The Valley of Fear: A Review

We reach the end of the cycle of Sherlock Holmes novels with the Valley of Fear, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In it, we are treated to two separate, but related, stories. The first follows Holmes and Watson as they investigate a gruesome murder that is somehow related to the dreadful Professor Moriarty (despite the fact that his involvement creates a pretty big continuity error and/or retcon on Doyle's part), which is followed by a story of organized crime in the good old US of A.

the Valley of Fear is an interesting read, and I'll be honest, I didn't like it at first. The mystery with Holmes and Watson was all well and good; the American sawed-off shotgun as the murder weapon and the possible involvement of Moriarty made for an interesting case. I liked where it was going, though I was not surprised in the least by the conclusion.

Then the story shifts gears, and we are treated to the recollections of a man who spent time in a place nicknamed the "Valley of Fear" by many of the locals, a place that is run by a secret society that has no problems killing people that refuse to pay protection money. I won't go too much further into the details for fear of spoiling the twist that made the story worthwhile, suffice to say that the end of this diversion was both interesting and a nice turn that made for a good story, overall.

While this is certainly better than the Sign of the Four, I rate it at about even with A Study in Scarlet, which it shares the same structure with. Despite this, it is nowhere near the level of the Hound of the Baskervilles, which remains the best of the Holmes canon that I have read so far.

An entertaining read, if you like reading of the adventures of Holmes and Watson, and if you enjoyed A Study in Scarlet at all, then you will certainly enjoy this. That said, this is probably not a great starting place for a newcomer.

Rating: 7/10

The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Review

Sherlock Holmes had seen it all. One murder after another, you name it, he's seen it stolen (and returned). Hundreds of cases solved, but of them all, this may very well be the most unusual, and fortunately for the reader, the most entertaining.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third book that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote concerning the famous consulting detective, published several years after he killed off Holmes in "the Final Problem," though it takes place before that story.

This book shows Sherlock, Dr. Watson, and Doyle himself all at the top of their game. Within its pages, Doyle has decided to try something a little new. Not only does the story involve a potentially supernatural threat (a family is cursed to be haunted/hunted by an actual "Hellhound," and murders are starting to pile up), but Holmes himself is in a relatively small percentage of the book. Instead, we are treated to Dr. Watson on his own, using the skills he has cultivated over so many years at Holmes' side to solve the multitude of mysteries that plague the countryside.

The point-of-view changes several times, from the typical writings of Watson's recounting, to actual letters written to Holmes reporting on discoveries he has made in the course of his own investigations. This mix of styles keeps the story moving quickly, and always kept me interested. Also, the decision to actually exclude Holmes from such a large portion of the story kept the suspense high; we know that while Watson is an extremely intelligent man, he has no abilities that are nigh-supernatural, and thus no safety net.

Lastly, Doyle did a masterful job interweaving disparate mysteries into a cohesive whole. The plot dips and turns, dropping a clue large enough for the reader to notice, but not necessarily able to connect to the proper mystery. The red herrings and false leads are well done, and in the end everything ties together quite nicely.

As of this point, I've read three of the four Holmes novels, and two of the short story collections, and the Hound of the Baskervilles is by far my favorite. The atmosphere is thick with a feeling of dread, the plot is fast and entertaining, and the mystery itself keeps you guessing but rewards the hopeful detective with the payoff. If you haven't read any of Sherlock Holmes, make this the one you read. You can't go wrong with it.

Rating: 10/10

Note on Edition: I experienced the story as part of the "Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes" audio edition, purchased on Audible.com. The narrator was Charlton Griffin, who did an amazing job with this story. The production value involved here is phenomenal, and really brought the story to life.

Audiobook Rating: 9/10

the Return of Sherlock Holmes: Review

The Return of Sherlock Holmes, from the same audio collection that I had the pleasure of listening to for the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, was overall a much better collection of short stories featuring the legendary detective and his faithful companion. The book starts off with "The Adventure of the Empty House," a story that picks up three years after "the Final Problem," the story that Doyle had intended to complete his writings of Holmes once and for all. 

We discover that Holmes being the clever man that he is, faked his death and had been in hiding for several years, using the opportunity to work under the radar to rid England of the most dangerous men that remained at large from Moriarty's gang.

From then on few of the stories actually take place after "the Empty House," instead Watson returns to the archives and tells stories that take place at different chronological points in Holmes' career. The collection ends with "The Adventure of the Second Stain," which Watson describes as being Holmes' most important case (politically speaking), and the last story that Holmes will allow him to publish, as at the time of the writing he has decided to retire to bee-keeping in the countryside.

As I said before, this is a much better collection than Memoirs, and overall is very well done. There is the occasional story that has a rather obvious conclusion, but those are in the great minority.

If you're looking for a good collection of fast and entertaining Sherlockian fiction, this is a very good edition to read. The stories move at a brisk pace, are interesting and varied in their subject matter, and are, for the most part, classic Holmes. Again, for the simplicity of actual ratings, I will rate each story individually.

• "The Adventure of the Empty House"  Rating: 8/10
• "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder"  Rating: 5/10
• "The Adventure of the Dancing Men"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist" Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Priory School"  Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of Black Peter"  Rating: 8/10
• "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"  Rating: 9/10
• "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Three Students"  Rating: 6/10
• "The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange"  Rating: 7/10
• "The Adventure of the Second Stain"  Rating: 8/10

Further Note on Audio edition: since this is the same collection that I mentioned in my review of Memoirs, I will not expound on that any furhter here, suffice to say that it continues its excellent performance, and that I highly recommend it.