The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes, #1)

by Arthur Conan Doyle

[celinenyx]

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is the first short story collection I've read by Arthur Conan Doyle. I'm reading his Sherlock Holmes stories roughly in their publication order; I already have A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four under my belt.

I really enjoyed the two novels I read by Doyle - but I think I enjoyed his short stories more. Short stories are a weird sort of format when you're used to novel length books. There is very little room for characterisation, and they tend to be very straightforward because of limited space. The Holmes stories are perfect for the format. Since I had already read the first two novels, I didn't need to get to know Holmes. What these stories focus on is adventures Watson and Holmes have, and they are crafted precisely so Holmes's deductions shine.

I was very surprised that Conan Doyle added a measure of unpredictability by making Holmes fallible. Not every story in this collection has a happy ending, even though all of the ending give a certain measure of closure. Holmes doesn't always win, which makes the stories much more interesting to read. Though I did guess some of the endings, others were pleasant surprises.

If you don't mind the short story format, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a fantastic collection. Many of the issues I had with the novels (pacing problems, racism, continuity errors) weren't nearly as prevalent in this book. Highly recommended for mystery fans that need something to read on their daily commute.