book review on sherlock holmes

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Book Review: Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume I

Rating: 5 stars

Since his first appearance in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been one of the most beloved fictional characters ever created. Now, in two paperback volumes, Bantam presents all fifty-six short stories and four novels featuring Conan Doyle’s classic hero – a truly complete collection of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures in crime! Volume I includes the early novel A Study in Scarlet , which introduced the eccentric genius of Sherlock Holmes to the world. This baffling murder mystery, with the cryptic word Rache written in blood, first brought Holmes together with Dr. John Watson. Next, The Sign of Four presents Holmes’s famous “seven percent solution” and the strange puzzle of Mary Morstan in the quintessential locked – room mystery. Also included are Holmes’s feats of extraordinary detection in such famous cases as the chilling “ The Adventure of the Speckled Band ,” the baffling riddle of “ The Musgrave Ritual ,” and the ingeniously plotted “ The Five Orange Pips ,” tales that bring to life a Victorian England of horse-drawn cabs, fogs, and the famous lodgings at 221B Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes earned his undisputed reputation as the greatest fictional detective of all time.

As someone who’s never read any of Sherlock Holmes’s tales, this was such an enjoyable read for me. The first volume out of two that feature all of Holmes’ tales told from the perspective of his trusted friend Dr. Watson, each of these stories intrigued me in various ways. I wasn’t sure when I started if I would enjoy reading these stories because while I’m a fan of mysteries and crime, classics aren’t always enjoyable to me. I don’t know if its due to difference in writing style over the years, but some classics I have a difficult time reading. Luckily for me though, I found Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing enjoyable.

I believe what made this first volume of Sherlock Holmes so enjoyable to me was the characters themselves, especially Holmes and Watson. I loved their relationship throughout from the start as I feel like they both balance each other out. Holmes is the type of person most people normally wouldn’t be able to tolerate and I feel like Watson is the perfect person to handle all his quirks. From their introduction to each other, I knew they would become such wonderful friends and there would be so many tales of adventure to be told.

The way in which Watson tells of each of their adventures is marvelous. I especially enjoyed when the villain was caught hearing that person tell of why they committed their crime. I also enjoyed hearing Holmes and all of his deductions that he would make from some of the simplest things that most people wouldn’t ever think of. I found his knowledge of crime throughout so interesting, especially since he was the one who normally had everything figured out before the Scotland Yard detectives who would call on his aid. I feel like with a lot of these stories like I was there with Holmes and Watson, asking questions of those involved and trying to figure out who committed the crime and why.

What I also loved about reading these Sherlock Holmes stories was that not all of the crimes committed were murder. I love that there were all sorts of crimes committed throughout, some ending in a way which I as the reader didn’t at all expect. I found this to be interesting because it shows you Sherlock Holmes’s character and that he doesn’t always feel like a person needs to be brought to justice. I found that especially interesting because it makes you question his character and ethics even though he’s the one who ultimately solves all these crimes.

What I loved about hearing these stories told from Watson’s perspective is that I felt like as the reader, I was reading his personal journal regarding these cases he helped Holmes with. And I found myself extremely interested in hearing with each case what would happen next, even if the end result was unexpected to me. Some of my favorite cases from this first volume were the ones with a twist I didn’t see coming or the stories with interesting protagonists who came to Holmes looking for help.

I would say if I had to choose a criticism for this book it would be that there are so many cases Holmes solved that I know I won’t remember them all. But I don’t see that as too much of a problem here because I enjoyed reading this so much that I know I’ll be rereading it again in the future. For now though, I’ve already started reading the second Sherlock Holmes volume in this collection, which has the rest of his stories I’ve yet to read and am looking forward to sharing my thoughts on those as well when I have finished.

Thank you for those who’ve finished reading this post! Leave a comment below if you’re at all familiar with Sherlock Holmes or have any stories you’ve enjoyed just as much as I’m finding myself enjoying reading these.

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Book Review: Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume II – Rainy Day's Books, Video Games and Other Writings

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Book Review: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

publisher’s synopsis

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes , a collection of twelve short stories by Scottish author Arthur Conan Doyle, is considered a milestone in the genre of detective fiction. With Sherlock Holmes’s clever disguises and ability to solve even the most elusive mysteries, as well as Holmes’s loyal friend and biographer, Dr. Watson, who narrates most of the stories, Doyle’s suspenseful stories and well-developed characters keep readers on the edges of their seats.

The nice thing about this short story collection is that each of the stories can be read in a sitting. Considering that most Sherlock novels can take a while to read, it’s fun to get short snippets of Holmes and Watson’s adventures.

Most of the stories follow similar formatting: a client arrives and recounts the details of the case to Holmes and Watson. Holmes then goes out and does some investigating. Then Watson joins him for the climax. The stories lend themselves more to “telling” than “showing,” but it works since they’re short stories, and that was one of the writing styles in the past.

I would recommend that readers first read a full novel about Sherlock Holmes, so as to get an understanding of the characters that will allow them to better understand and appreciate the short stories.

Cautions: several blasphemies; brief, non-graphic mentions of moderate/heavy violence; mentions of drug and opium use; one of the stories revolves around someone trying to recover a photo that would presumably reveal a scandal from his past *

*I didn’t keep exact track of cautions and may have missed some.

Petrina Binney - Author

"quirky, fun, and pleasantly disturbing," amazon reviewer.

Book Reviews

Book Review – The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

First published, 1892 This edition published, 2020

An excellent introduction to the world of Sherlock Holmes. This collection of short stories, written from Dr Watson’s perspective, show the logical, excitable, slightly-manic but always incisive Holmes as he uncovers various plots and baddies.

The writing is exceptional. Rich and highly textured, there’s so much to enjoy here. Also, although Watson is a clearly devoted sidekick, he lacks the haphazard, judgemental edge of early Hastings in Christie’s Poirot stories. For example:

“ ‘You appeared to read a good deal upon her which was quite invisible to me,’ I remarked. ’Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring you to realise the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumbnails, or the great issues that may hang from a bootlace…’ ” page 77, A Case Of Identity, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Some stunning imagery: “As evening drew in, the storm grew higher and louder, and the wind cried and sobbed like a child in the chimney.” page 123, The Five Orange Pips, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Highly enjoyable. Definitely recommended.

The stories in this collection are: A Scandal In Bohemia, The Red-headed League, A Case of Identity, The Boscombe Valley Mystery, The Five Orange Pips, The Man With The Twisted Lip, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb, The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor, The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet, and The Adventure of the Copper Beeches. They were first serialised in The Strand magazine.

https://amzn.to/34COBOT