Books to Read Before the Movie Comes Out

In the film version of Mitch Cullin’s riveting novel—titled Mr. Holmes for its July release—Ian McKellen plays Sherlock in old age, working on one last case while wrestling with an increasingly uncooperative memory. McKellen is inspired casting for a film about a brilliant, stylish sleuth who refuses to let time get the best of him. Return to the print original, however, for a story that smartly explores the subtle and intricate ways our minds work—or, more to the point, don’t. The added bonus: While Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories were narrated by Holmes’ assistant, Watson, here the revered sleuth himself gets the last word, mocking the way those classic tales “pander to popular tastes.”