Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Valley of Fear

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle

10 reviews

leosaki's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Arthur Conan Doyle was like how can I write a Sherlock Holmes book without having to write about Sherlock Holmes

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im_just_vidu's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

7.11p.m.
Just finished reading. Took me around 3 hours I guess.
Unlike some other Sherlock Holmes stories, this one had a completely different story that only makes sense at the very end. Sherlock Holmes part was only important in the first half of the story. The other half was about why it happened the way it happened, which felt like a completely different story until the very end. It was very interesting though. But there was a very little bit that I wanted to know that wasn't described in the story. I'm curious whether Mr. Douglas got punishment, if he did what type of punishment it is. And I'm curious to know whether he got forgiveness from the court or a special treatment from the American government or something like that.
However it was very interesting though. I was so stupidly believing that Mr. Douglas's wife and friend killed him together. Especially the friend. Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle proved that he's a genius & I'm a stupido once again. 😂
7.23

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chalkletters'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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Though I've labelled this a 'revisit' review, I don't think I've actually read The Valley of Fear before. For some reason, I have it down on my list as the final Sherlock Holmes story — though as far as I can tell, it's actually seventh in the series. The story wasn't familiar to me, which is exciting as I got to approach the mystery entirely unsolved.

The format of The Valley of Fear is very, very similar to that of A Study in Scarlet; it's divided into two books, the first features Sherlock Holmes and John Watson attempting to solve a murder in an English country house, while the second travels to America to give us the backstory of the people involved. The secret society ensconced in a remote mining community has extremely similar vibes to the Mormon community in A Study in Scarlet. The women characters are treated (slightly) better, at least, in that they are allowed to make their own decisions and not just abandoned to mistreatment.

Taking the two halves separately: the mystery of The Valley of Fear isn't one of Arthur Conan Doyle's best. A seasoned reader of mysteries will probably immediately realise that the witness testimony is highly suspect. That said, Arthur Conan Doyle was writing earlier than a great many popular mystery authors, so perhaps it wouldn't have been as obvious at the time. The second half is engaging, and features an elements of murder and mystery which make the whole thing feel more in keeping with a Sherlock Holmes book than did the random historical romance inserted in A Study in Scarlet.

Though published later, The Valley of Fear is set before Reichenbach, so can't advance the relationship between Holmes and Watson enough to be interesting. That said, Holmes is extremely idiosyncratic throughout, which is good fun to read, especially the spiel he goes on about why detectives need to be so dramatic.

The Valley of Fear is no The Hound of the Baskervilles, but it's about equally enjoyable as A Study in Scarlet.

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orchidlilly's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Ooh, this one was fun! I rather like the half-and-half style of the Holmes novels, where you get the mystery in the first half and the backstory in the second, it's neat. Secret societies are fun, although you do forget for the most of the story that this is supposed to relate to Moriarty, which is maybe the point. For this one, I find I like the second half better than the first, simply because I think it has a little bit more suspense, but both bits are good. I think it's my favorite Holmes novel so far.

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happysami's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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ayushk21's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I want to be able to say this is the better version of A Study in Scarlet, that Sir Conan Doyle tried again with inserting a long backstory of the American West into a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and it worked better this time. I can't quite decide if it's true...

The first section of the book, the mystery, is a solid five stars! The second section, the back story, is an improvement over the back story in A Study in Scarlet in the sense that it's at least moderately enjoyable to read. And then there's the denouement, which I hated.

So.

Not a favorite, but I'd probably re-read it, if only because the beginning section is so good.

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I struggled a bit with this. I really enjoy Sherlock Holmes short stories but it seems like the novels are more hit and miss for me. The first half of this was a standard murder investigation which I enjoyed but the second part follows the backstory of a character in the USA and it just didn't hold my attention. The absence of Holmes and Watson meant it just wasn't as interesting to me and I guessed the resolution pretty early. A Study In Scarlet, had a similar flashback, which I remember also disliking. However The Hound Of The Baskervilles was great and I liked The Sign Of The Four, so at least I've enjoyed half of the novels!

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a_wren_that_reads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-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

4.25

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anniereads221's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

2.5

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