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The world’s most revered and famous fictional detective first appeared from the pen of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle almost a 130 years ago, but the author did not finish with his greatest creation until almost 40 years later even after unsuccessfully killing him off. In this second volume of all the collected works that feature Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. John Watson, the reader gets reacquainted with the great detective and his friend through 33 short stories and a short novella with the added bonus of two Doyle written parodies as well as two essays by the author.

The second volume of the original works of Conan Doyle, in the American publication order, begins with Holmes return to life in “The Empty House”. The opening story of The Return of Sherlock Holmes is just an okay start to the detective return to practice before the story quality through most of the collection improves—“Priory School”, “Three Students”, “Solitary Cyclist”, and “Dancing Men” being the best—until the final three stories. The novella The Valley of Fear begins a noticeable drop in quality throughout the rest of the works, the first half the novella is Holmes at his best but then Conan Doyle repeats his great since with his first Holmes novella Study in Scarlett in which the second half is all flashback of dubious narration or not.

In the collections His Last Bow and The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes, only four of the 20 stories could be considered close to the same quality of the earlier Holmes stories. In “The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge”, Holmes finds competing with a county Inspector who’s methods of deduction gain Holmes’ respect while “The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans” is a well-written twist of an earlier Holmes story. The Holmes narrated “The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane” is the better of the two Holmes ‘written’ stories while “The Adventure of the Dying Detective” was Conan Doyle writing a wonderful counter-formulaic story.

Yet while those four stories stood out as the best of the late Holmes stories, the others were of subpar quality and included two of the worst. The third person narrative of “Mazarin Stone” doomed the story from the start and details within the study defied the reader’s suspicion of disbelief. The very next story was in my opinion the worst of all Holmes stories, “The Adventure of the Three Gables”, mainly due to the fact that the Sherlock Holmes presented in that story was not the Holmes in all previous stories and all those that followed.

Although the majority of the volume saw for the most part the quality of Conan Doyle’s storytelling fall, one cannot fail to notice that the author who at one time loathed his creation would do ensure that his—both Sherlock’s and his own—legacy endure with as best writing as he could produce. Within the collected 34 original works, there are many diamonds in the rough that any reader will enjoy reading whether they have read other Holmes works or not.

Sherlock Holmes is a character that you love right away. He’s hilarious, intelligent, and sometimes gets on my nerves because of how great a detective he is. Which makes him so realistic. Even though I didn’t enjoy them as much as I thought I would, I’m very sad to leave Sherlock. And Watson couldn’t be a better sidekick! :)

The overall writing is good but at times the stories are clearly variations of previous ones. This indicates the original ideas were being exhausted and he recycled previous ones, sometimes with better results than the original story. A few stories evoked little interest. As a result I wasn't quite sure how the case was resolved, even when Holmes explained it.

This has been a favorite collection since high school. I could read these stories over and over! They are unique and intricate, and that's probably why I never tire of them. Holmes is perpetually beset either by boredom or fascination with a puzzle, and not much in between. It makes for dynamic stories.

Well, I did it; I read every story and novel featuring Sherlock Holmes, as written by his creator (and reluctant resurrector), Arthur Conan Doyle. This second volume picks up with said resurrection, a forerunner of "somehow, Palpatine has returned" if ever I saw one.

Indeed, the return of Sherlock Holmes was something that Conan Doyle was almost bullied into, much like how Disney and J.J. Abrams were forced by "fan" backlash against The Last Jedi to scrap everything in that for the travesty that is Rise of Skywalker. But happily, the results for Holmes, Watson, and company are much better, if not up to the same quality as the original run of stories and novels. Conan Doyle still has no idea what to do with Holmes in the setting of a novel, but the stories included here, while not as memorable as the earlier stories, do include gems of character and intrigue that work in their favor and make this an enjoyable experience.

