Sherlock - www.sherlockholmes.com

Did you know that Sherlock Holmes never said 'Elementary my dear Watson' in the same line; or that A Conan Doyle was going to call his characters Sherringford Holmes and Ormond Sacker? One sounds like a building firm and the other let's be glad he changed his mind.

I found this all out on a website called sherlockholmes.com. It's a website dedicated as much to Sherlock Holmes and crime fiction as it's possible to get. But firstly, this site is the home for the Sherlock magazine.

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Sherlock Magazine

Sherlock is a bi-monthly magazine dedicated to detective fiction. This is the main frame of the magazine that started off as a fan 'must have' of the world of Sherlock Holmes.

Originally the magazine was called The Sherlock Holmes Gazette and had reviews of the famous books by Arthur Conan Doyle, of the televisions series and films. The magazine now has a much wider scope and its appeal lies in the more extensive look at detective fiction, in which more recent detective creations are given as much consideration as Sherlock and his contemporaries. A recent magazine I received had articles that ranged from Philip Marlowe to Harry Potter! For someone who is not a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, but likes detective dramas, this magazine really interested me. I prefer the articles which are about detectives that I have seen on television and their writers like PD James. It also includes articles on crime conventions, has contributions from popular crime writers, and contains reviews on other types of crime fiction.

At £3.95 and issue, they certainly do a good job of fitting as much in the magazine as possible, although it could do with more pages for the money - or a reduced price. For a short period you can buy a back issue for £2. The best way of buying it seems to be online, since I've never found a newsagent that sells it on the shelf. You can get a yearly subscription for £23.70 or buy individual copies. You don't have to do this online. You can write and send a cheque to them.

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The website

The website offers lots of opportunities to purchase anything from books to a murder weekend. The site is easy to us, with lots of links on each page to get around (and not frustrated). The Shop link is to be able to purchase the magazine or any of the memorabilia. They even have a CD Rom archive of all the back issues of Sherlock for the die-hard fan. The Gallery link is for Sherlock artwork and desktop wallpaper. There is even a link for the Sherlock Holmes Hotel in Baker Street and Baskerville Hall Hotel in Powys.

I don't think is anything that this site doesn't cover. Overall, the best I've found yet.