 of the top books similar to Sherlock Holmes, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 18 books, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Books For Fans Of Sherlock Holmes” lists are ranked by how many times they appear. The remaining 150+ titles, as well as the lists we used, are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 18 Books For Fans Of Sherlock Holmes

18 .) Arthur and George by Julian Barnes

Lists It Appears On:

• The Lineup
• Scoop Whoop

As boys, George, the son of a Midlands vicar, and Arthur, living in shabby genteel Edinburgh, find themselves in a vast and complex world at the heart of the British Empire. Years later—one struggling with his identity in a world hostile to his ancestry, the other creating the world’s most famous detective while in love with a woman who is not his wife–their fates become inextricably connected.

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17 .) Death Cloud by Andrew Lane

Lists It Appears On:

• Norma Hinkens
• Book Riot

It is the summer of 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is fourteen. On break from boarding school, he is staying with eccentric strangers―his uncle and aunt―in their vast house in Hampshire. When two local people die from symptoms that resemble the plague, Holmes begins to investigate what really killed them, helped by his new tutor, an American named Amyus Crowe. So begins Sherlock’s true education in detection, as he discovers the dastardly crimes of a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent.

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16 .) Hercule Poirot Series by Agatha Christie

Lists It Appears On:

• About Great Books
• Scoop Whoop

Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks. In Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, the holidays are anything but merry when a family reunion is marred by murder—and the notoriously fastidious investigator is quickly on the case.

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15 .) Lock & Mori by Heather W. Petty

Lists It Appears On:

• Norma Hinkens
• Book Riot

“In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students—one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James “Mori” Moriarty—meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart.

Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more…”

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14 .) Miss Marple by Agatha Christie

Lists It Appears On:

• About Great Books
• Scoop Whoop

This collection gathers together every short story featuring one of Agatha Christie’s most famous creations: Miss Marple. Described by her friend Dolly Bantry as “the typical old maid of fiction,” Miss Marple has lived almost her entire life in the sleepy hamlet of St. Mary Mead. Yet, by observing village life she has gained an unparalleled insight into human nature—and used it to devastating effect. As her friend Sir Henry Clithering, the ex- Commissioner of Scotland Yard, has been heard to say: “She’s just the finest detective God ever made”—and many Agatha Christie fans would agree.

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13 .) Nero Wolfe Series by Rex Stout

Lists It Appears On:

• About Great Books
• Scoop Whoop

Trying to determine why his last two clients were ruthlessly murdered, Nero Wolfe wonders if the answer is linked to a young boy who turns up at his brownstone apartment and finds clues in a gray Cadillac, a mysterious woman, and spider-shaped earrings.

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12 .) Perry Mason by Erle Stanley Gardner

Lists It Appears On:

• About Great Books
• Scoop Whoop

“Criminal lawyer and bestselling mystery author Erle Stanley Gardner wrote nearly 150 novels that have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Now, the American Bar Association is bringing back his most famous and enduring novels—featuring criminal defense lawyer and sleuth Perry Mason—in striking trade paperback editions.

Married Eva Griffin has been caught with a prominent congressman, and is ready to pay the editor of a sleazy tabloid hush money to protect the politician. But first Perry Mason tracks down the publisher of the blackmailing tabloid and discovers a shocking secret, which eventually leads to Mason being accused of murder.

This is the first Perry Mason mystery and our introduction to secretary Della Street, detective Paul Drake, and the great lawyer himself.”

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11 .) The Final Solution by Michael Chabon

Lists It Appears On:

• The Lineup
• The Seattle Public Library

“Retired to the English countryside, an eighty-nine-year-old man, rumored to be a once-famous detective, is more concerned with his beekeeping than with his fellow man. Into his life wanders Linus Steinman, nine years old and mute, who has escaped from Nazi Germany with his sole companion: an African gray parrot.

What is the meaning of the mysterious strings of German numbers the bird spews out — a top-secret SS code? The keys to a series of Swiss bank accounts? Or do they hold a significance both more prosaic and far more sinister?

Though the solution may be beyond even the reach of the once-famous sleuth, the true story of the boy and his parrot is subtly revealed in a wrenching resolution.”

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10 .) The Italian Secretary: A Further Adventure of Sherlock Holmes by Caleb Carr

Lists It Appears On:

• The Seattle Public Library
• Library Point

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are summoned to the aid of Queen Victoria in Scotland by a telegram from Holmes’ brother, Mycroft, a royal advisor. Rushed northward on a royal train—and nearly murdered themselves en route—the pair are soon joined by Mycroft, and learn of the brutal killings of two of the Queen’s servants, a renowned architect and his foreman, both of whom had been working on the renovation of the famous and forbidding Royal Palace of Holyrood, in Edinburgh. Mycroft has enlisted his brother to help solve the murders that may be key elements of a much more elaborate and pernicious plot on the Queen’s life. But the circumstances of the two victims’ deaths also call to Holmes’ mind the terrible murder—in Holyrood—of “The Italian Secretary,” David Rizzio. Only Rizzio, a music teacher and confidante of Mary, Queen of Scots, was murdered three centuries ago. Holmes proceeds to alarm Watson with the announcement that the Italian Secretary’s vengeful spirit may have taken the lives of the two men as punishment for disturbing the scene of his assassination. Critically acclaimed, bestselling author Caleb Carr’s brilliant new offering takes the Conan Doyle tradition to remarkable new heights with this spellbinding tale.

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9 .) The Lew Archer Series by Ross MacDonald

Lists It Appears On:

• Scoop Whoop
• About Great Books

“No matter what cases private eye Lew Archer takes on—a burglary, a runaway, or a disappeared person—the trail always leads to tangled family secrets and murder. Widely considered the heir to Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, Archer dug up secrets and bodies in and around Los Angeles.

