Their have been detectives that were called "a real life Sherlock Holmes" the most famous for me is a man called Fred Piggott who was a detective in Melbourne in the early 1900s. He is known as the man who brought modern forensics to Australia. However his reputation is no stained by the fact that his most famous case The Gun Alley Murder was a huge miscarriage of justice that lead to an innocent man hanging for a crime he did not commit.

However he also solved many murders that were considered next to impossible to solve like the murder of a Caulfield Schoolgirl.

Detective Piggotts Casebook Kevin Morgan

There was quite literally a real life version of Sherlock Holmes, in that he was inspired by one of Arthur Conan Doyle's lecturers whilst a medical student. Said lecturer was Dr. Joseph Bell, and he was known for amazing powers of deduction. Read this for a bit more information: http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/fiction-imitates-real-life-in-a-case-of-true-inspiration-172752.html