Reviews

Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Illustrated Novels by Arthur Conan Doyle

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booksfinity's review against another edition

4.0

Amazing!
Sir Conan Doyle has actually written a masterpiece of his times. This is still worth reading. I have heard that many people compare it with the series as they think that series is the whole copy of the book. But, that's wrong, it's not. There is a huge difference between what you read in this book and what you see in the Netflix series.
I personally liked the book very much. Highly recommended to people who love mystery, thriller books.
*WORTH READING AT LEAST ONCE IN YOUR LIFETIME*
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Individual Rating- 4/5

kmonty's review against another edition

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5.0

Tremendous work in breadth of annotations, beautiful book.

actualresultsmayvary's review against another edition

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4.5

Historic
Rating and review from notebook

- Intriguing mystery
- Fast paced
- Well rounded minor characters
- Deep dives into background and history
- Stories aren't connected so some details missing
- Good variety of stories

thrity's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

rareadss's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It was a great compilation but not the 4 books were good, i didnt like the third but i loved the first and last so because there is a lot of difference opinion between the books, the review is average

ashlightgrayson's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I was happy to finally read the source material for Sherlock Holmes. I've seen many adaptations throughout my life and it's great to see where the inspiration came from. There are so many takes directors and actors have had on the same stories. My favorite novel was definitely A Study in Scarlet. I didn't find any of the other novels quite as engaging and found it a bit more difficult to sit down and read them for long periods of time. I think I'll probably fare better in that department with the short stories. I don't read a lot of mystery in general, so I think that's also partially to blame for my attention span problem. However, for anyone that likes mystery and wants to pick up a classic that has prose that is easy to understand, I would definitely recommend the Sherlock Holmes novels.

Content Warnings

crowyhead's review against another edition

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5.0

A Study in Scarlet (4/5)

This novel describes Holmes and Watson's first meeting, with Watson being at first unsure what exactly his new roommate does for a living. The mystery itself wasn't one of my favorites; parts of it struck me as a bit contrived, and the long flashback that takes place in Utah and doesn't involve Holmes or Watson bored me a little.

The Sign of Four (5/5)

This is a really good one, if quite short. There's lots of exotic stuff (stolen treasure! a Pygmy who shoots poisoned darts!) and some great deducing by everyone's favorite detective.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (5/5)

My favorite of the Holmes novels. This one is still good even if you know how it ends, and offers some pleasantly shivery moments, what with spectral hounds howling on the moors and such.

The Valley of Fear (4/5)

I have mixed feelings about this one. In a lot of ways it seems like a short story that was padded out with a flashback (much like A Study in Scarlet), and I found the end a bit depressing and dissatisfying. On the other hand, the interaction between Holmes and Watson at the beginning of the novel is wonderful, with Holmes coming off as almost playful in his teasing of Watson.