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a_picky_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
One of my favorite cases was “The Red-headed League.” I really didn’t see that ending coming.
Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Violence
meganpbennett's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Blood, and Murder
nubecato's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, and Racial slurs
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Sexism
maren_hemsath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Sexism, Medical content, and War
chalkletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
There was only one instance, in A Case of Identity, in which I felt that Arthur Conan Doyle really mistreated one of his female characters: Holmes works out exactly how his client, Miss Sutherland, was manipulated and deceived but declares that she won’t believe him if he tells her, so just leaves her to get on with her unhappy life! Clearly, it’s the solving of the puzzle that matters to Sherlock (and Dr Watson), and not the actual result of his actions. That would be okay, except that I increasingly feel as though the same is true of Arthur Conan Doyle, and what’s forgivable in a flawed character is less so in a real person.
For the most part, the beginnings of the stories were a little tediously repetitive: Watson notes that Sherlock solves cases for the nobility, but says that these are sometimes less interesting and shows off Sherlock’s skills less well than whichever case he’s introducing. There’s nothing wrong with a formula that works, I suppose, but I might recommend not reading these stories back to back to back.
The problems and their solutions are clever, and anyone reading these for the first time would likely be carried along by that alone. (Except in the case of The Five Orange Pips, which is sadly incredibly obvious to a modern reader. I can only assume that the Klu Klux Klan was less familiar to British readers in 1892 than it would be today.) Remembering the endings of ten out of twelve stories definitely put me in a position to notice more of the flaws!
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
a_wren_that_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racial slurs and Death of parent