Click here to hear my thoughts on the Wishbone episode that focuses on the Sherlock Holmes story "A Scandal in Bohemia" over on my Booktube channel, abookolive.

welcome to...THE APRILVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.

wow. i've outdone myself on the terrible pun, so you know what that means: we're back at it with project long classics, in which i divvy up an intimidating classic over a month in order to feel smart and accomplished. even though this one is just a bunch of fun crime puzzles.

but the real mystery is the order i'm reading this series in.


DAY 1: A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA, PART ONE
these don't divide evenly, so i'm going to read them in half-story chunks. or just go for it. i can't decide.

i first read this story in an english 101 class, and i have the same opinion today as i did then: sherlock holmes goes down as one of the greatest characters of all time, but arthur conan doyle's real masterpiece was irene adler.


DAY 2: A SCANDAL IN BOHEMIA, PART TWO
no one is doing it like her!!! she really is on a whole different level to quote sherlock himself.

similarly, i doubt that these stories will ever get as good as this first one. the only problem with it is it's much too short. follow irene for the whole volume i say.
rating: 4.5


DAY 3: THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE, PART ONE
every single sherlock holmes story has this bit where he says 4 extremely specific things to a stranger and they're like "what the devil —" and he explains his deductions. and yet it hits every time.

"I am a very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the door-mat." introvert who works remotely representation is so important.


DAY 4: THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE, PART TWO
i have to say, creating an institution to celebrate red-headed men and faking a photography hobby in order to attempt to steal some french gold...well, that's whimsical as hell.

but it's no irene adler.
rating: 3.5


DAY 5: A CASE OF IDENTITY, PART ONE
this is anout of a woman getting ghosted. if only we each had a sherlock holmes in a time like this.


DAY 6: A CASE OF IDENTITY, PART TWO
well. it's not as fun when we catch the guy but there is no JUSTICE.

i would've answered yes to sherlock's little "should i beat him with a riding crop," even.
rating: 3


DAY 7: THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY, PART ONE
my life's nightmare is to be watson's wife. unnamed, uninteresting. just being like "yeah totally, take your 80th day off from your job so far this year to go do unpaid labor as the guy sherlock makes look stupid in order to emphasize his intelligence. i'll just be sitting here powered down until your return regardless."


DAY 8: THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY, PART TWO
it's like...okay, this guy committed a murder to prevent his daughter from having to marry a guy that she immediately marries anyway. and then it's a happily ever after. not our finest logic on this one.
rating: 3


DAY 9: THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS, PART ONE
every one of these stories begins with watson being like "sherlock is an unparalleled genius...he has never been defeated...irene adler got lucky..." and now all of a sudden he's like "well, for 8 years he solved some stuff on occasion but mostly he was all, i got nothing." what happened???

i gotta say, i'm not feeling confident that he's going to figure out the 2.5 murders we've just been presented with.


DAY 10: THE FIVE ORANGE PIPS, PART TWO
yep. this is the story of how sherlock holmes takes on the might of american institutional racism and loses.

pretty depressing.
rating: 3


DAY 11: THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP, PART ONE
in this story a guy finds out that it's actually friday when he thought it was wednesday and bursts into tears. i've done the exact same thing in the reverse situation.


DAY 12: THE MAN WITH THE TWISTED LIP, PART TWO
this one was very fun. even if it did hinge upon having a conservative comedian's concept of what begging is.
rating: 3.5


DAY 13: THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE, PART ONE
my fiance has a sherlock holmes board game in which you get a case description, a copy of a newspaper, a map of london, and a directory and have to solve a mystery from there. there has never been a game that i like so much while being so bad at. this case is reminding me why.


DAY 14: THE ADVENTURE OF THE BLUE CARBUNCLE, PART TWO
to be fair, i could also solve a goose-based mystery if some criminal-looking guy showed up at the goose stand yelling about a missing goose. that doesn't take sherlock holmes levels of deduction.

i have to say, though, i respect his anti-prison industrial complex inclinations.
rating: 3.5


DAY 15: THE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BAND, PART ONE
"Very sorry to knock you up, Watson," said he, "but it's common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she retorted on me, and I on you." eventful day.

it is so funny that this story hinges on the idea that if a lady has to clean up after herself her hair will go gray by 30 from strain. who's going to start doing my laundry for me then??? then again, in this same story women can die simply "of fear," so i probably don't have much to go on.


