Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Valley of Fear

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle

7 reviews

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Ooh, this one was fun! I rather like the half-and-half style of the Holmes novels, where you get the mystery in the first half and the backstory in the second, it's neat. Secret societies are fun, although you do forget for the most of the story that this is supposed to relate to Moriarty, which is maybe the point. For this one, I find I like the second half better than the first, simply because I think it has a little bit more suspense, but both bits are good. I think it's my favorite Holmes novel so far.

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happysami's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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ayushk21's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I want to be able to say this is the better version of A Study in Scarlet, that Sir Conan Doyle tried again with inserting a long backstory of the American West into a Sherlock Holmes mystery, and it worked better this time. I can't quite decide if it's true...

The first section of the book, the mystery, is a solid five stars! The second section, the back story, is an improvement over the back story in A Study in Scarlet in the sense that it's at least moderately enjoyable to read. And then there's the denouement, which I hated.

So.

Not a favorite, but I'd probably re-read it, if only because the beginning section is so good.

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-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

2.5

I struggled a bit with this. I really enjoy Sherlock Holmes short stories but it seems like the novels are more hit and miss for me. The first half of this was a standard murder investigation which I enjoyed but the second part follows the backstory of a character in the USA and it just didn't hold my attention. The absence of Holmes and Watson meant it just wasn't as interesting to me and I guessed the resolution pretty early. A Study In Scarlet, had a similar flashback, which I remember also disliking. However The Hound Of The Baskervilles was great and I liked The Sign Of The Four, so at least I've enjoyed half of the novels!

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a_wren_that_reads's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.25

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anniereads221's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

2.5

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