The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Doyle)
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
I wouldn't label this as a "reread" even though I read parts of it before. Back in high school, when I wasn't much of a reader, I thought a book of short stories would be a good choice. And what could be a better choice than Sherlock Holmes? I didn't read many of the stories, and the only one I remember anything about is "The Adventure of the Speckled Band". So that one is a reread, but the book itself is not.
I revisited this book several times over the past few months, reading inbetween other books.
First is "A Scandal in Bohemia" which finds Dr. Watson visiting his old friend Sherlock Holmes, who still resides at 221B Baker Street. It is the 20th of March, 1888. A man, who claims to be a Bohemian nobleman, wishes to hire Holmes, and it turns out that he is secretly Wilhem Gottsreich Sigicmond von Ormsein, Grand Duke of Cassle-Felsten and hereditary King of Bohemia. He's traveling incognito because of a delicate matter. He is being blackmailed over a photograph of him and a woman, Irene Adler, whom he had a liaison with. Holmes is on the case, but it takes an unusual twist.
Comments: The opening of the story reuniting the pair goes on for several pages. I was glad that I had a dictionary available at a touch of a word -- my high school English teacher, Mr. G., would have been proud that I looked up the words I didn't know. Most of these had to do with the different types of carriages or the clothing that they wore. I should go back and make notes of these for my writing.
Adventure II is "The Red-Headed League". A red-headed man, Jabez Wilson, who is a pawnbroker, comes to Holmes with a case. He respoded to an advertisement for the Red-Headed League, which was formed at the behest a woman's estate, to hire redheaded men. Wilson spends a few hours per day transcribing the Encyclopedia Britanica. But, of course, there's more to this.
Adventure III is "A Case of Identity", which starts with callbacks to earlier cases, such as A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and even, "A Scandal in Bohemia" for this very book. Then Miss Mary Sutherland comes in asking Holmes to help locate Mr. Hosmer Angel, who got into a stagecoach on the way to the wedding chapel and vanished. Holmes told her that he isn't likely to be found because he concludes that the man doesn't exist. He then unravels his identity.
I'll be briefer because I let some time pass been updates and I've already started to forget some of the details I might have noted.
Adventure IV is "The Boscombe Valley Mystery". Holmes becomes involved when a man is killed and his son is charged. Thanks to Holmes, the son is released because of the presence of a third man.
Adventure V is "The Five Orange Pips", which takes place in November 1891, less than 30 years after the end of the American Civil War. It involves a man who moved to the U.S. but who returned who dies shortly after getting a letter with five orange pips in it. The letter is inscribed K.K.K. Yes, that one. Holmes investigates the best he can and hopes for as good an outcome as can be expected.
Adventure VI is "The Man with the Twisted Lip", which involves the disappearance, and possible death, of a man at an opium den. He was seen their when his wife followed him into town. It had an interesting beginning in that Watson is at Holmes when a woman calls upon him to say that her husband was missing, except that she knew where he was. Watson goes to the den and finds the man and convinces him to go home. (He also convinces him that he has been there two days longer than he thinks he's been there.) While there, a man gets Watson's attention. It turns out to be Holmes in disguise, investigating a beggar who rents a room above the den.
Adventure VII is "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle". The object in the title is a gem which has recently been stolen. It comes into Holmes possession inside a Christmas goose, which along with a worn top hat, was left behind as an attempted mugging. Holmes investigates to find how the gem came to be in the goose before a likely innocent man is sentenced for it.
Adventure VIII is "The Adventure of the Speckled Band". This is one of the stories I remember reading when I took this book out of the library in high school. I probably picked it out becuase it was one of the shortest stories, but I remembered it because of the twist. And also because I wondered why anyone would call out, of all things, "the speckled band". I guess that's a 19th century British thing.
Adventure IX is "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb". Dr. Watson attends to Victor Hatherley, who had his thumb cut off. He is an engineer who hasn't gotten a lot of business who gets an extremely handsome offer to repair a machine that (he was told) compresses Earth. Everything is done in secret. He recounts the tale to Holmes, who investigates.
Adventure X is "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor". Lord Robert St. Simon approaches Holmes to report that his new American bride, Hatty Doran, has disappeared right after the wedding. The maid is a suspect, but Holmes believes it is not at all what it appears. (It never is, right?) Lestrade appears and unwittingly gives Holmes the last piece of the puzzle he needs.
Adventure XI is "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet". The coronet is a national treasure which is given to a banker to secure a short-term loan with much discretion. The beryls are precious gems which are irreplaceable, and there are 37 of them on the gold coronet. The banker awakens in the middle of the night to find the titular item in the hands of his ne'er-do-well son and a corner of it, along with 3 stones, is missing. If it's not the son, that it must be someone in the house.
Adventure XII is "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches". Violet Hunter consults Holmes about the situation that she has been approached for. She is a governess without a family (they moved away), and one possible employer will pay handsomely but has odd requests. (This is 100 years ago and a family book.) One of these is to cut her hair short. She initially objects to this. Holmes doesn't think she should take it, but she yields and cuts her hair. Soon enough, she contacts Holmes about mysterious goings-on and someone being kept a prisoner in that hosue.
Comparitively, I prefered Holmes to Poirot, although the latter was one story which introduced the characters whereas this is a collection of 12 stories. And any fall flat, they're likely to be forgotten.
Now I'll need another book between books. Of course, I still have the Pirate's Who's Who and several Tor "Best of" books. This was a free download.
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