DAY 16: THE ADVENTURE OF THE SPECKLED BAND, PART TWO
soooo satisfying. you love to see it. like a scandal in bohemia, i read this one in school, and also like it it's one of the best.
rating: 4


DAY 17: THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGINEER'S THUMB, PART ONE
the intros to these get real repetitive reading them one after the other like this. "Of all the cases I have known Mr Sherlock Holmes to take on..." "In all my years as assistant to the great Mr Sherlock Holmes..." "Out of every mystery in the time I spent with the renowned detective..." etc etc.


DAY 18: THE ADVENTURE OF THE ENGINEER'S THUMB, PART TWO
honestly, if i were nearly stamped to death by a hydraulic press and got away with just a chopped-off thumb, i'd be like "thank you very much" and mind my business. no running to quirky detectives for me.
rating: 3


DAY 19: THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR, PART ONE
this one is about sherlock holmes using his divine powers of deduction to figure out why a couple he knows broke up. which is literally exactly what i would use my divine powers of deduction for if i had them.


DAY 20: THE ADVENTURE OF THE NOBLE BACHELOR, PART TWO
justice for lord st. simon. being left immediately post-wedding and then not even being the main character of my own mystery would be my villain origin story.
rating: 3


DAY 21: THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORNET, PART ONE
i mean...i'm not going to say on jeff bezos' internet that stealing shouldn't be a crime and should in fact be a robin hood-style accoladed achievement if done from the senior partner of one of london's largest private banks...but i am going to heavily imply it.


DAY 22: THE ADVENTURE OF THE BERYL CORNET, PART TWO
women, am i right.

ok it is actually very funny to refer to a gun used in self-defense as a life preserver.
rating: 3.5


DAY 23: THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES, PART ONE
i love sherlock holmes for reading watson's plethora of what is essentially john x sherlock fanfiction and being like..."not enough ME in this."


DAY 24: THE ADVENTURE OF THE COPPER BEECHES, PART TWO
what an insane tonal shift to close this entire collection out. but in a fun way, i have to admit.

spoke too soon. i wish i had checked doesthedogdie.com on this one.
rating: 3.5


OVERALL
some of these stories were much stronger than others (i love you forever irene adler), but overall sherlock holmes is the world's most famous detective for a reason. these are generally clever and fun.

sorry, poirot.
rating: 3.5

This collection of short stories by Barnes and Noble was worth the price. I loved the sparkly cover (the lettering is in silver) and there are also illustrations included. The pages are nicely edged as well and it comes with it's own personal bookmark. That said, I enjoyed all of the stories, though two of them were five stars in my opinion.

"A Scandal in Bohemia" (3 stars)-This apparently was the first short story featuring Holmes, but the third story featuring Holmes. We find Watson happily married in this one and back to practicing medicine. He stops by Holmes place at Baker Street and comes across Holmes being involved in a case that involves "The Woman" AKA Irene Adler. Can I say that one of the few things the Sherlock series did was with the character of Irene Adler? I loved her in the Cumberbatch and Freeman series. Ahem. I thought that the overall character of Adler didn't work for me in this one. Why does she refuse to give back the photos? Why would she waste herself over someone she purports to not care about? All in all an okay read, just not that thrilling.

"The Red-Headed League (5 stars)-I kind of got a kick out of a story that has red headed men in it as the stars so to speak. I do have to say that the character of Jabez Wilson was not that smart. Maybe because I don't trust anyone and watch too much Forensic Files type shows I would have thought the whole advertisement for red-headed men was up to no good. You don't need Sherlock Holmes to say hey there is something wrong here. Still though, I really did enjoy this one since I didn't see the why behind the story coming at all.

"The Five Orange Pips" (3 stars)-I liked this one. Not my favorite of the stories, but thought it was very good. I started reading and even went huh to the five orange pips that were sent to the character Elias Openshaw. This one creeped me out to read though since it includes references to the KKK and them going after the Openshaw men. There is rough justice in this one though, but the ending ultimately left me slightly unsatisfied. I like it when the criminals are caught and confronted in the end.

