Book Review: "The Devil and Sherlock Holmes" by David Grann

David Grann is perhaps one of those authors I read actually to learn something from because my reading experiences from his books have been rather boring - yet I keep coming back. This is a strange phenomenon yes, but it does go to show that you can still read books you don't like the writing of if you're somewhat interested in the topics they cover. In the case of The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, David Grann has turned himself and some of the cases into some sort of mythical fortification. There is something truly unbelievable about each tale and yet, they are completely true stories. It does make them slightly more interesting even if David Grann's writing style blands them out a bit. This book is 12 stories of this kind, so let's have a look at which ones were the best in my opinion.

The book opens on perhaps the best story concerning the death of Richard Lancelyn Green. he story centres on Green, a leading expert on Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle, who is found dead under mysterious circumstances in his London apartment in 2004. He had been obsessively searching for lost Conan Doyle papers and believed that they were about to fall into the wrong hands. His body is discovered with a shoelace tightened around his neck, leading to speculation about murder, suicide, or something more sinister. This is actually a really interesting story and, after reading a story about a showboating baseball player in the same anthology - I have to say I'm confused about how these were chosen.

Another story I enjoyed was The Chameleon. It concerns the tale of Frédéric Bourdin, a French con artist, who pretends to be missing children across Europe and the U.S. The story focuses on Bourdin’s most audacious con, in which he impersonates a missing Texas teenager. Despite looking nothing like the boy and being much older, he convinces the family and even authorities that he is their long-lost child, exposing deep emotional vulnerabilities in the family structure. I liked this because it also unveiled that the brother and the mother may have known the whole time what had actually happened to the missing kid.

One of the great stories concerns Cameron Todd Willingham. Grann examines the case of Willingham who was a man executed in Texas in 2004 for allegedly setting a fire that killed his three daughters. Grann investigates new evidence that suggests Willingham may have been innocent, raising questions about flawed forensic techniques, systemic injustice, and the irreversible nature of the death penalty. It is an intriguing story which invites the reader to contemplate the death penalty and what it means for the government to send people to their deaths.

There's one really cool story that focuses on criminality and the way it is cultivated through image. This story centres on Forrest Tucker, a career criminal in his 70s, who continues to rob banks despite multiple prison escapes and run-ins with the law. Grann portrays Tucker’s love for the thrill of the heist, even as his old age catches up with him, turning him into a folk hero of sorts, with a lifelong passion for outwitting the authorities. He is described as this super-outlaw and a man who has a deep want to be just like Jesse James. Creating the mythos of the bank robber is very important to cultivating that image - but not everything goes the way he planned it to.

Another great story is about the military and its influence of the image of America over the national audience. This investigative piece delves into the relationship between Hollywood and the U.S. military, exposing how the Pentagon influences movie scripts. Films that seek military assistance, such as access to equipment and personnel, must pass military scrutiny. Grann reveals the political maneuvering and censorship that often take place behind the scenes, shaping public perception of war and military life. I cannot help but think I already knew about this one as some sort of conspiracy theory beforehand. It only makes sense.

All in all, I think that this book is a lot better than the other David Grann books I have read, but there are still some stories that I don't think should be in this anthology because they simply don't fit. For example there is one about baseball which I thought was really, actually quite boring. However, it is still better than his other texts for me.