The Autistic Sleuth by Chris Chan and Patricia Meyer Chan, Ph.D. - ARC Review

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I received an ARC from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review.

Screen Portrayals of Detectives on the Spectrum in Sherlock Holmes Adaptations, The Millennium Trilogy, The Bridge, Death Note, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Other Productions. 

From Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayals of Sherlock Holmes, to the Scandinoir investigators Lisbeth Salander of The Millenium Trilogy and Saga Norén of The Bridge, to anime's L in Death Note, to Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, increasing numbers of crime shows and movies have featured detectives on the autism spectrum. Portrayals of such characters have been met with acclaim and criticism. Is the entertainment industry celebrating neurodiversity or is it reinforcing stereotypes? In The Autistic Sleuth, over two dozen characters appearing in filmed productions from around the globe will be analyzed to explore how film and television present atypical minds through some of the world's most popular detectives,

The Autistic Sleuth by Chris Chan and Patricia Meyer Chan, Ph.D. released by MX Publishing is a new favorite work of nonfiction. Chris Chan deftly discusses and analyzes onscreen portrayals of sleuths on the autism spectrum including several versions of Sherlock Holmes, Lisbeth Salander, Monk, L, and Will Graham among many others. I can't resist Sherlock Holmes, so when I spotted this on Reedsy Discovery I knew I had to try it and luckily I'd say this is their best yet. 

Chris Chan is refreshingly direct in laying out this book and the reasoning behind why he wanted to write it. The goal of the book is to help those on the autism spectrum put their experiences into words as well assist neurotypical people in gaining a greater understanding of what life can be like for someone with autism via movies and tv shows. He also notes that some of the characters he discusses displayed mental processes and characteristics similar to himself, even if the characters might never be addressed as being on the spectrum. He's also interested in seeing the future of characters such as Sherlock Holmes and the rest as more research is done and how autism will be portrayed onscreen. As he states, hopefully more about how the characters deal with challenges they face day-to-day and their psyche rather than focusing on just their mannerisms and quirks in the crime genre and others. 

As I mentioned above, this is a fascinating read and it brings up elements that I don't often take into consideration as a neurotypical person and how it relates to the genre, as well discussions of aspects I have considered regarding the characters by going into further detail. I was most interested in Chapter 6: Wardrobe Functions?, Chapter 7: Visual Representations of Mental Processes and Observations, and Chapter 9: But You've Got to Have Friends. I loved that the author does quite a bit especially with Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock, Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes, Adrian Monk from Monk, Will Graham from Hannibal, and even L from Death Note. The only character I would have absolutely loved to have seen represented in this book is Edwin Payne from Netflix's Dead Boy Detectives, but I know that series is probably a little bit too new. 

Overall, I can't recommend MX Publishing's The Autistic Sleuth by Chris Chan and Patricia Meyer Chan, Ph.D. enough, especially if you're interested in pop culture analysis through an autistic lens, Sherlock Holmes, and even just discussions of a variety of detectives in movies and tv shows. Thank you to Chris Chan for reminding me of all the tv series and movies that I'd like to rewatch or start for the first time, especially Miss Sherlock and Extraordinary Attorney Woo. I'd also like to thank the author for his analysis and for helping me to look at aspects of these characters and their programs in another way. I will certainly have to read more of Chris Chan's work in the future.

My review is also on Reedsy Discovery and Goodreads.