Here, The Archer Files collects all the Lew Archer short stories ever published, along with thirteen unpublished “case notes” and a fascinating biographical profile of Archer by Edgar Award finalist Tom Nolan. Ross Macdonald’s signature staccato prose is the real star throughout this collection, which is both a perfect introduction for the newcomer and a must-have for the Macdonald aficionado.”

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8 .) The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

Lists It Appears On:

• The Book Insider
• Bustle

“In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective’s next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning — crowds sported black armbands in grief — and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.

Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had “”murdered”” Holmes in “”The Final Problem,”” he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.

Or has it?”

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7 .) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

Lists It Appears On:

• Bustle
• Teen Librarian Toolbox

“It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath.

For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. “I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn’t. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life.””

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6 .) Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye

Lists It Appears On:

• The Lineup
• The Seattle Public Library
• About Great Books

“As England’s greatest specialist in criminal detection, Sherlock Holmes is unwavering in his quest to capture the killer responsible for terrifying London’s East End. He hires an “unfortunate” known as Mary Ann Monk, the friend of a fellow streetwalker who was one of the Ripper’s earliest victims; and he relies heavily on the steadfast and devoted Dr. John H. Watson. When Holmes himself is wounded in Whitechapel during an attempt to catch the savage monster, the popular press launches an investigation of its own, questioning the great detective’s role in the very crimes he is so fervently struggling to prevent. Stripped of his credibility, Holmes is left with no choice but to break every rule in the desperate race to find the madman known as “the Knife” before it is too late.

A masterly re-creation of history’s most diabolical villain, Lyndsay Faye’s debut brings unparalleled authenticity to the atmosphere of Whitechapel and London in the fledgling days of tabloid journalism and recalls the ideals evinced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most beloved and world-renowned characters. Jack the Ripper’s identity, still hotly debated around the world more than a century after his crimes were committed, remains a mystery ripe for speculation. Dust and Shadow explores the terrifying prospect of tracking a serial killer without the advantage of modern forensics, and the result is a lightning-paced novel brimming with historical detail that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”

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5 .) Jackaby by William Ritter

Lists It Appears On:

• Norma Hinkens
• Forward Reviews
• Book Riot

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary–including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain the foul deeds are the work of the kind of creature whose very existence the local authorities–with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane–seem adamant to deny.

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4 .) The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Lists It Appears On:

• Huffington Post
• The Lineup
• Scoop Whoop

“The Moonstone was immensely successful when it was first serialized in the Charles Dickens magazine All the Year Round in 1868. Many of book’s elements have since become classic features of the detective novel: the eventual conviction of the least-likely suspect; a bungling investigation led by local police and taken over by a more perceptive, slightly eccentric detective; the idea of a ‘mcguffin’ or object (in this case a diamond) that everyone wants and around which the plot pivots – to name but a few of the classic tropes first seen here.

The story begins with a brief prologue describing how the eponymous diamond was captured during a military campaign in India by a British officer in 1799. The action moves quickly to 1848 England, where, according to the British officer’s will, the diamond has been given to one of the soldier’s young relatives, Rachel Verinder. Rachel wears the stone to her birthday party, but that night it disappears from her room.

Was it stolen by a relative? A servant? And who are these three Indian men who keep hanging around the estate?

The intriguing and absorbing plot is told from the point of view of multiple characters – fracturing the narrative in a structure with built in suspense and a style that would be much imitated by later novelists.”

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3 .) The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Lists It Appears On:

• Scoop Whoop
• Huffington Post
• Library Point

While Edgar Allan Poe was most famous for his eerie tales of murder, ghouls, and suspense, he is also credited with paving the way for the future of detective stories with his character C. Auguste Dupin. Dupin made his first appearance in the murder mystery “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” a tale about the murder of two women. When Dupin questioned witnesses, everyone claimed that the murderer was speaking a different language, yet none of the witnesses could place his accent. Dupin put himself in the mind of the killer and read the faces of witnesses, suspects, and other persons of interest. He also drew inspiration and ideas from outside resources such as newspapers or police reports. As Dupin sought to unravel the mystery, Poe was creating an archetypal character that would be followed by many other great detectives. In the collection “The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales,” Poe allows Dupin’s genius to shine in stories like “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Mystery of Marie Roget,” and “The Purloined Letter.” These tales are not typical Poe stories, but instead all follow the cases that detective Dupin solves after other police and investigators are stumped. Dupin showed that, with a little ingenuity and creativity, even the most difficult case could be solved. Mystery lovers and Poe fans will all enjoy this groundbreaking collection and the intrigue that Poe creates within it.

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2 .) Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Lists It Appears On:

• Huffington Post
• Library Point
• The Lineup
• Bustle

The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks…including Murder on the Orient Express, the most famous Hercule Poirot mystery, which has the brilliant detective hunting for a killer aboard one of the world’s most luxurious passenger trains.

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1 .) The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie R. King

Lists It Appears On:

• Library Point
• Bustle
• The Seattle Public Library
• Teen Librarian Toolbox

In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles onto him on the Sussex Downs. Fifteen years old, gawky, egotistical, and recently orphaned, the young Mary Russell displays an intellect to impress even Sherlock Holmes. Under his reluctant tutelage, this very modern, twentieth-century woman proves a deft protégée and a fitting partner for the Victorian detective. They are soon called to Wales to help Scotland Yard find the kidnapped daughter of an American senator, a case of international significance with clues that dip deep into Holmes’s past.

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The Additional Best Books Similar To Sherlock Holmes

16 Best Sherlock Holmes Book Sources/Lists