【 The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes 】

book #4 in the Sherlock Holmes series

Genre: Mystery, Classic
Audience: Adult
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Published: December 1893
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 320 (paperback)

Another great collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories, and of course, the very collection that ends in the Final Problem. I do think I prefer the full-length stories to these short stories, but there are some really great cases amongst the short stories that pack an unexpected punch.

My favourite stories of this collection would have to be The Adventure of the Resident Patient, The Adventure of the Cardboard Box, and The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual. Though it’s hard to pick just three because most of them are excellent. Of course, it goes without saying that The Final Problem is up there too, but we’ll get to that.

I love the way that all these stories are told from Watson’s perspective. As the reader, I just love the portrayal of the friendship between the two men as it’s written out in all the adventures that Watson relays. Each story is so exciting and almost always wraps up in such a thrilling way, and with such cosy camaraderie between the two men.

I also have to mention that I love the humble moments between Holmes and Watson, such as the parting remarks at the end of The Adventure of the Yellow Face – if you’ve read it, you’ll know what I mean. I just think it’s such a clever way to gently insert moments for the reader’s benefit that stop Holmes from coming across as too full of himself.

The reason I don’t go for a full five stars, however, is some of the stories didn’t blow me away in their resolution as much as I had anticipated. For example, The Adventure of the Naval Treaty was an exciting story but the resolution was just ‘okay’ to me. And The Adventure of the Reigate Squire also didn’t excite me as much as some of the others. There’s nothing wrong, per se, with these stories, only that they weren’t my favourites.

And so, The Final Problem. I was somewhat prepared for the emotional shredding that was about to occur in this mystery – being the infamous ‘end’ of Sherlock Holmes – thanks to the TV series. But it’s one thing knowing what’s going to happen, and another thing agonising through the final words and tributes to Sherlock from Watson’s own hand. Stephen Fry’s narration of this just about had me in tears. How dare Doyle ever consider taking Holmes away from Watson. It is completely unthinkable.

Of all the short story collections, this one is simply not to be missed because of this final story. It’s such an important rung in the ladder, that it would be remiss to not read it and understand the absolute grief that Holmes puts Watson through for so many years on end until The Return of Sherlock Holmes.

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Title: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Series: Sherlock Holmes #4
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
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‘If I were assured of your eventual destruction I would, in the interests of the public, cheerfully accept my own.’ In The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, the consulting detective’s notoriety as the arch-despoiler of the schemes concocted by the criminal underworld at last gets the better of him. Though Holmes and his faithful sidekick Dr Watson solve what will become some of their most bizarre and extraordinary cases – the disappearance of the race horse Silver Blaze, the horrific circumstances of the Greek Interpreter and the curious mystery of the Musgrave Ritual among them – a criminal mastermind is plotting the downfall of the great detective. Half-devil, half-genius, Professor Moriarty leads Holmes and Watson on a grisly cat-and-mouse chase through London and across Europe, culminating in a frightful struggle which will turn the legendary Reichenbach Falls into a water double-grave . . .