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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
A fun mystery (with some problems/reflections of its time) that weaves in a little sense of mythology as the title suggests.
welcome to...THE HOUND OF THE DECEMBERVILLES.
man, every sherlock holmes title sounds like it was randomly generated by a computer.
anyway, it's another PROJECT LONG CLASSICS installment. this is not that long of a classic, but i couldn't think of a better pun (i know – think of how low of a bar), so i'll be reading a chapter of this per day all month long.
let's get into it!
CHAPTER 1: MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES
likely title for chapter 1 to be.
kind of fun to just watch watson and holmes gossip for a while...attempt their little "deductions" and whatnot. and then also be totally wrong.
CHAPTER 2: THE CURSE OF THE BASKERVILLES
inching ever closer to that title.
unfortunately i find it very difficult to be scared by the thought of a big dog, which is the best kind of dog there is.
CHAPTER 3: THE PROBLEM
to be honest i would have pinpointed "guy murdered by magic ghost dog" as the problem. but i guess that's why i'm not sherlock holmes.
CHAPTER 4: SIR HENRY BASKERVILLE
i bet this guy is about to seem completely innocent and normal.
he actually does seem okay. but the doctor just revealed a phrenology side interest that i'm not loving.
CHAPTER 5: THREE BROKEN THREADS
i want to say that holmes and watson have a will they / won't they thing going on, but i'm scared of the fanfiction creators i would align myself with.
CHAPTER 6: BASKERVILLE HALL
oh, what a coincidence. there's a deranged escaped murderer lurking around our new neighborhood. chekhov's nearby serial killer.
CHAPTER 7: THE STAPLETONS OF MERRIPIT HOUSE
can't a woman even sob horrifically through the night with no tangible cause without being considered a clue in a murder anymore?
CHAPTER 8: FIRST REPORT OF DR. WATSON
can't wait for this dork's basic thoughts to be translated into brilliance by sherlock.
i have to say, it's an interesting strategy for a (checks notes) sherlock holmes book to have its hero offpage the whole time for...the incredible reasoning of "he's working on other cases which we are not reading about."
CHAPTER 9: SECOND REPORT OF DR. WATSON - THE LIGHT UPON THE MOOR
two people are hunting an actual nearby serial killer in the dead of night on a mysterious moor, and they're more scared of a dog they heard barking. get real.
CHAPTER 10: EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF DR. WATSON
no chance this is anything but "Mr. Dr. Sherlock Holmes...Mr. John Holmes...Dr. Mr. John Watson Sherlock Holmes...he loves me, he loves me not..."
CHAPTER 11: THE MAN ON THE TOR
let's play another round of my favorite game: Am I In A Bad Mood Or Was This Twist Annoying?
CHAPTER 12: DEATH ON THE MOOR
dun dun dun!
this is a lot more scandalous than other sherlock installments i've read. all sorts of impropriety happening.
CHAPTER 13: FIXING THE NETS
it's all coming together now...
CHAPTER 14: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
title chapter title chapter title chapter!
we gained awareness of an evil dog and we lost awareness of an evil woman...tragedy unfolding before our eyes.
CHAPTER 15: A RETROSPECTION
sounds like this one will be action-packed.
OVERALL
this is not the best sherlock (he's barely there, the mystery itself requires multiple extensive recaps, the big reveal is kind of drawn out and therefore disappointing) but it's still sherlock.
rating: 3.5
man, every sherlock holmes title sounds like it was randomly generated by a computer.
anyway, it's another PROJECT LONG CLASSICS installment. this is not that long of a classic, but i couldn't think of a better pun (i know – think of how low of a bar), so i'll be reading a chapter of this per day all month long.
let's get into it!
CHAPTER 1: MR. SHERLOCK HOLMES
likely title for chapter 1 to be.
kind of fun to just watch watson and holmes gossip for a while...attempt their little "deductions" and whatnot. and then also be totally wrong.
CHAPTER 2: THE CURSE OF THE BASKERVILLES
inching ever closer to that title.
unfortunately i find it very difficult to be scared by the thought of a big dog, which is the best kind of dog there is.
CHAPTER 3: THE PROBLEM
to be honest i would have pinpointed "guy murdered by magic ghost dog" as the problem. but i guess that's why i'm not sherlock holmes.
