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A review by teresatumminello
The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
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.