Sherlock Holmes

If you know me, you know I love murder mysteries. From Agatha Christie to Arthur Conan Doyle to John Dickson Carr and everything in between. I eat them up. I love trying to solve the mystery myself before the book ends. I love the cleverness and the way a good detective can see things most people would miss and can piece together clues in a way an average person could not. It sounds morbid but I love the untraceable poisons, the sealed-room puzzles and even the classic stand by ways to commit murder.

One thing that makes a murder good (besides being totally believable, plausible, and solvable for the reader, which is a whole other blog post) is the psychology behind it. It's fascinating to watch a character develop into such a state that they commit murder or to decipher personality, motive and ability to peg the guilty character.

Recently, a friend and I went and saw Sherlock Holmes. Wow, was it great. They did such a good job of bringing Holmes' personality out and keeping with the classic Sherlock Holmes style. The story, the other characters, and even the way Sherlock deals with villain when he finally catches up to him are all reminiscent of the stories. The darkness and twists are done well and it's enjoyable to watch Holmes battle to save the English government and cope with personal struggles at the same time. The movie also does a wonderful job of bringing Sherlock Holmes into the modern world of movies, adding action, romance and humor in all the right places. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it this weekend!