The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sherlock Holmes Mysteries Reviews

• 
  Lewis Weinstein

  22 delightful stories ... each one makes a great bed-time read ... but all of you Sherlock fans already know that
• 
  Lyn (Readinghearts)

  Being an aficionado of classic mysteries, you might wonder why it has taken me so long to read any of the original Sherlock Holmes stories. After reading this compilation, I wonder that myself. After all, I have read pretty much every Agatha Christie mystery written. In defense, I can only say, I don't know why. I ordered this book from the library after Rick (one of my GR buddies) and some others in one of my groups were talking about how much they liked them. "Wow," I thought, "I wonder why I haven't read them."
  
  I began by reading the introduction written by the editor of the compilation and ended up learning a lot about Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Watson, and Doyle's relationship with Holmes that fascinated me and only wanted to make me read the stories all the more. As I began, I could tell early on that they were the type of mystery stories that I really enjoy. I found myself devouring them. I was really enjoying the interplay between Watson and Holmes. In fact, I found Watson to be a totally different character than I expected, and enjoyed his character much more than I thought I would. He really isn't a bumbling fool, but more of an endearing friend. In addition, I began to look forward to whatever quirky encounter they were going to be embroiled in next as none of their cases seemed at all straightforward, but were populated with interestingly unusual characters and quirky plots.
  
  In the end, I enjoyed these stories so much, that I bought a two volume set of the the complete Sherlock Holmes, all 4 novels and all 54 of the stories, and decided to begin at the first one. Three reasons for this decision:
  
  1. Watson kept alluding to other capers in the stories I read that weren't included in that compilation, and I got the distinct feeling that I was missing something.
  2. I wanted to get the full effect of the development of the relationship between Holmes and Watson
  3. I was enjoying them so much, I didn't want them to end.
  
  What I am hoping to do now, is start over at the beginning and read a story or two a week until I have read them all.
  
  
• 
  Rade

  Here's how every single one of these stories begins and ends:
  
  1) somebody in distress arrives at Holmes' door and tells him about a case because he is well known and they can't go to police or are afraid for their life
  2) Holmes and Watson listen to their trouble and Holmes takes the case on (usually not much convincing beyond one or two aspects that are mysterious)
  3) They go to another location where they meet, observe, or talk to somebody who witnessed the murder/robbery/kidnapping
  4) Holmes figures out (mainly by pulling it out of his ass or being EXTREMELY lucky in his guesses) how to catch the murderer/robber/kidnapper(s) by observing or setting up trap. Keep in mind he keeps all those around him in dark about his thoughts for most of the time. He never exposits his theories until the end, when they are ALWAYS true.
  5) They catch the criminal in the act and make him/her tell them everything - which ties into what Holmes what thinking and/or the clues he told us or Watson (who is usually pretty useless - Holmes even strikes his opinions down a lot and once even yelled at him for not being helpful).
  
  Rinse and repeat. All of the stories in this collection are set up like this. There is a lot of times I yelled "HOW DID YOU COME TO THAT CONCLUSION?" when things didn't make any sense but were taken as facts because Holmes said it. I understand a lot of people like these stories but I have a rational mind and I questioned a lot of things in these stories. You can say I overthink things and that is fine, but my mind won't let me enjoy things when they are riddled with inconsistencies/plot holes. Setting them in the 1800s doesn't help, but it can be entertaining time period.
  
  For example, in "THE ADVENTURE OF THE DANCING MEN" it started off being so intriguing that I couldn't stop reading it. It had bunch of drawings that kept me wondering what they meant and which culture uses them. Then Holmes comes out and DEDUCTS that these mean letters based on this idea that the little figures mean certain letters because some letters are really common in the English language. It was all crap. I was hanging on to every word until this - just couldn't suspend my belief this much and take it anything but miracle that Holmes solved it. If he said the writing is from a lost Tanzanian tribe that lived on Earth 2,000 years ago, I would have bough it faster than this pull-it-out-of-my-ass crap. Keep in mind that Holmes actually once said he knows 42 (or was it 62?) strands of tobacco and can identify them by look/taste instantly. He is Jesus of the detective world.
  
