Name: The Speckled Band
Rating: 4.029076738609112 (2502 reviews)
ISBN: 9781782265788

Stephanie Baudet

A simplification of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, perfect for young fans of mystery books.

The Speckled Band

Arthur Doyle

This great introduction to the world's most famous pipe-smoking detective includes the novelsA Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four and the short story collectionThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes:

Sasemee

Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hounds of the Baskervilles

Superb Atmosphere and twists,  brilliantly chilling and terrific at keeping you hooked 

Gary Gamble

The Complete Sherlock Holmes: (xl, 709 p.). The world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes

Taneil Casey

It is strange, but sometimes after I read Sherlock Holmes, I find my powers of observation slightly increased!  I loved reading all of the tales of Holmes, and his wonderful friend and confidante, Watson, but these books are quite large, and I had to take breaks whilst reading them!

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Tim Pendry

Still a highly readable classic of its type, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (the third of Conan Doyle's four Sherlock Holmes novels and first serialised in 1901/1902) stands up well as an atmospheric story of Victorian criminality with an undoubted Gothic feel to it. It is notable for holding back Holmes as resolver of problems until quite near the end. The novel reads (as it was intended to be) as a throw-back to mid-nineteenth century narratives of bad behaviour amongst the black sheep of the English gentle class. A highly conservative work in both style and content, it nevertheless acts as an important bridge to the twentieth century English country house tradition of class-ridden murder for property and advantage that still operates today in films like 'Knives out'. It might be noticed in passing that the story (which brought Holmes 'back from the dead' as far as his fans were concerned although Holmes apparently 'died' in 1891 and the story is set in 1889) was filmed (in Germany) as early as 1914. It has been a popular culture staple ever since.

The first of the Sherlock Holmes' adventures, this book introduces the great sleuth and explains how Dr. Watson and Holmes come to share rooms together and solve mysteries together.

A Study in Scarlet

STUPID ASS BOOK. i was angry for the entirety of the book, or rather the first half of the book. i suffered so much that I do not think it to be suitable to continue reading and start the second part because there’s nothing that the author can say that would otherwise convince me on how horrible this book and the author BOTH are.

Racism was really filled in its every nook and i don’t have any words to describe how twisted it is. There was even animal cruelty in this. Oh Sherlock i hate you and your stupid military gay affair. All the characters in this book were insufferable.

The book on its own was horrible too, boring, repetitive and horrible as hell.

aisha

STUPID ASS BOOK. i was angry for the entirety of the book, or rather the first half of the book. i suffered so much that I do not think it to be suitable to continue reading and start the second part because there’s nothing that the author can say that would otherwise convince me on how horrible this book and the author BOTH are.

Racism was really filled in its every nook and i don’t have any words to describe how twisted it is. There was even animal cruelty in this. Oh Sherlock i hate you and your stupid military gay affair. All the characters in this book were insufferable.

The book on its own was horrible too, boring, repetitive and horrible as hell.

THE BANE OF A GREAT BEAST ECHOSE ACROSS THE MOORS... Some blame the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville on the legend of a fearsome and ghostly hound that is said to have haunted his Devonshire family for generations. So when the services of famed detective Sherlock Holmes are engaged to ensure the safety of Baskerville heir Sir Henry - recently arrived from America - Dr Watson is surprised to find his friend dismissive of the matter. In fact, Watson is dispatched alone to accompany Sir Henry to Baskerville Hall in Devon while Holmes deals with another case. Yet Watson finds the wild moors are a far cry from the orderly streets of London, and in the cold night a savage and bestial howl may be heard ...

Yusuf Khan

The Valley of Fear (Complete Classics)

Sajiya Chaudhary

I had forgotten how good reading a Sherlock novel used to be. This was really different from all the books of this genre. Very bloody! I felt like I was in the movie "The Irishman". Really loved the narration of Watson, it's quite different from all other sidekicks (Hastings especially). Conan Doyle was a fine author!

The complete Sherlock Holmes contains everything written by Conan Doyle on the legendary private investigator. In a single volume all the novels and stories that have passionate all in the world for over 130 years

The Complete Sherlock Holmes

I'll be honest, this is technically a DNF for me. I got halfway through the 60 or so short stories and lost my will to keep going. After a while the stories all started to blend together and I found myself just not even paying attention. Then remembered I had another 37 more short stories to get through and decided it wasn't worth it, I've gotten as much out of the stories as I think I was able. 

Some I really enjoyed. Most were pretty same-y. Maybe in another 10 years I'll get up the motivation to finish the last 24 hours of the 40+ hour long audiobook.

Stephen Fry is a great narrator though, I must say

Emma Lechner

I'll be honest, this is technically a DNF for me. I got halfway through the 60 or so short stories and lost my will to keep going. After a while the stories all started to blend together and I found myself just not even paying attention. Then remembered I had another 37 more short stories to get through and decided it wasn't worth it, I've gotten as much out of the stories as I think I was able. 