"The Blue Carbuncle" (3 stars)-We have Holmes and Watson tracking down how a priceless gem ended up in a goose's throat. This is so random. I never read this one before now so it's entirely new story to me. It just didn't make a lot of sense I found. I also didn't like the idea of the guilty party getting away and Holmes acting all well the person who was accused will totally just get out of this jam even though I know they didn't do it.

"The Speckled Band" (5 stars)- I read this story during high school English class and I enjoyed it then and now. This one creeped me out for days cause I already have an overactive imagination and now I of course start thinking about things that can bump or slither in the night. I do still want to know why the character of Helen Stoner would even still be hanging around her stepfather who obviously has a lot wrong with him.

"The Beryl Coronet"- (3 stars)-This was a rather weird case I found. A banker takes home a beryl coronet and is then awakened by his son bending the thing and finds some stones missing. I easily guessed who the guilty party was in this one though. I also once again wondered at Holmes letting the guilty party(ies) go free. Holmes going that one of the parties will get what is coming to them by their association with the other person was kind of eh to me.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" (4 stars)-Re-read again for the second time. Here is my previous review. All of it still stands.

For such a short story, it did take a while to get going. We have Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson involved in a case of a mysterious hound that a man (James Mortimer) believes killed his friend Charles Baskerville. James is concerned since the new heir to the Baskerville estate, Sir Henry. There is a lot of clues and in the end, Holmes and Watson solve the mystery.

I like these stories (well the ones I have read) for the most part because we get told the story from Watson's point of view, with lots of Holmes running commentary. This one was lacking I thought since we get very little Holmes in this. I would liken it to the Poirot mystery I read last year where he solves the crime by sitting in his apartment, but had someone else do all of the work (The Clocks). Instead we have lots of Watson being on the scene and writing to Holmes to share his comments on everyone around the Baskerville estate.

I think the last story I read and really enjoyed about Sherlock and Doctor Watson was "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." Probably because the way the suspect set things up was very clever to me. And I loved the final resolution to everything as well. This story has whet my appetite somewhat for Holmes and Watson, so maybe I will start trying to read the first couple of stories again soon.

I can honestly say that I found the writing to be just a little bit muddled at times. I at one point could not follow who was who and who had done what (the two main women in the story). And I kind of called nonsense at how the whole thing was set-up. Maybe it's just me, but I think you could think of something better to do if you want to get rid of people. The flow was rather painful too for such a short story. I think it was jumping from Watson's narrative to his letters, and without Holmes around to provide clarity, I had no idea if what Watson was doing would ultimately be germane to the plot.

The setting of the Baskerville estate was perfect for a Halloween read though. A huge home alone on the moor with a dangerous hound afoot. We even get Watson out and about during a moonlit night for those who may want to read this for another bingo square.

The ending was slightly clumsy too. We had Holmes repeat what we already knew to Watson, and what Watson already knew too. I think it was to try to explain away a lot of holes in the story though, which Holmes or in this case Doyle did not do a very good job of.

He ido desmenuzando y degustando cada uno de estos casos.
Los casos me parecen interesantes, pero son casos menores dentro de la vida de Sherlock Holmes. Algunos casos se cierran apresuradamente y se nota que fueron publicados en revistas, aunque he de decir que aportan datos sobre la vida del gran detective. Por ejemplo: en uno de los casos Irene Adler y Holmes se conocen y esto será importante.
Los casos no son lineales en el tiempo. Saltan entre los años ya que en algunos de ellos Watson está casado y vive con Mary y, en cambio, en otros, Watson vive en el 221b de Baker Street.
Es un libro para quien desee conocer casos más pequeños en la historia de la gran pareja.

I have trashed out and tasted each of these cases.
The cases seem interesting to me, but they are minor cases in the life of Sherlock Holmes. Some cases are hastily closed and it is noticeable that they have been published in magazines, although I must say that they provide data on the life of the great detective. For example: in one case Irene Adler and Holmes meet and this will be important.
The cases are not linear in time. They jump between the years because in some of them Watson is married and lives with Mary, while in others Watson lives at 221b Baker Street.
It is a book for those who wish to learn about smaller cases in the history of the great couple.

La novela muestra una serie de cuentos cortos con casos importantes de Sherlock descritos por Watson luego que se separaron. Incluye la historia de cómo empezó a desentrañar puzles policiales. Y también un interesante resucitamiento. