Review: 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook from LEGO® Icons

With the endless surge of adult-oriented sets, it is astonishing that Sherlock Holmes, the world's most famous detective, has not officially appeared in a LEGO® form – not even as a Gift with Purchase, similar to the Jules Verne set. 

Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, Sherlock's influence in storytelling has been remarkable. Thus, it's brilliant to see that his LEGO debut is directly bound to books: LEGO® Icons set 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook is designed to be displayed among them.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook

• Release date: 1 June 2025, pre3-order available now from the links below
• Pieces: 1359

Price and link to pre-order: 

• US$ 129.99 on LEGO.com US
• CA$ 149.99 on LEGO.com Canada
• GB£ 109.99 on LEGO.com UK
• AU$ 199.99 on LEGO.com Australia
• NZ$ .99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
• DE€ 119,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
• NL€ 119,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
• FR€ 119,99 on LEGO.com France
• PLN 539.99 on LEGO.com Polska
• NOK 1649,90 on LEGO.com Norge
• DKK 999.95 on LEGO.com Danmark

Other countries click here

 

The interesting parts

Recolours

• 5x Brick Special 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side in Dark Tan (6536855 | 87087)
• 2x Slope 18° 2 x 1 x 2/3 in Dark Bluish Gray (6533800 | 5404)

Two different recolours; 7 pieces in total. Both of them are generally useful, and I'm surprised that 1x1 SNOT brick took so long to appear in dark tan – it's the 37th colour of the piece. I expect these pieces will be available in other sets soon.

Prints

• 2x Tile 2 x 2 with Groove and "Moriarty Disappears" Newspaper print in White (6542016)
• Tile 1 x 3 with "Baker"  print in Light Bluish Gray (6542014)
• Tile 1 x 3 with "Street" print in Light Bluish Gray (6542015)

Baker and Street tiles are crucial to the finished model, so it's nice that they're printed. I think they're useful on their own as well, maybe as a carved sign for an archaic bakery?

Rare parts

• Door 1 x 4 x 6 Smooth with Chamfered Handle Plinth in Black (6400373 | 35291) – also in 7640812 Grimmauld Place
• Tile Round 1 x 2 Half Circle in Bright Green (6536989 | 1748) – with 1 extra, also in 77247 KICK Sauber F1 Team C44 Race Car
• Wedge Plate 12 x 3 Right in Dark Orange (6533065 | 47398)  also in 21354 Twilight The Cullen House (read our review of set 21354 by Zachary Hill)
• 6x Brick Curved 1 x 4 x 2/3 Double, No Studs in Dark Bluish Gray (6485348 | 79756) – in 2 other sets

The rare assortment is small as well, with nothing too exciting.

Sticker sheet

Some of the stickers feature physical objects, similar to sheets in many LEGO® Friends sets. I generally dislike this, but it's understandable in the tight spaces of this peculiar model. Many Easter eggs and references are hidden in these stickers.

Elementary Bookshop is fun, of course; I wonder if I could find a "New" decorated tile to go with it…

New Elementary, dear Watson

First, our dynamic duo: Doctor Watson and Sherlock Holmes. Their new pieces are:

• Hat, Bowler in Dark Brown (6554634 | 95674) – recolour
• Head Watson in Nougat (6542009) – new print

• Hat, Deerhunter Cap, Plain in Dark Tan (6543864 | 7425) – new mould variant
• Torso Sherlock in Tan (6554633) – new print 

The deerstalker hat appeared previously in LEGO® Minifigures Series 5 Detective, also known as definitely-not-Sherlock-Holmes, with a print (4632323). The mould has been updated slightly: keen-eyed readers will notice that the lower corners of the ear flaps are a little more rounded in the new version. Furthermore, the creases are more distinct on the new variant.

Irene Adler, from Scandal in Bohemia, sports a new medium lavender dress:

• Neckwear Cape Collar, High Rounded in Dark Purple (6561001 | 20551) – recolour
• Torso Adler in Medium Lavender (6554749) – new print
• Skirt Adler in Medium Lavender (6542013) – new print

Paige is one of Sherlock's local young informants, and Moriarty is his nemesis. Paige consists of existing parts, including the torso of Peregrin Took, but Moriarty gets new head and jacket:

• Head Moriarty in Warm Tan (6542011)
• Torso Moriarty in Black (6554746)

Building Baker Street

The build process for the model is very straightforward. There are some interesting angles used to create the narrowing alley space when the nook is closed, but generally the build is mostly about stacking bricks. Heck, the process took me back to my childhood sets of the early 2000s, with their walls of mixed panels, regular bricks and tall bricks.

