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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
The red-headed League is my favorite Sherlock Holmes story.
A thoroughly enjoyable continuation of my reading of the complete Sherlock Holmes collection.
sherlock holmes and john watson are two of my favourite fictional characters of all time
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the first collection of short fiction in the Holmes bibliography, and contains many of Doyle's most memorable yarns.
"A Scandal in Bohemia" is justifiably one of the most famous Holmes stories, featuring Irene Adler, or "The Woman" as Holmes refers to her after she outwits his clever plan. This story marks a shift towards a more light-hearted tone that Doyle would frequently employ here, compared to the darkness of the first two novels. The story also first introduces the major theme of the collection, that of "true" justice as opposed to legal justice, as Holmes sympathizes with Adler over the Price who hired him.
"The Red-Headed League" has a clever plot featuring an elaborate con and a heist, which Holmes ultimately foils. It depends a little too much on Holmes having prior knowledge of the villain, though it's still a fun and memorable story.
"A Case of Identity" is another story of a con job, this time dealing with a step-father who cruelly tricks his daughter. Holmes passes stern judgement on the step-father, despite him having done nothing illegal.
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery" is the first murder mystery of the collection, and harkens back to the dark tone of the early novels. Despite all the evidence against a son in the murder of his father, Holmes suspects another plot entirely; through his exacting methodology, Holmes deduces the murderer's identity, who then confesses in a dramatic scene. Instead of pursuing the man's conviction, Holmes defers to a higher court of justice, as the man is already near death. The theme of colonial adventure (this time in Australia) recalls The Sign of Four.
"The Five Orange Pips" is another dark tale of murder, revenge, and a sinister secret society. All of these elements recall A Study in Scarlet, especially given the American origin of the menace - here the KKK. This one has a chilling ending, as Holmes is unable to prevent his client's demise. In a grim code, having discovered the identities of the murderers, they are presumed dead, their ship lost at sea.
"The Man with the Twisted Lip" starts with a vivid scene in which Watson visits an opium den, searching for a friend, only to find Holmes in disguise as an opium-eater. This evolves into another tale of a con man, here a wealthy gentleman who poses as a beggar. It's a clever set-up, though the ending is rather unsatisfying, as Doyle doesn't really tell us how Holmes solved the mystery.
"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" is one of the more memorable tales in the collection, and a personal favourite of mine. Taking place at Christmastime, this story is Dickensian in both tone and scope, as Watson and Holmes traverse London to find the owner of a Christmas goose, encountering vividly-drawn characters along the way. A robbery plot is uncovered, the thief identified, and in the spirit of the season, the thief is granted mercy by Holmes.
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is another favourite, landing on the opposite end of the tonal spectrum of its predecessor. This one is dark, close to horror. A young woman tells Holmes and Watson of the strange circumstances of the death of her twin sister years earlier. Deducing that another murder is imminent, Holmes and Watson travel to a country estate to foil the villainous plot, resulting in a gruesome end for the murderer. The setting, tone and some of the plot details resemble The Hound of the Baskervilles, which is probably Doyle's best work.
"The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" is another very good dark and scary tale, perhaps the most violent in the collection. An engineer gets caught up with a ring of nefarious counterfeiters and end up with his thumb brutally hacked off. The description of the bad guy's lair is nightmarish, like a torture dungeon out of Poe: a dark maze of corridors, stair cases, hidden doors and a hydraulic-power ceiling used to crush unsuspecting victims to death. Holmes cleverly deduces the location of this house of horrors, but is too late to catch the cabal.
"The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" is the story of a runaway bride; it's a light palate cleanser after the darkness of the two preceding stories. Overall, it's perhaps the least of the stories in the collection, lacking much in the way of suspense or intrigue. It's perhaps most notable for the amicable way in which the conflicting parties meet at the end of the story.
"The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" is a tale of a burglary with an obvious suspect, though again Holmes doubts the presumed verdict. This features one of the best depictions of Holmes's methodical approach to investigation, showing him inspecting footprints and drops of blood in the snow before doggedly pursuing the logical suspect. It's very satisfying when Holmes finally gets his man, proving his initial intuition to be completely correct.
"The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" ends the collection on a very satisfying note. A governess relates the strange circumstances she witnesses at her house of employment, the details adding up to a very mysterious and creepy atmosphere. (This is another story that resembles The Hound of the Baskervilles in some of its details). Holmes impressively surmises the core details of the cases and intervenes to help the governess. However, a final twist emerges that Holmes did not anticipate, deepening the mystery even further.
Overall, this is a fantastic collection, an absolute must-read for fans of Sherlock Holmes or mystery fiction in general.
