Can Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot help you solve your genealogy puzzles? Since the early 19th century, many such fictional sleuths have worked the pages of literature, and some have shared with their colleagues, and therefore with us, the methods and secrets of their successes. Their unraveling of mysteries often involves the same principles and techniques as our genealogical research.

As the incomparable Sherlock Holmes said, "There is a mystery about this which stimulates the imagination." This can be a crime waiting to be solved or an ancestor waiting to be found. This may be one newly discovered fact or the whole process of genealogy. Whichever it is at any given time, you are more likely to be successful with it when you let your imagination roam, when you question and ponder in the spirit of the sleuth, and when you remain open to imitate the sleuths. All of us can continue to grow in skill and understanding. And all of us would like to solve, during our lifetimes, some of our tough questions, to get beyond some of the proverbial brick walls.