CHAPTER 4: SIR HENRY BASKERVILLE
i bet this guy is about to seem completely innocent and normal.
he actually does seem okay. but the doctor just revealed a phrenology side interest that i'm not loving.
CHAPTER 5: THREE BROKEN THREADS
i want to say that holmes and watson have a will they / won't they thing going on, but i'm scared of the fanfiction creators i would align myself with.
CHAPTER 6: BASKERVILLE HALL
oh, what a coincidence. there's a deranged escaped murderer lurking around our new neighborhood. chekhov's nearby serial killer.
CHAPTER 7: THE STAPLETONS OF MERRIPIT HOUSE
can't a woman even sob horrifically through the night with no tangible cause without being considered a clue in a murder anymore?
CHAPTER 8: FIRST REPORT OF DR. WATSON
can't wait for this dork's basic thoughts to be translated into brilliance by sherlock.
i have to say, it's an interesting strategy for a (checks notes) sherlock holmes book to have its hero offpage the whole time for...the incredible reasoning of "he's working on other cases which we are not reading about."
CHAPTER 9: SECOND REPORT OF DR. WATSON - THE LIGHT UPON THE MOOR
two people are hunting an actual nearby serial killer in the dead of night on a mysterious moor, and they're more scared of a dog they heard barking. get real.
CHAPTER 10: EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF DR. WATSON
no chance this is anything but "Mr. Dr. Sherlock Holmes...Mr. John Holmes...Dr. Mr. John Watson Sherlock Holmes...he loves me, he loves me not..."
CHAPTER 11: THE MAN ON THE TOR
let's play another round of my favorite game: Am I In A Bad Mood Or Was This Twist Annoying?
CHAPTER 12: DEATH ON THE MOOR
dun dun dun!
this is a lot more scandalous than other sherlock installments i've read. all sorts of impropriety happening.
CHAPTER 13: FIXING THE NETS
it's all coming together now...
CHAPTER 14: THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
title chapter title chapter title chapter!
we gained awareness of an evil dog and we lost awareness of an evil woman...tragedy unfolding before our eyes.
CHAPTER 15: A RETROSPECTION
sounds like this one will be action-packed.
OVERALL
this is not the best sherlock (he's barely there, the mystery itself requires multiple extensive recaps, the big reveal is kind of drawn out and therefore disappointing) but it's still sherlock.
rating: 3.5
This is my first Sherlock Holmes. It was a clever little tale, but it made me think of middle school book reports. Watson seemed to do most of the work in this one, and Holmes just responded with "Quite right, my dear Watson," and then everyone swooned at Holmes's genius. Are all Sherlock Holmes stories that way?
Holmes burst into one of his rare fits of laughter as he turned away from the picture. I have not heard him laugh often, and it has always boded ill to somebody.
REREAD 2025. 3.5 stars. Every time I look at my rating for this book, I'm surprised to remember that I only gave it 3.5 stars. "Only" being very relative. 3.5 is a good rating for me! But this is one of my favourite series, and this book is one of the most popular. And in my mind, I feel like it should be up there with A Study in Scarlet. But then I reread it, and I'm like, yeah... I absolutely LOVE the setting and the atmosphere, I loved some of the little smaller problems, and I love all the Holmes/Watson moments in this. But the plot itself just doesn't really do it for me. Some parts of it, yes! But other parts are so obvious it's almost frustrating, and I got a little impatient with some of the conclusions.
But it's a Holmes book! I'll never not enjoy a Holmes book. Listened to the audiobook as read by Charlton Griffin, my very favourite version, and loved it as always. The little sound effects always get to me.
--
The more I reread this the more I recognise some of the little holes in it, but god, nothing beats the Atmosphere™ of the moor in those early chapters.
The more I reread this the more I recognise some of the little holes in it, but god, nothing beats the Atmosphere™ of the moor in those early chapters.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
The plot was intriguing but I struggled with the writing style. And come on, even I predicted the plot twist/mystery.
This was probably the most boring Sherlock Holmes book, but it did help me to sleep at night at least. I like that the books are getting more complex and in depth, but this book just went on for way too long for what actually happened in it. I did still like it and I don't regret having read it at all.