I go back and forth on if this audio version is better than the Stephen Fry one, and here I think Jacobi has it. The Return is one of the most consistent collections of short stories of Doyle's, with the Dancing Men and Six Napoleons standing out, as well as the Empty House where the titular Return happens. From having Holmes sneer at international intrigue he now becomes wrapped up in it himself in The Second Stain, and he will of course eventually become a symbol for the same in The Last Bow. It seems like The Return didn't just resurrect Holmes but remade his purpose. ( )

Well, he’s back. After being presumed dead for three years, Sherlock dramatically reappears. And it IS very dramatic: there’s enough of a narcissist in Sherlock to want to stage his entrance properly. This collection is my dad’s favorite; he says that this book features several years’ worth of ideas that percolated during Doyle’s Sherlock hiatus. It certainly has some memorable stories. “The Norwood Builder,” “The Solitary Cyclist,” “The Dancing Men,” “The Priory School,” “The Six Napoleons,” and “The Golden Pince-Nez” are all top-notch. “The Abbey Grange” is one of my all-time favorites, probably in my top 3, definitely top 5. The writing is solid, and Doyle uses humorous touches to great effect. And this collection is bookended by two drastic life events for Sherlock: “The Empty House” is Sherlock’s triumphant return from exile, and “The Second Stain” opens with Watson informing readers that Sherlock has retired to study bees on the Sussex Downs. So no more stories! Yeah, right. ;)

But it’s not all fun and games—this collection also exemplifies what is, for me, the single most frustrating element of these stories: the endings that get dropped. I’m going to make a Shakespeare analogy here, so hang tight. Spoilers for Romeo and Juliet. Okay, here goes: You know how Romeo and Juliet fall in love pretty early on in the story, and you spend the whole play rooting for them to be all right? And in Act IV, they have this scheme with Friar Lawrence, and you kind of let yourself think, just for a moment, that it will end happily, even though you know it won’t? You keep hoping that they’ll get their HEA? And then Act V happens, and it’s so sad, and you understand how and why they die, and despite the tragedy, you at least feel like you’ve followed them on their star-crossed journey? Well, Doyle’s story is the opposite of that. Spoilers for something that happens between “Memoirs” and “Return.” The Sign of Four was the great love story, with John and Mary falling in love and getting married. Now, in this collection, Mary has already died of something, and we don’t see it or know what it was, and we don’t see Watson’s reaction (or anyone else’s, for that matter). She’s dead when it opens, and she’s mentioned ONCE. And not even by name. So this is like Romeo and Juliet, if R&J ended with Act IV, and then the chorus came out with an epilogue in which they said, “Oops! They died, not sure how, too bad you missed it!!” This is THAT level of frustrating, for me. Here’s Mary’s great death scene from “Empty House”: “In some manner he had learned of my own sad bereavement, and his sympathy was shown in his manner rather than in his words. ‘Work is the best antidote to sorrow, my dear Watson,’ said he.” And that’s IT. “Norwood Builder” opens with Watson selling his practice and moving back in with Sherlock, and he finds out afterward that Sherlock had arranged for Watson to get a good price, so Sherlock is looking out for his widowed friend. So that was nice to see. And I know that Mary was more of a side character, so probably my Shakespeare comparison isn’t fair; these stories are not supposed to be about Watson’s marriage. They’re about Watson’s friendship with Holmes. But we, as readers, got to witness their courtship. We had the chance to root for Watson when he felt so unworthy of Mary’s hand. We had the chance to cheer when it looked like things would work out. And then, hey, guess what, she’s been dead for a while already. I’m sure it was done to make it easer for Sherlock and John to have their adventures, and by having it happen in the in-between time, Doyle can have a very sad and lonely Watson who is at his most vulnerable when Sherlock comes back. Even so, I feel cheated. Despite all this, still a very strong collection of stories, with much to recommend it. ( )

I’m glad Arthur Conan Doyle succumbed to his public’s insatiable appetite for more Sherlock Holmes stories. This collection opens with an improbable account of how Holmes survived his struggle with Professor Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls, followed by a dozen more adventures. They include some of my favorites, such as “The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez” and “The Adventure of Abbey Grange,” culminating in Holmes averting the threat of European war in “The Adventure of the Second Stain.”

Once again, high government officials and many (but not all) aristocrats are admirable specimens of humanity. The women are invariably graceful and elegant, even if haunted by past indiscretions.

Holmes, too, remains in some ways the same. Post-Reichenbach, he retains his sense of which wrongdoers should avoid facing trial. Yet there are differences as well. The earlier Holmes shunned exercise; his oscillations of intense activity, neglecting sleep and food, followed by indolence when not investigating, somehow kept him fit. Now, he stays conditioned by walking with Watson and in other ways. In keeping with this, Watson has weaned Holmes from cocaine. The one time in this collection Holmes pulls out his hypodermic needle, he employs it to brilliant effect.

In the final story, Doyle again signals his intention to be done with Holmes. Watson tells us that Holmes has retired to beekeeping and studying, and Watson is forbidden from sharing more cases. Let’s see how long that lasts.

In an amusing meta-literary touch, Holmes criticizes his chronicler Watson (Doyle) for his choice of cases to turn into stories and the focus on sensational details rather than the science of investigation. But we wouldn’t want it any other way, would we? ( )

A very enjoyable collection of Holmes and Watson mysteries, although there is a decided return to the romantic/melodramatic stylings of the early novels.

After the opening story, which goes to lunatic levels to bring Holmes back (but fair enough), there are some great stories throughout. Watson's narrative voice is pitch-perfect, as is his relationship with Holmes. Beyond this, the various Scotland Yard characters are given more depth, and are able to work WITH Holmes, as opposed to just following him around and always being wrong.

As I said above, though, many of the stories seem to veer toward that very 19th century melodrama feel in their denouements, although Conan Doyle handles it quite emotionlessly, so at least it isn't protracted. And many of the stories - those featuring missing people or objects - often seem to end with the same kind of conclusion (I won't say which, but you'll notice the pattern). Still, these weren't initially published in book form, and so I don't hold vague similarities against them.

An enjoyable collection of stories. I'm two-thirds of the way through the canon already! ( )

The Return of Sherlock Holmes is comprised of thirteen adventures. There is a certain formula to Doyle's writing. Someone is always trying to scam, blackmail, or extort something from someone else. Clients come to Holmes when Scotland Yard thinks the case is out of their league. Scandal, public embarrassment, or out and out trickery is usually the name of the game. Sherlock is always the master of disguises; a chameleon of identity. He is always seeing details others commonly miss. Confessional: I got a little tired of his smug attitude. I do love Watson, though. ( )