Book info

• Title The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
• Author Arthur Conan Doyle
• Year 1892
• Genre Mystery

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the series of short stories that made the fortunes of the Strand magazine, in which they were first published, and won immense popularity for Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. The detective is at the height of his powers and the volume is full of famous cases, including `The Red-Headed League', `The Blue Carbuncle', and `The Speckled Band'. Although Holmes gained a reputation for infallibility, Conan Doyle showed his own realism and feminism by having the great detective defeated by Irene Adler - the woman - in the very first story, `A Scandal in Bohemia'.

Thoughts

After watching the film of Sherlock, I decided I would give in and read some of the books. I had listened to the Return of Sherlock Holmes via the Librivox audiobook, so I was aware of how the stories were structured, and was ready to consume some more.

It’s Sherlock crazy at the moment, with the film being excellent, and the new series seemingly very popular as well. I thought I was doing the right thing and starting at the beginning of the Sherlock adventures, but it turns out there are short stories I have missed. I’m annoyed, but even so, I enjoyed the book.

Some of the stories are so good, the big reveal was not at all obvious to me until Mr Holmes spelled it out for Watson. Only the very last story was clear from the beginning and I felt like it let the rest of the book down a little bit.

Aside from that, though, the book was great. I love the short story nature of it, allowing it to be picked up and put down at leisure. Plus, it’s free!

Rating: 4 / 5