Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I think that Sherlock Holmes' adventures are much better suited in the short story format, but I am glad that there were the two novels to establish the characters first (though there was some changes as the characters developed). I would have liked to have more stories where Sherlock and Watson are roommates, rather than having Watson immediately marry Mary. There were a few like this, but I wish there were more. My favorite of the collection was the one I had already read beforehand: The Speckled Band.

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meganpbennett's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

I had the opportunity to take part in Letters from Watson, where the short stories of Sherlock Holmes were emailed out in (more or less) chronological order. Having read about half of them, this was a wonderful chance to revisit the stories. This set of short stories is a very good introduction to the character.

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idyllisera's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative inspiring mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

i love Sherlock as much as the next person, but yeah. some of the stuff did not age well.
there's a lot of racism and misogyny and the time in which this was written obviously doesn't excuse that, but it explains it.

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tea_at_mole_end's review against another edition

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slow-paced

2.0

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mariekejee's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

This is not the first detective short story collection I have read: previously, I have listened to one of Agatha Christie's called The Underdog and Other Stories, which I did not enjoy. In general, short story detectives are not long enough to create tension, and by the time you (hopefully) memorised the characters names, it is almost time for the reveal. However, I enjoyed this short story collection much more than the previous, mainly due to the fact that I felt I could participate in the mystery more than in the previous collection. In short story form, the mysteries remind me a bit of a brain teaser - most of the stories contained few characters, making it easy to make up your own suspect list and theories.

Despite being more able to follow the mystery, I still find myself not particularly a fan of detectives in short format. I like having the option of participating in the sluething, but being invested in the characters is definitely a big part of what makes a good mystery for me. As such, while I generally enjoyed the book, I wasn't too sad to see it ending.

There are definitely stronger stories amongst the bunch; there's a reason that A Scandal in Bohemia is so well known, and it is one of the few stories that I really did think suited its shorter format. The Adventure of the Speckled Band and The Red-Headed League were such wild stories that they kept me amused throughout. Most of them were a fun read, although some are forgettable, or have such an unsurprising reveal that the story was a bit dull altogether (for example, the story where the woman is left at the altar

by, what turns out to be her stepfather, such that she does not marry another man

).

All in all, it was a fun book to take with me on transit, the stories usually lasting me just long enough for a one-way trip. If you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, I'm sure you'll enjoy reading this collection, even though I will probably stick to the novels from now on.

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stories's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Whereas I was pleasantly surprised by volume 1, the stories of volume 2 were a mild letdown.

Less… complete? Cohesive? Certainly, Silver Blaze ended prematurely, if only by a scene or two.

I was somewhat surprised also by the time jump. I don’t know if I’m correct, but it seemed these were amongst the later tales.

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halberdbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I read this for the first time in 2012. I've since read the first two books twice, and I am pleased to find new revelations in this second read of the third book. Holmes absolutely comes into his own as a character in these stories, as opposed to merely being a force. Here we see him defeated, exalted, passionate, dismissive, arrogant and deeply compassionate. Also we see the author forget the name of Mrs. Hudson and the first name of even Watson himself. Doyle's lack of care for the story persists, even as it gets better with each new telling. I'm having a fantastic time reading these.

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