  Anyway, kudos to those that enjoy these stories and kudos to Doyle for entertaining so many people over the years, but my enjoyment wouldn't stretch beyond 3 stars - and even that was pushing it. Just because everyone enjoys these stories doesn't mean I have to.
• 
  rachel

  One of the two head-'n'-shoulders-above best classes EVER that I took in college was Crime Scene Investigation. I used to feel a little thrill in my chest whenever my instructor would break from theory and lead into an example from his own detective days with an ominous "We found a body...". He would sometimes lay out the clues found at the site and the suspects for us, and then leave us to parse out our own conclusions, based on what we knew of physical evidence and criminal psychology. These moments were easily my favorite part of the week, my favorite part of the semester, maybe my favorite part of college at all.
  
  So, of course, I really enjoyed the Holmes mysteries. The emphasis in each case is on the detective explaining his reasoning; like Holmes, there are few things I like more than working through a good logical puzzle (that sounds super pretentious but there's really no other way to say it) especially when it means that closure will be had. For about 7 or 8 of these cases, I figured out the solution and motivation before Holmes' explanation. I'm not sure if this can be attributed to education or to how ubiquitous elements of these stories have become in TV and film, but it is likely at least as much the latter as the former.
  
  The stories towards the end got noticeably weaker or less intriguing, with the exception of The Priory School. And the actual printing of the collection was pretty bad, as once in a while Holmes or Watson will reference a previous case that is included in the collection but that I had yet to read, so the comparison was lost.
  
  But for the most part, I liked this and the opportunity it gave me to remember how I considered dropping my English degree senior year to begin all over again and study Criminal Justice. Two years graduated and sometimes I still regret this.
• 
  Debbie

  If practice makes perfect, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has refined the formula for his mysteries time and again. The stories reveal no revelations and one must wonder at the mental capacity of Watson, who never ceases to find amazement in Holmes' analytical methods. However, unexpected twists of blazing red hair as found in "The Red-Headed League" make an evening with Holmes pleasantly well-spent.
• 
  Kate

  The most boring homo-erotic love stories / mysteries I have ever read. I would recommend a gap of about 6 months to a year between each rather than inhaling 22 in one collection.
• 
  Frederick

  Here's the deal: The edition I'm reviewing (ISBN 1-59609-176-2, "The Chamberlain Bros. Edition", published by Signet Classics, which is part of Penguin), gets high marks for the introduction by Anne Perry, the essay by William R. Pace and the 22 stories by Arthur Conan Doyle. But the DVD is much as I expected, Watson! The selling point of this volume is that it comes with a DVD featuring two Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies. But the print of TERROR BY NIGHT is so bad it might as well have been burned on somebody's home computer. I didn't bother to check if the second movie was in any better shape. TERROR BY NIGHT is a great old movie, but there is no restoration of it here. The sound on is very muffled and the images are washed out. I bought this book and DVD package because last night Turner Classic Movies showed TERROR BY NIGHT and I was intrigued. Turner's print, of course, had been brought to dazzling condition by Ted Turner's staff of geniuses. I imagine it's available on a high-quality DVD from another company, but Penguin clearly used whichever print it stumbled upon. This is a shame, because the idea of packaging classic books with classic movie adaptations is right on the money. A lot of colleges have courses comparing books to the movies made out of them. Is Penguin hoping to take advantage of hapless college students? The disclaimer on the little envelope holding the DVD says it all: "The software media is distributed on an 'AS IS' basis, without warranty." Also, the back cover of the book says the Introduction is by Frederick Busch. This contradicts the title page, which says Anne Perry wrote it. Indeed, the book contains Anne Perry's introduction and nothing by Frederick Busch. The introduction is set in a different font from the rest of the book. That may be a stylistic decision, but I doubt it. Why has such a good concept been given this slipshod treatment? Why has Penguin, so scrupulous as it is about classic literature, so cavalier when it comes to film?
• 
  Bethan

