The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I must confess that I am one of the myriad of people who know a lot about Sherlock Holmes without having read any of the books. My only experience of Baker Street was having watched a couple of the films when I was a kid and it was fun to actually find out what Holmes was about from a literary point of view.

This is a collection of 12 short stories and was the third book to be written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Holmes and Watson.Most of the stories follow a similar pattern. A man or women knocks on the door and asks for help from Sherlock who then proceeds to investigate each unique case in his own intelligent and meticulous manner. Each story is told from Dr Watson's point of view. I enjoyed all the stories and I found that they got better the more I got into the book, maybe the stories improved or perhaps I was just getting used to the writing style. A few of the books had disappointing endings but overall they kept my interest.

My favourites were 'The Man with the Twisted Lip', 'The Adventure of the Speckled Band' and 'The Adventure of the Copper Beeches.' I have since acquired the Sherlock Holmes collection and am hoping to see how the full novels compare to the shorts stories.

I enjoyed this collection of stories, although I wouldn't say it was the most exciting thing I have read this year but it is way above an average read.

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From an aspiring writers point of view I learned that it is so important to have a storyline that evolves and reveals itself slowly so as to keep the reader wanting to turn the pages. The last story in this collection is the perfect example in which we are introduced to a secret room and its mysterious contents. I think every book needs a secret room or a locked door in some form or other.

3.5/5