"A delicious foray into the compelling--and grisly--world of nineteenth-century forensics, as Lindsey Fitzharris unmasks the 'real' Sherlock Holmes. Convincing and delightful!" --ERIK LARSON, author of The Devil in the White City "Lindsey Fitzharris: the most entertaining writer in the history of the history of medicine! In her latest exploration of the field's quixotic heroes, we meet the physician Joseph Bell, the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes and a pioneer in the nascent field of medical jurisprudence, a.k.a. criminal forensics. With just the right amount of delightfully lurid detail, Fitzharris brings to life the first murder cases wherein science took a seat in the courtroom. Fascinating and fabulous." --MARY ROACH, author of Replaceable You and Stiff "With the mastery of character and atmosphere that lent her books The Facemaker and The Butchering Art such novelistic drive, Lindsey Fitzharris deciphers every clue to the character and wizardry of the legendary diagnostician Dr.
Joseph Bell, who inspired his student Arthur Conan Doyle to create Sherlock Holmes. Her chapters on particular cases that Bell himself investigated--including Jack the Ripper--are as suspenseful as thrillers, and rich in cinematic scenes." --MICHAEL SIMS, author of Arthur and Sherlock "You will devour Sleuth-Hound , Lindsey Fitzharris's superbly crafted and enthralling tale of Joseph Bell, the brilliant Scottish surgeon and the real-life inspiration for Sherlock Holmes. Fitzharris is a virtuoso at creating manner and mood, and I felt I'd been transported back to Victorian-era Scotland, listening firsthand to Bell's eerily accurate assessments of murder cases despite scant clues. Sleuth-Hound is as spellbinding and addictive as anything from the pen of Arthur Conan Doyle himself." --ABBOTT KAHLER, author of Eden Undone "Lindsey Fitzharris is an electrifying storyteller whose gift for weaving science and history into an impeccably researched narrative is second to none. In Sleuth-Hound , she brings the extraordinary world of Joseph Bell--the brilliant physician who inspired Sherlock Holmes--vividly to life with all the pace of a detective story and the authority of a master historian. A compelling, unforgettable book that is a must-read for every lover of historic true crime.
" -- HALLIE RUBENHOLD, author of The Five "In this biography that's as spellbinding as any work of fiction, the award-winning Fitzharris ( The Facemaker , 2022) rescues Bell from the periphery of the Holmes story and restores him to his rightful position as the inspiration and model for the great consulting detective." --David Pitt, Bo oklist "Revelatory . [Fitzharris] spins a fast-paced true crime saga that demonstrates how Bell accomplished in real life what Holmes practiced on the page . Mystery fans will be delighted by this propulsive chronicle of the origins of the modern detective story." -- Publisher's Weekly "True-crime aficionados will enjoy Fitzharris' lively accounts of some decidedly grisly misdeeds . She has written two previous books on medical men aimed at general readers ( The Butchering Art , 2017, and The Facemaker, 2022), and her prose is equally engaging here . An enjoyable dip into the linked fields of scientific developments and criminal investigations." -- Kirkus Reviews " A must for fans of Sherlock Holmes or true crime, [a] fascinating history.
" -- Christina Ianzito, AARP.