Some I really enjoyed. Most were pretty same-y. Maybe in another 10 years I'll get up the motivation to finish the last 24 hours of the 40+ hour long audiobook.

Stephen Fry is a great narrator though, I must say

As the beginning of a Sherlock story (also the first book I read) this is not bad but not very impressive.

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (Collector's Library)

Itzel

I don't think this one should be reviewed as a single thing, because each story is very different from one another.

So I'll begin listing off my favorites from this volume.

First of all, one that I'm pretty sure fans all over the world enjoy. The Three Garridebs. Although the mystery in it isn't that original (Clever, sure)(A similar gambit was employed in The Red-Headed League), what fans like about this story is the glimpse at humanity we get from Holmes. If you have read this, you must know what moment I am referring to. When Watson gets shot by the villain (Albeit it was only a graze), and Holmes reacts in a way that speaks of the high regard and esteem he holds for his friend, that moment is really something invaluable in all of the stories, really good and heartwarming. 

Once I'm done with the one most obvious, I'll say that I really enjoyed The Lion's Mane, too. The way the villain was someone we wouldn't have expected at all (Unless we happen to have an extensive knowledge in marine creatures, that is) is something I liked a lot. Also, that the story ends in a rather happy note, despite the 'murder' that started it. 

The Sussex Vampire was another one I liked, despite a) Not having real vampires or supernatural creatures, and b) Not having a murder despite the suggestive title. I would spoil the story if I mentioned more details about it.

A curious story was The Veiled Lodger, as in here, there is no mystery for Holmes to investigate, because it's simply the account of someone who immerse in guilt, needs to tell her story to feel at peace with herself. It doesn't mean it's interesting, even if it's quite different from the formula we should be accustomed to.

I should mention that this is where the two only stories that are narrated by Holmes himself appear. Let's remember that the two stories that happened before Watson's time were narrated by him, still, even if for example in Gloria Scott, the part of the mystery itself was Holmes' narration. Both Lion's Mane and Blanched Soldier are purely Holmes' story, both of which prove to be a nice treat for delving into our favorite detective mind. 

The rest of the stories prove to be rather nice as well. The Creeping Man doesn't end in crime either, although one could say that the consumption of illegal drugs can be a crime. In Retired Colourman, although it's a murder investigation, it turns out that there isn't a murder, although death does happen. Mazarin's Stone is somewhat hilarious because of the way Holmes tricks the villains into revealing the location of the title stone. Blanched Soldier, also, does not end up in any crime having been committed, although this one is somewhat sad. In Thor's Bridge, although there is a murder, there isn't anyone incriminated, because, and spoilers are to follow, the victim can be the perpetrator. I won't mention Illustrious Client and Shoscombe Old Place because as it turns out, those are the stories taht left less of an impression in my mind.

As any other Sherlock Holmes' volume, this one proves to be interesting, and to function excellently as a light reading.

Steffi'sBookShelve

This is a great book and I love reading it, but I find it very inconvenient that collection book like this that holds multiple books only counts as one book on this site. Because in reality you are reading more than one book, in this case you’re actually reading nine books forhaps this will change in the future.

Amna A.

Well, it took ages to complete this book. I was reading A Study in Scarlet alongside other books, so I put the book aside quite frequently and eventually forgot what happened in the book when I got back to it. Thanks to that, I had to re-read several chapters to get back on track and be able to keep up with what was going on.
 Though it was interesting to read about Sherlock and John's first encounter plus getting John's perspective of Sherlock. 
 What had me lost was the beginning of part two of the novel-"Where did all the Mormons come from?" Though you eventually find out that it was worth it.

Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir

Adapts the classic first Sherlock Holmes novel by Arthur Conan Doyle into a graphic novel format, in a book timed with the release of the new Sherlock Holmes movie starring Robert Downy, Jr. Original. Movie tie-in

A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel

Sarah Sammis

A Study in Scarlet by by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was first published in Beeton's Christmas Annual. It's been more than 20 years since I first read it but after seeing Moffat's take on it as "A Study in Pink" I wanted to refresh my memory. Ian Edginton's graphic novel version of A Study in Scarlet was a fun way to revisit the original mystery.

This is the story that introduces Dr. Watson, newly returned from Afghanistan, to Sherlock Holmes. Watson is in need of affordable housing and Holmes is in need of a roommate who won't be put off by his odd hours, odd profession and numerous experiments.

Their first case together involves a man who is lying dead in a pool of blood without any sign of trauma. In the blood he has written Rache but where the blood came from and what the German word for revenge has to do with anything has the police stumped.

I didn't have the original text with me to compare editing choices that must have been made but the text and dialog is still recognizably Doyle. The lettering is clear and easy to read. The color pallets tend towards monochrome and sepia, mimicking old style newspapers and photographs.

My only problem with the book is the character design of Sherlock himself. I realize Sherlock is described as tall, with broad shoulders and a strong chin, but the chin drawn on him is bizarre and gawk-worthy. His chin is so long that there's a line drawn on it where his chin should stop to make the facial expressions work, except then the chin extends well on beyond it.

The Speckled Band

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