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4.45 AVERAGE
4.45 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's Sherlock Holmes!
What else is there to say?
What else is there to say?
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What is there left to say about these stories? Before I sat down with this collection, I'd read only The Hound of the Baskervilles and a handful of stories from "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," and that was back in high school. Picking this up fresh and reading it all the way through from "A Study in Scarlet" to "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman," I thought the stories were brilliant. Not all of them (there are a few in the middle where they begin to blend together) but I disagree with the critics over the past century or so who have said his later work wasn't as good as the early material, that everything written in the 20th century doesn't hold up to the material from the 19th. Some of the very best stories come right near the end. The dialogue is masterful, and his knack for description incomparable. I'm not a huge fan with Penguin's ordering of the contents (they didn't go chronologically, so The Hounds of the Baskervilles (1902) appears after the Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905) and the story order is mixed up somewhat) but it still holds up well, it's a beautiful-looking volume, and Ruth Rendell's foreword is excellent. From A Study in Scarlet, which I adored, all the way to the end, I absolutely loved this book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
*My overall rating is 4.5 stars for the entire bind up. I do list each story and my rating individually, as well as my average rating for each collection.*
A Study in Scarlet: 4 stars
The Sign of the Four: 4.5 stars
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: 3.9 stars
-"A Scandal in Bohemia": 4 stars
-"The Red-Headed League": 3.5 stars
-"A Case of Identity": 4.5 stars
-"The Boscombe Valley Mystery": 5 stars
-"The Five Orange Pips": 4 stars
-"The Man with the Twisted Lip": 3.75 stars
-"The Blue Carbuncle": 3.5 stars
-"The Speckled Band": 3 stars
-"The Engineer's Thumb": 4 stars
-"The Noble Bachelor": 4.5 stars
-"The Beryl Coronet": 3.5 stars
-"The Copper Beeches": 4 stars
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: 3.6 stars
-"Silver Blaze": 3 stars
-"The Yellow Face": 3.5 stars
-"The Stockbroker's Clerk": 3.5 stars
-"The Gloria Scott": 3 stars
-"The Musgrave Ritual": 4.5 stars
-"The Reigate Squire": 3 stars
-"The Crooked Man": 3 stars
-"The Resident Patient": 4 stars
-"The Greek Interpreter": 4.5 stars
-"The Naval Treaty": 4 stars
-"The Final Problem": 4 stars
The Return of Sherlock Holmes: 3.2 stars
-"The Empty House": 3 stars
-"The Norwood Builder": 3 stars
-"The Dancing Men": 4 stars
-"The Solitary Cyclist": 3.5 stars
-"The Priory School": 4.25 stars
-"Black Peter": 3.75 stars
-"Charles Augustus Milverton": 3.5 stars
-"The Six Napoleons": 3.75 stars
-"The Three Students": 3.25 stars
-"The Golden Pince-Nez": 3 stars
-"The Missing Three-Quarter": 3.25 stars
-"The Abbey Grange": 3.5 stars
-"The Second Stain": 3.25 stars
The Hound of the Baskervilles: 4.5 stars
The Valley of Fear: 3.5 stars
His Last Bow: 3.6 stars
-"Wisteria Lodge": 3.75 stars
-"The Cardboard Box": 4 stars
-"The Red Circle": 3.75 stars
-"The Bruce-Partington Plans": 3.25 stars
-"The Dying Detective": 3 stars
-"The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax": 3 stars
-"The Devil's Foot": 3.5 stars
-"His Last Bow": 4.25 stars
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes: 3.9 stars
-"The Illustrious Client": 3.75 stars
-"The Blanched Soldier": 3.75 stars
-"The Mazarin Stones": 4 stars
-"The Three Gables": 3.75 stars
-"The Sussex Vampire": 4.5 stars
-"The Three Garridebs": 3.75 stars
-"Thor Bridge": 4.25 stars
-"The Creeping Man": 3.75 stars
-"The Lion's Mane": 3.75 stars
-"The Veiled Lodger": 4 stars
-"Shoscombe Old Place": 3.75 stars
-"The Retired Colourman": 3.5 stars
Average Rating Overall: 4.3 stars - rounded up to a 4.5 stars
This was a great collection of short stories and novels (novellas?). It had its ups and downs, but overall I really enjoyed my time reading this massive bind up of the entire series.
A Study in Scarlet: 4 stars
The Sign of the Four: 4.5 stars
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: 3.9 stars
-"A Scandal in Bohemia": 4 stars
-"The Red-Headed League": 3.5 stars
-"A Case of Identity": 4.5 stars
-"The Boscombe Valley Mystery": 5 stars
-"The Five Orange Pips": 4 stars
-"The Man with the Twisted Lip": 3.75 stars
-"The Blue Carbuncle": 3.5 stars
-"The Speckled Band": 3 stars
-"The Engineer's Thumb": 4 stars
-"The Noble Bachelor": 4.5 stars
-"The Beryl Coronet": 3.5 stars
-"The Copper Beeches": 4 stars
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: 3.6 stars
-"Silver Blaze": 3 stars
-"The Yellow Face": 3.5 stars
-"The Stockbroker's Clerk": 3.5 stars
-"The Gloria Scott": 3 stars
-"The Musgrave Ritual": 4.5 stars
-"The Reigate Squire": 3 stars
-"The Crooked Man": 3 stars
-"The Resident Patient": 4 stars
-"The Greek Interpreter": 4.5 stars
-"The Naval Treaty": 4 stars
-"The Final Problem": 4 stars
The Return of Sherlock Holmes: 3.2 stars
-"The Empty House": 3 stars
-"The Norwood Builder": 3 stars
-"The Dancing Men": 4 stars
-"The Solitary Cyclist": 3.5 stars
-"The Priory School": 4.25 stars
-"Black Peter": 3.75 stars
-"Charles Augustus Milverton": 3.5 stars
-"The Six Napoleons": 3.75 stars
-"The Three Students": 3.25 stars
-"The Golden Pince-Nez": 3 stars
-"The Missing Three-Quarter": 3.25 stars
-"The Abbey Grange": 3.5 stars
-"The Second Stain": 3.25 stars
The Hound of the Baskervilles: 4.5 stars
The Valley of Fear: 3.5 stars
His Last Bow: 3.6 stars
-"Wisteria Lodge": 3.75 stars
-"The Cardboard Box": 4 stars
-"The Red Circle": 3.75 stars
-"The Bruce-Partington Plans": 3.25 stars
-"The Dying Detective": 3 stars
-"The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax": 3 stars
-"The Devil's Foot": 3.5 stars
-"His Last Bow": 4.25 stars
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes: 3.9 stars
-"The Illustrious Client": 3.75 stars
-"The Blanched Soldier": 3.75 stars
-"The Mazarin Stones": 4 stars
-"The Three Gables": 3.75 stars
-"The Sussex Vampire": 4.5 stars
-"The Three Garridebs": 3.75 stars
-"Thor Bridge": 4.25 stars
-"The Creeping Man": 3.75 stars
-"The Lion's Mane": 3.75 stars
-"The Veiled Lodger": 4 stars
-"Shoscombe Old Place": 3.75 stars
-"The Retired Colourman": 3.5 stars
Average Rating Overall: 4.3 stars - rounded up to a 4.5 stars
This was a great collection of short stories and novels (novellas?). It had its ups and downs, but overall I really enjoyed my time reading this massive bind up of the entire series.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
mysterious
tense
I've always loved Sherlock Holmes and I always will. You can read them in any order you like, the characters barely matter, and the crimes are never boring. Doyle understood the rules of a mystery novel better than most authors do now, after 130 years of evolution in the genre.