  I loved these stories and I can now see clearly why they have stood the test of time. Brilliantly written, each one was captivating in its own way. Great plots, great characters and great moods in each story. As a collection, however, this book could have been a little better. I would have enjoyed this much more if the stories were in chronological order of publishing, as sometimes later stories were referenced in an earlier one so I could not fully understand the connections between them. On the whole, though, I really enjoyed this and would like to read more Conan Doyle in the future.
• 
  Janet

  Short stories to read while waiting -- doctor's office, plane trips, etc. The characters in these stories are painted so vividly, they're almost alive. Some of them even showed up in my dreams afterwards, as if I knew them!
• 
  Billy Collins

  Very interesting and suspenseful
• 
  Konrāds

  It took me quite a while to finish this, but it was certainly worth it. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle truly was one of the best writers of his time.
• 
  Tamas O'Doughda

  Global, yet intimate. This book captures an iconic character in an in-depth, varied, and sophisticated portrait. It also goes to show that threads of crime can be traced through vast spaces by the simplest local practices, such as docks keeping records of ported ships, or hotels keeping addresses for staff members. The smallest details of daily life can be the silk lasso that captures an evasive culprit.
  
  I heard on a podcast once that only about 5-10% of crimes are solved by decent police forces. Sherlock certainly doesn't win every case, but he makes crime solving damned sexy and successful. Too bad he's trapped in the pages of these books. But at least they're printed and documented to be enjoyed by us readers.
• 
  xotic3

  Something about this book got me held back for quite some time now, I have been really excited about finishing off this year by reading this book, but for some reason I felt like this book was not for me. All the hype and excitement from Sherlock Holmes got me to read this book, but reading Sherlock Holmes did not seem right for me. At some point I find myself lost and reading in the blue and not really knowing how a case was solved or where the "Sherlock Holmes" hype goes. I just got myself to read about the first 3 cases and did not feel like reading it anymore because the sensation was not there.
• 
  Kimberly Brooks

  I think the author of the afterword sums my feelings up best: "the Sherlock Holmes mysteries should be read the same way...fine chocolates are eaten: one piece at a time. The new reader, especially, should keep in mind that as delicious, satisfying, and compelling as the stories are, they originally appeared as separate entities...Such a robust and rich selection can leave a cloying taste if overdone too quickly or devoured without appropriate attention.". I did quite enjoy the stories, but probably would have more if I didn't read them all together.
• 
  Teodora

  Incredible.
• 
  Contadino

  Repetitive structure but highly entertaining read.
• 
  Billy

  the first couple adventures were good, but then it just got predictable as hell. i'm done with Sherlock for forever.
• 
  lisa

  it took me SO LONG to get through this! the writing's a little dry (obvs) so i could only do a few stories at a time without taking a break.
  
  the stories varied in their entertainment value, but there were some that i really really enjoyed. i mean, i liked all of them, i just liked some more than others. my only complaint with this edition is that (a) it doesn't tell you what order the stories are in (publication order? chronological order? some other random order?) and it doesn't tell you what years they were published. it was hard to suss out the behind the scenes stuff and how the stories related to each other without this info!
  
  it was a really fun introduction to holmes though, and i solved a few of the mysteries before he did, which made me happy. (please don't point out that years of watching/reading things that rip off sherlock holmes have somewhat spoiled me. i like feeling smart.)
• 
  Anne

  The Holmes stories were as good as ever and included some I'd never heard of in addition to some of the classics (though I could not quite figure out what criteria for inclusion were, since there were a couple big names missing that I would have loved to have seen included). I wasn't a fan of the introduction, though - you can skip it and enjoy the stories just as much as if you'd read it, and without losing much context (provided you've been exposed to Holmes through high school English class or even just popular culture in the past).
• 
  Nicolás Rojas Jiménez

  One of the most compelling series of short stories ever written, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle manages to structure the tales of Sherlock Holmes as a literary journey were one as a reader can discover not only the witty logic that has made of him the best detective in literature but also hints of his humanity, morality and philosophy.
  Through the pen of Watson we approach many mysteries that exercise one's intelligence while developing a rapport with the characters and their journey.
  One of the most engaging books I've read, definitively.