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hannah_holmes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.75
gvsl007's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
shobi's review against another edition
5.0
The first part was the mystery which was wonderful, 2nd part was the backstory which i didn’t love as much but i like the old timey cowboy mobster stuff + #plot twist
onetrooluff's review against another edition
4.0
The mystery in this final of the four novels written about Sherlock Holmes and his faithful associate, Watson, didn't disappoint. Set prior to the events covered in the last story of the previous story collection (I'm being vague on purpose), this story features Moriarty as a ghostly villain pulling strings in the background, with no actual confrontation. The first half of the book relates the investigation into a gruesome and strange death at a country holding... then the second half of the book explains the results with a (long) dip into the past. Much like A Study in Scarlet, a large part of this book takes place in America - this time in a corrupt, lawless Western mining town. It's kind of entertaining seeing what Doyle's image of America is like. This book features many Irish characters, with both positive and negative traits.
The story was pretty satisfying by the end but lacked some of the punch of The Hound of the Baskervilles, my favorite of the four novels.
The story was pretty satisfying by the end but lacked some of the punch of The Hound of the Baskervilles, my favorite of the four novels.
teresatumminello's review against another edition
3.0
I was already annoyed near the start of this, because Watson (and others) knowing of Moriarty contradicts the earlier (though it’s set later) story that Moriarty appears in, in which Watson (and others) know nothing of him. (I’ve heard there are other continuity errors in the Sherlock stories, but those must’ve escaped me.)
The first part of this novella could exist on its own as a typical Sherlock short. The surprise is a good one: the reader (i.e. me) rushes through the clue just as Sherlock’s compatriots do. The second section is a tedious violent, back story a la [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519031842s/102868.jpg|1997473]. If I hadn’t decided to read all the Sherlock stories, I would’ve quit at this point. Good thing I didn’t. The twist was a shocker (the less you know of the historical basis, the better; and I knew nothing) that had me paging back through all the prior table-setting tedium. Well played, Sir Arthur.
The first part of this novella could exist on its own as a typical Sherlock short. The surprise is a good one: the reader (i.e. me) rushes through the clue just as Sherlock’s compatriots do. The second section is a tedious violent, back story a la [b:A Study in Scarlet|102868|A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes, #1)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519031842s/102868.jpg|1997473]. If I hadn’t decided to read all the Sherlock stories, I would’ve quit at this point. Good thing I didn’t. The twist was a shocker (the less you know of the historical basis, the better; and I knew nothing) that had me paging back through all the prior table-setting tedium. Well played, Sir Arthur.
syl1_a's review against another edition
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? No
5.0
juniperd's review
2.0
meh. sorry ACD! :)
this was fairly clunky and awkward, and it felt like two separate, yet unfinished, pieces. i enjoyed the first bit, in england. after that, it fell off the rails pretty quickly for me.
this was fairly clunky and awkward, and it felt like two separate, yet unfinished, pieces. i enjoyed the first bit, in england. after that, it fell off the rails pretty quickly for me.