First things first: I actually like how Holmes returns, it's a nice out-of-the-blue development that Conan Doyle doesn't dwell on because "then the story can happen." Holmes comes back to sew up the last loose threads of the Moriarty network, and then launches back into his private practice, with a newly single Watson (his wife conveniently killed off-stage) as his boon companion for the adventures (except for two written from Holmes' perspective, a rare treat and kind of fun, honestly). The stories include the fourth Holmes novel, a howler called "The Valley of Fear," which (like "A Study in Scarlet") features a long section set in the American West and seemingly conveying Conan Doyle's desire to do a Wild West novel, as well as having a tenuous grasp on how Americans speak and how they lived in the Wild West. I think it's nice to see a literary figure stumble and fall, however, and "Fear" is kind of good-bad, in that it's so hilariously overwrought in its American section that it's fun to read for the comedy factor alone.

The rest of the stories, as I said, don't quite measure up to Conan Doyle's original run, and I think that, if I'm being honest, maybe he shouldn't have brought Holmes back. I understand the fans ultimately pushed Conan Doyle to do so, and it wouldn't surprise me if Holmes' creator loathed having to revive a character whose arc could be said to be well and done with his fall down the Reichenbach Falls. But the fans spoke, and eventually Conan Doyle brought Holmes back to life, and whatever defects there are to the stories included here, there's enough here to enjoy.

I think I had the ambition last year to try and complete the Holmes story cycle last calendar year, having finished the first volume sometime in February or March of 2023. Alas, I have fallen a little outside even managing it in a year's time, but that's okay. Having developed a real passion for crime fiction over the last couple of years, I'm glad that I read this at all, even if this second story cycle doesn't measure up to what came before. It's still a good time, albeit aware of some of the flaws with the story, characters (even Holmes is not above the prejudices of his time, sadly, as some of the non-white characters testify to in how they're discussed) and even if Watson continues to think that anyone who carries themselves like a gentleman can't possibly be a criminal (that's funny, actually, though both Holmes and Watson continue to think of women in very condescending terms). The stories presented here aren't perfect, but they have some great moments and are worth your time if you've read the first volume or are looking for some classic "whodunit" reading material. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, volumes 1 and 2, are hard to beat.

I thought that this was one of the most boring classics I have ever read, the stories weren't interesting or engaging and I began forcing myself to read.

after I have read many different story ,I can't guess any conclusion of cases
Arthur Conan Doyle is so smart and his intelligence arouse my excitement
A reader was as a partner and tasted worderfull adventure.

Moreover than the actual stories, the superior writing style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is what really draws me to the Sherlock Holmes series. Doyle was an expertly skilled writer, whose attention to detail and ability to weave together tantalizing clues into the solution of a mystery are to be envied. His character development is also exemplary, as there is much to mystify one about Sherlock Holmes; his aversion to women and distance from his family, his lack of friends save one physician who seems to be considered more as an assistant that a friend, these attributes combine to make the character of Sherlock Holmes even a greater mystery than the crimes he solves.

The short stories are extremely easy reads, especially suited for our ADHD-prone, instant gratification seeking modern culture. Despite the 19th century English setting, still a enjoyable read, even for modern times.

Amazing

A well written book. Enjoyed reading it.

The second volume of Sherlock stories, and by far the larger, contains many of the best stories, but also many of the worst. Shall we say, whilst perhaps it has The Hound of the Baskervilles, it also has the Case-Book?

One can say much about Sherlock Holmes and his delightful companion, Dr. Watson. It might be that we see the two characters as near-human, and their humanization as being quite thoroughly done; I might even consider it a staple reason for wishing to pursue a complete reading of the canon. (It remains a quiet sadness that Holmes should live alone in Sussex, with naught but a housemaid and bees.) One might also point out the delightful mysteries--mysteries which are, at times, unfortunately faulty, but yet still incredibly fun to read. Even the more sensational are fun.

Wordsmithing is hard, and--as such--this will be all the review necessary for now.