"A Scandal in Bohemia" is justifiably one of the most famous Holmes stories, featuring Irene Adler, or "The Woman" as Holmes refers to her after she outwits his clever plan. This story marks a shift towards a more light-hearted tone that Doyle would frequently employ here, compared to the darkness of the first two novels. The story also first introduces the major theme of the collection, that of "true" justice as opposed to legal justice, as Holmes sympathizes with Adler over the Price who hired him.
"The Red-Headed League" has a clever plot featuring an elaborate con and a heist, which Holmes ultimately foils. It depends a little too much on Holmes having prior knowledge of the villain, though it's still a fun and memorable story.
"A Case of Identity" is another story of a con job, this time dealing with a step-father who cruelly tricks his daughter. Holmes passes stern judgement on the step-father, despite him having done nothing illegal.
"The Boscombe Valley Mystery" is the first murder mystery of the collection, and harkens back to the dark tone of the early novels. Despite all the evidence against a son in the murder of his father, Holmes suspects another plot entirely; through his exacting methodology, Holmes deduces the murderer's identity, who then confesses in a dramatic scene. Instead of pursuing the man's conviction, Holmes defers to a higher court of justice, as the man is already near death. The theme of colonial adventure (this time in Australia) recalls The Sign of Four.
"The Five Orange Pips" is another dark tale of murder, revenge, and a sinister secret society. All of these elements recall A Study in Scarlet, especially given the American origin of the menace - here the KKK. This one has a chilling ending, as Holmes is unable to prevent his client's demise. In a grim code, having discovered the identities of the murderers, they are presumed dead, their ship lost at sea.
"The Man with the Twisted Lip" starts with a vivid scene in which Watson visits an opium den, searching for a friend, only to find Holmes in disguise as an opium-eater. This evolves into another tale of a con man, here a wealthy gentleman who poses as a beggar. It's a clever set-up, though the ending is rather unsatisfying, as Doyle doesn't really tell us how Holmes solved the mystery.
"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" is one of the more memorable tales in the collection, and a personal favourite of mine. Taking place at Christmastime, this story is Dickensian in both tone and scope, as Watson and Holmes traverse London to find the owner of a Christmas goose, encountering vividly-drawn characters along the way. A robbery plot is uncovered, the thief identified, and in the spirit of the season, the thief is granted mercy by Holmes.
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is another favourite, landing on the opposite end of the tonal spectrum of its predecessor. This one is dark, close to horror. A young woman tells Holmes and Watson of the strange circumstances of the death of her twin sister years earlier. Deducing that another murder is imminent, Holmes and Watson travel to a country estate to foil the villainous plot, resulting in a gruesome end for the murderer. The setting, tone and some of the plot details resemble The Hound of the Baskervilles, which is probably Doyle's best work.
"The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" is another very good dark and scary tale, perhaps the most violent in the collection. An engineer gets caught up with a ring of nefarious counterfeiters and end up with his thumb brutally hacked off. The description of the bad guy's lair is nightmarish, like a torture dungeon out of Poe: a dark maze of corridors, stair cases, hidden doors and a hydraulic-power ceiling used to crush unsuspecting victims to death. Holmes cleverly deduces the location of this house of horrors, but is too late to catch the cabal.
"The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" is the story of a runaway bride; it's a light palate cleanser after the darkness of the two preceding stories. Overall, it's perhaps the least of the stories in the collection, lacking much in the way of suspense or intrigue. It's perhaps most notable for the amicable way in which the conflicting parties meet at the end of the story.
"The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" is a tale of a burglary with an obvious suspect, though again Holmes doubts the presumed verdict. This features one of the best depictions of Holmes's methodical approach to investigation, showing him inspecting footprints and drops of blood in the snow before doggedly pursuing the logical suspect. It's very satisfying when Holmes finally gets his man, proving his initial intuition to be completely correct.
"The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" ends the collection on a very satisfying note. A governess relates the strange circumstances she witnesses at her house of employment, the details adding up to a very mysterious and creepy atmosphere. (This is another story that resembles The Hound of the Baskervilles in some of its details). Holmes impressively surmises the core details of the cases and intervenes to help the governess. However, a final twist emerges that Holmes did not anticipate, deepening the mystery even further.
Overall, this is a fantastic collection, an absolute must-read for fans of Sherlock Holmes or mystery fiction in general.
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really liked the partnership between Holmes and Watson. I found some of the cases easy to solve, some way too easy while others I couldn't but someone else probably could have. However I also found the tales a bit dull and overwritten and formulaic. I wish some of the more famous stories had appeared - my fault for not knowing they wouldn't I guess but I did miss Hound of the Baskervilles for example.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Police brutality
mysterious
medium-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
good entry point to the series