【 THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES 】

book #5 in the Sherlock Holmes series

Genre: Classic, Mystery
Audience: Adult
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Published: January 1902
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Pages: 240 (paperback)

This was my second time reading this, and it was every bit as good as the first time, helped by the fact that I could not remember for the life of me what the resolution of the story was. This is probably one of my favourites of the novel-length Sherlock stories, because the whole narrative is just so good and so tight (and has none of the weird half-book-length flashbacks that some of the others have). I also listened to the audiobook version narrated by Stephen Fry, and that made everything all that much more enjoyable. This forewords add so much to the reading experience!

One of the really fun things about this story is how front-and-centre Watson is. Holmes entrusts him to go off on his own to be the eyes on the ground for this case, and it’s one of the few times he goes solo. And so it is hilarious to read how proud Watson is of his achievements, specifically from the view of Watson knowing or wanting to impress Holmes by his capability. So not only do we get to read Watson’s journals, as usual, but the story is also presented in the form of letters/reports from Watson to Holmes, as Watson keeps him updated on all the goings on. And that gives a little extra flavour to this novel on the whole.

It’s a really clever mystery this one, too, with the resolution being something so impossible to guess at, yet so perfectly explainable in the end. This also contains all the great things of a British crime setting: an estate so large it’s kind of creepy, a hapless young lord taking on the estate, the quaintness of a small British town, and an eclectic cast of characters to keep things interesting.

If there was just one Holmes story you were going to read, this surely must be the one you choose. It will capture the very essence and heart of all the stories, with clever deductions, a joyful amount of banter between Holmes and Watson, and an ending to thrill you with how fun and clever it is.

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Title: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Series: Sherlock Holmes #5
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
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The terrible spectacle of the beast, the fog of the moor, the discovery of a body, this classic horror story pits detective against dog. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on the wild Devon moorland with the footprints of a giant hound nearby, the blame is placed on a family curse. It is left to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to solve the mystery of the legend of the phantom hound before Sir Charles’ heir comes to an equally gruesome end.