Now, there isn't anything wrong with that, but sets are generally technically interesting to build these days, so I was mildly surprised by this.

The architecture looks like a plausible rendition of downtown Victorian London. 

Baker Street has a hinge in the middle, cleaving the window of the central building in an amusing fashion. 

The iconic 221B (shown above right) is the best of the three buildings, slightly reminiscent of the location used in the BBC series Sherlock created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. The semicircular window above the doorway, the simple pattern of masonry bricks, and the little lanterns create a credible atmosphere. The stickered door is a letdown, though; it's missing one panel to make room for the knob stud, and feels half-hearted.

Nonetheless, this definitely lacks the wow factor of the best Modular Buildings, for example; this is especially apparent on the lame "roof", represented by one layer of 2x4 slopes. However, this is less regrettable in this particular set, as it's designed to be closed and displayed amidst books – with the general atmosphere being more important than intricate architectural details! 

But before we process onto the bookshelf, let's check for clues and secrets. 

The bay window of the bookshop turns, revealing a mediocre secret of dog food and a letter. I wish the bay window had a better plinth. 

There's a stickered bookshelf behind the door. The placement is bizarre and the sticker detail is far less interesting than a brick-built one would have been, especially as it's crudely split between two panels. But maybe there's some amusement in having a bookshelf with a small bookshop with a sticker of a bookshelf in it? I feel there's a missed opportunity of depicting this set in the graphics.

The middle building has a gear function that lifts the door, revealing Moriarty, the Napoleon of Crime. This, again, takes me back to my childhood sets, namely LEGO® Star Wars ones.

With almost its whole upper wall able to swing open, 221B has the best interior. The 3D brick-built furniture (or should that be 2.5D?) is delightful and the violin is a welcome addition as well. The clue board and the Reichenbach Falls paintings work well as stickers – I wish the two small lamps were physical, though. I applied this sticker upside down – oops! Not intentional. The lamps felt more natural this way, but the painting looks a bit odd. 

The coat rack, weirdly positioned quite high up behind the door, is less successful.

Once the book is closed, Baker meets Street and the facades are only seen from a narrow street perspective. The effect is excellent.

And the effect is even better when inserted between books, as intended. The sudden, cavern-like space in the middle of books is delightful.

Although usually unseen, the front-side cover has the iconic silhouette of the famous detective. I was initially skeptical of this, being afraid that the studded surface would make the composition too noisy. Fortunately, the stark colour contrast between tan and black makes it sharp and neat. The pipe has been omitted.

This is the side they don't want you to see.

Conclusion

It's quite surprising that it took this long to have an official Sherlock Holmes set: He is one of the most famous fictional characters, firmly in the public domain and presented in several popular adaptations. Yes, we got a definite Sherlock lookalike in Collectable Minifigure Series 5, but that was 14 years ago – many bricks have streamed under the LEGO bridge ever since.

I think it's a brilliant idea to make the Sherlock set as a book nook. It makes a fascinating, slightly mysterious display, and doesn't require a huge amount of space. I also suppose that people who don't have a bookshelf don't need a Sherlock Holmes set, so there shouldn't be a problem.

As a minifigure set it's good, as a parts pack it's worse than average – although the value of 1359 parts and 5 minifigures for US$129.99/ £109.99/ 119.99€/ AU$199.99 is actually pretty good. There aren't any exciting techniques, and the architecture could be more ambitious.

These are not crucial weaknesses in the finished build, certainly when seen as a shadowed alley; hiding the shortcomings and boosting the atmosphere. In short, it's a successful set for Sherlock Holmes fans. Others can skip it – and wait for a book nook set that fits their interests! Or a DVD nook, a VHS nook, or a 12 inch LP nook… This idea is neat, and I hope they'll make more. Maybe I'll make some of my own designs – I definitely have books to accompany.

Pre-order now; available 1 June 2025

 

READ MORE: Go from Holmes to Homer: our review of 10352 The Simpsons™: Krusty Burger

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