Review // Sherlock Holmes (3 stories) - Arthur Conan Doyle

Today's review is a 3-in-1 featuring three of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes short stories.

A Scandal in Bohemia

This was by far my favourite Sherlock Holmes story that i've read so far. It was fast reading, intriguing and had me flipping the metaphorical (kindle) pages furiously.  I loved Holmes' commentary on Watson's recent marriage though i'm a little concerned about how easy it is for Watson to take off from his life in order to accompany Holmes!

As a fan of BBC's Sherlock, I couldn't help but compare the text to the TV adaptation and I was pleasantly surprised. The two were remarkably well connected and i'm looking forward to re-watching the episode in light of reading the story. I loved the opening narrative by Watson describing Irene Adler as the woman - as that is exactly what she is. A Scandal in Bohemia reminded me a lot of Poe's The Purloined Letter which I recently reviewed so it was interesting to see how Detective Fiction grew.

The Man With the Twisted Lip

This story was probably the most surprising one out of the three. I didn't guess the outcome and like the previous story, I was interested throughout and read it in just a couple of minutes! I was intrigued by the fact that there didn't seem to be any actual crime, which in my recent readings of this type of literature is quite strange. It kind of gave me the idea that greed and wealth is just as much a crime as murder.

The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

I think this story might be one that I will need to read again because it wasn't...great. I enjoyed the others so much that after reading this I felt like it was more to do with me and my understanding of the story than the story itself.
I liked that Miss Hunter was a strong, capable woman but the mystery just didn't work for me. Although all of the stories end abruptly, this one just didn't really end for me.

Review // A Study In Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet is the introduction to Sherlock Holmes. The detective fiction series feature Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson. Together they solve mysteries and have become perhaps the biggest fictional detectives in the world.

This was the first time i'd ever read a Sherlock Holmes book or infact, anything by Arthur Conan Doyle. As a big fan of the BBC TV show, Sherlock, I picked up the collection for my Kindle.

The story is set in two parts. The first section was truly enjoyable. I got to appreciate how well the Sherlock on TV is in comparison to the real man on the page and they are very similar. I loved the relationship between Holmes and Watson and the general feel of the story as well as the text itself.
However, the second half of the story was very confusing for me. I did understand what was going on (eventually) but the digression and commentary of puritan living seemed unnecessary. I think perhaps that was just my reading of it though as I read it over quite a long period.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, but not for a while I would imagine. A definite for any Sherlock fan but perhaps not for a quick read ;)

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