My latest read, “Sherlock Holmes and the Needle’s Eye” by Len Bailey was an interesting concept that had me intrigued as soon as I read the subtitle: “The World’s Greatest Detective Tackles the Bible’s Ultimate Mysteries.” I am a lover of mystery books, including Sherlock Holmes, and also love gleaning new understanding of Biblical stories.
Part of what made this book so much fun to read was the set up. The book is designed for use as a Bible study or just as a collection of stories. You, as the reader, have the choice of answering the questions for each story at the back of the book before beginning to read or not – and just reading it like any other book. I do have one caveat in this regard. I chose to read the book as a Bible study, but my Bible is a Study Bible. I made the mistake of reading my Bible’s study notes while I was answering the questions, which unfortunately solved the first mystery before I even read it. So, if you choose to do it as a Bible study, just read the biblical text. It will make the stories much more fun.
And the stories really are a lot of fun to read. There are ten different mysteries, from both the Old and New Testament, and it is the job of world famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick Dr. Watson to figure out the mysteries they have been presented with. Some of them are a little easier than others to solve, and one in particular was actually pretty moving to me as a Christian (“Dead Man Walking”).
Overall this was a great summer read and was easy to pick up without feeling lost because it had been too long since you put it down last.