“Sherlock” features a real mnemonic technique called a memory palace. But you don’t need to be Holmes to use it!
“Long-Term Working Memory,” by Ericsson & Kintsch - http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/harnad/Papers/Py104/ericsson.long.html
A study of MRI results for people using memory palace techniques - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9673660
“The Art of Memory,” a fantastic history of mnemonic techniques, & how they’ve been employed throughout history - http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Memory-Frances-Yates/dp/1847922929
A great article by the Smithsonian about Sherlock & the memory palace technique - http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/secrets-sherlocks-mind-palace-180949567/?no-ist
Also, quick note from /u/becutandvid on Reddit: if you make sure each room in your memory palace has exactly 5 hooks, you can achieve some indexing & error checking!