Reviews

The Complete Sherlock Holmes Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle

ranooshe's review against another edition

5.0

Usually, I read on till I know or guess 'who dunnit', and just drop it. With the Scarlet Case, I was left wanting to read on after Holmes spells out the name of the culprit, which was only half way through the story. Amazing surprise. I enjoyed every last line of the first 2 novels within the collection.
Again, early20th Century or 19th Century novels are full of stereotypes and colonial attitude: 'arab street boys', 'native monsters' (a local from Asia), and showing a savage cannibal in fairs'.

ana_rooth's review against another edition

4.0

Words cannot describe how amazing all of A.Conan Doyle's stories about Sherlock Holmes are. I can read them over and over and still marvel at Holmes' brilliance. The relationship between Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes is also wonderfully written, and the tone and style of the stories fit perfectly with the subject matter. From the moment I opened my first raggedy one dollar paperback copy when I was a child, I fell completely in love.

jhews's review against another edition

adventurous informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

vivi_the_reader's review against another edition

5.0

It's Sherlock Holmes!
What else is there to say?

elliehelferich's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

jenikki's review against another edition

5.0

What is there left to say about these stories? Before I sat down with this collection, I'd read only The Hound of the Baskervilles and a handful of stories from "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," and that was back in high school. Picking this up fresh and reading it all the way through from "A Study in Scarlet" to "The Adventure of the Retired Colourman," I thought the stories were brilliant. Not all of them (there are a few in the middle where they begin to blend together) but I disagree with the critics over the past century or so who have said his later work wasn't as good as the early material, that everything written in the 20th century doesn't hold up to the material from the 19th. Some of the very best stories come right near the end. The dialogue is masterful, and his knack for description incomparable. I'm not a huge fan with Penguin's ordering of the contents (they didn't go chronologically, so The Hounds of the Baskervilles (1902) appears after the Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905) and the story order is mixed up somewhat) but it still holds up well, it's a beautiful-looking volume, and Ruth Rendell's foreword is excellent. From A Study in Scarlet, which I adored, all the way to the end, I absolutely loved this book.

fboschetti's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

kelanth's review against another edition

4.0

Comperai questo libro per una specie di fioretto... ricordo che all'epoca vinsi una ricarica telefonica da un operatore mobile ora estinto, rispondendo proprio ad una domanda su Sherlock Holmes, mi sembrò doveroso dunque leggere qualcosa di Conan Doyle. In libreria trovai questo volumone spettacolare che acquistai subito, l'omnia completa di Sherlock Holmes e cominciai subito a leggerlo rimanendo sorpreso dalla scrittura fluente, da certi "vizi" dell'indagatore sconosciuti ai più (credo che i libri che circolano a scuola o dei bambini, per non parlare dei film siano edulcorati), per finire con le storie che sono magistralmente costruite e con il proverbiale bandolo della matassa che sfugge per tutto i libri, per esservi svelato alla fine con un tocco di maestria...

millyperdie's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

marissam1813's review against another edition

4.0

*My overall rating is 4.5 stars for the entire bind up. I do list each story and my rating individually, as well as my average rating for each collection.*

A Study in Scarlet: 4 stars

The Sign of the Four: 4.5 stars

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: 3.9 stars
-"A Scandal in Bohemia": 4 stars
-"The Red-Headed League": 3.5 stars
-"A Case of Identity": 4.5 stars
-"The Boscombe Valley Mystery": 5 stars
-"The Five Orange Pips": 4 stars
-"The Man with the Twisted Lip": 3.75 stars
-"The Blue Carbuncle": 3.5 stars
-"The Speckled Band": 3 stars
-"The Engineer's Thumb": 4 stars
-"The Noble Bachelor": 4.5 stars
-"The Beryl Coronet": 3.5 stars
-"The Copper Beeches": 4 stars

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: 3.6 stars
-"Silver Blaze": 3 stars
-"The Yellow Face": 3.5 stars
-"The Stockbroker's Clerk": 3.5 stars
-"The Gloria Scott": 3 stars
-"The Musgrave Ritual": 4.5 stars
-"The Reigate Squire": 3 stars
-"The Crooked Man": 3 stars
-"The Resident Patient": 4 stars
-"The Greek Interpreter": 4.5 stars
-"The Naval Treaty": 4 stars
-"The Final Problem": 4 stars

The Return of Sherlock Holmes: 3.2 stars
-"The Empty House": 3 stars
-"The Norwood Builder": 3 stars
-"The Dancing Men": 4 stars
-"The Solitary Cyclist": 3.5 stars
-"The Priory School": 4.25 stars
-"Black Peter": 3.75 stars
-"Charles Augustus Milverton": 3.5 stars
-"The Six Napoleons": 3.75 stars
-"The Three Students": 3.25 stars
-"The Golden Pince-Nez": 3 stars
-"The Missing Three-Quarter": 3.25 stars
-"The Abbey Grange": 3.5 stars
-"The Second Stain": 3.25 stars

The Hound of the Baskervilles: 4.5 stars

The Valley of Fear: 3.5 stars

His Last Bow: 3.6 stars
-"Wisteria Lodge": 3.75 stars
-"The Cardboard Box": 4 stars
-"The Red Circle": 3.75 stars
-"The Bruce-Partington Plans": 3.25 stars
-"The Dying Detective": 3 stars
-"The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax": 3 stars
-"The Devil's Foot": 3.5 stars
-"His Last Bow": 4.25 stars

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes: 3.9 stars
-"The Illustrious Client": 3.75 stars
-"The Blanched Soldier": 3.75 stars
-"The Mazarin Stones": 4 stars
-"The Three Gables": 3.75 stars
-"The Sussex Vampire": 4.5 stars
-"The Three Garridebs": 3.75 stars
-"Thor Bridge": 4.25 stars
-"The Creeping Man": 3.75 stars
-"The Lion's Mane": 3.75 stars
-"The Veiled Lodger": 4 stars
-"Shoscombe Old Place": 3.75 stars
-"The Retired Colourman": 3.5 stars

Average Rating Overall: 4.3 stars - rounded up to a 4.5 stars


This was a great collection of short stories and novels (novellas?). It had its ups and downs, but overall I really enjoyed my time reading this massive bind up of the entire series.