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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Has a couple of my favorite Holmes cases, and a couple of my least favorite.
The Casebook is not the strongest of the Holmes oeuvre---it's not nearly as excellent as the Adventures, for example. However, it's still quite satisfying to the Holmes-o-phile.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
The weakest of the Sherlock Holmes canon in my opinion, I had a hard time paying attention to this volume. Stories are definitely better when Watson is the narrator. There were some fun moments, but the mysteries were not as compelling, which makes the racism/misogyny of the time period stand out more.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes was ok. I don’t think it was Doyle’s best effort as some of the stories seemed to be sort of “phoned in.”
The writing is still fantastic—I think so anyway. It was also pretty cool that Holmes wrote a few first hand accounts of a couple of the investigations.
I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan so I enjoyed this Case-Book, but if someone wanted a recommendation for where to start when reading Sherlock Holmes I would not suggest this book as it’s not the best.
The writing is still fantastic—I think so anyway. It was also pretty cool that Holmes wrote a few first hand accounts of a couple of the investigations.
I am a huge Sherlock Holmes fan so I enjoyed this Case-Book, but if someone wanted a recommendation for where to start when reading Sherlock Holmes I would not suggest this book as it’s not the best.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
GLBT-interest tag due both to the amazingly overt Holmes/Watson language in this collection AND to the one about the Boer War vet named Jimmie with the missing army buddy (hi, I suck at remembering titles), whom he refers to as "chum" (code in late-to-post-Victorian era for m/m friends with benefits) and whom he recruits Holmes to help him save entirely like a fairytale knight rescuing his fair princess.
I'm almost amazed it passed the censors, but the roaring 20s were far more lax than the aughts.
I'm almost amazed it passed the censors, but the roaring 20s were far more lax than the aughts.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a mixed bag. On the positive side it is a series of short stories so we get plenty of clever resolutions, and Steven Fry read the audio version with great relish, giving me flashbacks to Harry Potter audiobooks. One expects a certain level of sexism in books of this age, and these stories delivered that faithfully. The quite spectacular racism and ableism took me by surprise, though, and sullied the reading experience.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced