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Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
by Maria Konnikova
Viking, 2013 ($26.95)
Konnikova, author of the Scientific American blog Literally Psyched, has been fascinated by Sherlock Holmes since the days when her father read aloud to her from Conan Doyle's classic mysteries. Now a Ph.D. candidate in psychology, she examines Holmes's powers of perception and problem solving through the lens of her discipline. The book is part literary analysis and part self-help guide, teaching readers how to sharpen the ways they observe the world, store and retrieve memories, and make decisions.