This is a difficult book to review. Or, rather, it is difficult to cover so many full-length books in a single review. One constant in this series is the quality of the writing: the mysteries are fresh and interesting, and the characters feel very real and well-developed. The friendship between Holmes and Watson is genuine and solid, even if the Sherlock doesn’t like to show emotion or admit to any kindness. He insults Watson to his face, yet he praises him to others (and means it); Holmes trusts Watson, cares for him, and relies on his courage in many dangerous situations.

Throughout the series, Holmes seems to go out of his way to make himself seem worse than he is. He pretends not to care for the people close to him, but he does. He claims not to like women, yet he is chivalrous, tender, and sympathetic toward women. He worries, risks his life to help, and is compassionate. In one story, he refuses to tell the police about a woman who’d killed her husband (and he even saves her life) because he cares for her. He is egotistical, but he is honest and forthcoming about his failures, and he doesn’t seek credit for his work. He is empathetic. He becomes furious (and would even sink to murder) when someone harms the ones he loves. His personality is strong, and his kindness, when it appears, is equally strong—perhaps all the more so because it is so unexpected.

Some final thoughts: I like the atmosphere in the stories; they definitely have a British “feel,” and the details about the Victorian age in which it is set help evoke the scene. Quick shout-out to Simon Vance, who narrated the audio, and who adroitly handled voices for men, women, and children, and with a variety of accents. I enjoyed Watson’s romance in The Sign of Four. I enjoyed the variety of the stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; I liked that some of tales featured no murder, and some featured no crime at all. The tone is much sweeter and more lighthearted than most of the other mysteries I’ve read. By the time the later books came, the overall feel was much darker, and it felt like the author was getting tired. The series ends on a high note, however, with a burst of creativity in the last book, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes; it’s as though Doyle was willing to try new things here. It’s a great farewell to these two beloved characters. I can’t believe that it’s over, and that there isn’t any more to look forward to. It’s been a beautiful and deeply emotional journey, and I would very much like to pull out these books in the future and read them all over again. Slipping back into this world would be like visiting old, dear friends. ( )

Timeless! ( )

Review for His Last Bow

A quick adventure that take place on the eve of World War I, His Last Bow is not a mystery at all, but something of a spy caper, as Sherlock Holmes brings down a German spy-master. It's good because it's Holmes and as always he's the master, but it's bittersweet too as the reader knows both what is coming both for England and themselves, as this is one of the last stories we'll ever have.


I read this as part of the Memorial Day BookLikes-opoly donation to the jail library. It was 10 pages in length, and although it has a war theme, it still only earns $1.00. ( )

Full disclosure I DNF’d this book at 85%, so I didn’t actually finish it. But it’s nearly 1800 pages and I didn’t want it not to count for my total book/page count so, yeah, I lied and added it to my Read pile.

This was the most boring thing I’ve ever read and I’m only giving it two stars instead of one because it’s written well and there was nothing, like, offensive in it (as in, the plots were fine, the grammar and spelling were fine, etc).

So yeah, I quit at 85% but I’m saying I read it, still. Sue me lol. ( )

The great Classic of detective fiction: the Holmes Corpus. I re-read it at least once a year. ( )