Series Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.
Table of Contents
Fast-paced yet thorough storytelling of simple yet baffling mysteries. This is a classic masterpiece for a reason.
Who will love it?
All lovers of mystery thriller and crime fiction will surely adore delving into this classic. By now most of you have watched Sherlock Holmes-related movies and TV shows, and if you especially loved Benedict Cumberbatch’s version, you will surely love reading this original version.
If still not convinced, read the full reading notes below.
Where to grab a copy?
This pundit highly recommends finding a copy you can borrow (i.e., from a friend or library), instead of immediately buying a new book. Trees are generally used to make the paper in the books we read so we must be mindful.
If not possible, consider buying a new book from your local bookshops. Online shopping (i.e., Amazon or whatever online bookstore serves closest to you) must only be your last resort.
Happy reading!
Full Reading Notes
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Considered a great milestone in crime fiction, the Sherlock Holmes stories will surely have you wearing your thinking cap with every case that comes through 221B Baker Street’s door.
Written during the late 1880s, a time when forensic science was not as sophisticated as now with DNA and such (plus knowledge gained through numerous true crime documentaries and TV shows) it could make some of Holmes’ methods plain common sense. Nevertheless, the storytelling was effective thus preserving the inscrutability of the cases while delivering satisfying conclusions to each case.
Receiving queer clients. Listening to baffling stories of what appears to be simple crimes. Witnessing and preventing tragedies and scandals. Cornering each culprit to submission and confession.
Most of the story follows this flow but it doesn’t rob it of its charm. It instead makes you feel like living each day with Holmes and Watson at their well-known abode, and isn’t that exciting!?
The Sherlock Holmes collection reviewed here was composed of two volumes.
Click here to see a list of favorite stories from the first volume. Possible spoilers ahead.
- The Study in Scarlet where Dr. John Watson first met Sherlock Holmes and witnessed his deductive powers in solving perplexing crimes.
- The Sign of Four where Holmes and Watson met Ms. Mary Morstan (the future Mrs. Watson).
- Adventures of Sherlock Holmes which includes the short story of A Scandal in Bohemia where the beautiful and smart Ms. Irene Adler was introduced. I don’t think I’m the only Sherlock fan who hoped that there would be some “romance” between Ms. Adler and Holmes.
- Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes which included The Final Problem wherein Holmes was supposed to have died after confronting his mortal enemy, Professor Moriarty.
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes which included The Adventure of the Empty House wherein Holmes was revealed to have survived his “duel” with his now-dead nemesis.
- The Man With the Twisted Lip
- The Adventure of the Speckled Band
- The Five Orange Pips from Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- All the stories on The Return of Sherlock Holmes have this weird air, and the conclusions are just downright genius that would make you love each one of it.
For Volume 2, the novels The Hound of the Baskerville and The Valley of Fear will never fail to leave one with a sense of dread and fear. The way Sir Doyle tells the story creates a horrifying effect on your imagination. And I just love him all the more because of that. These two, however, are the only stories that had a ‘horrifying vibe’.
Sherlock Holmes is my first love and after many years, the stories in these books never fail to give me the best mental exercise I always seek when reading mystery books.
-The ArKivist
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