The mysterious death of a Sherlock Holmes scholar

In the 13 December issue of The New Yorker, David Grann writes about the mysterious death of the world’s leading Conan Doyle/Sherlock Holmes scholar, Richard Lancelyn Green. The article is not available online, but newyorker.com has an "online only" chat between David Grann and Lauren Porcaro about the case, which reads much like a Holmes case.

Grann on why he was drawn to this case: "Initially, I suppose, it was simply the idea of the world’s leading Holmes expert himself being found dead in mysterious circumstances. He had been investigating the whereabouts of an archive of Conan Doyle’s papers, which he believed had been stolen. At the same time, he hinted that there had been threats to his life and that he was being followed; soon afterward, he was found garroted in his room, surrounded by Sherlock Holmes books and posters, with a cord around his neck. What interested me in the story, though, was more than the mystery of his death; it was the subculture in which it took place — this world of Sherlock Holmes and Conan Doyle devotees, many of whom were trying to deduce what had happened to Green."

Those interested in this case should also read Sarah Lyall's "The curious incident of the boxes", which first appeared in The New York Times in May but is also not available online now. But a few other newspapers reprinted the story and made it available on the Net: here's the Sydney Morning Herald one which I read.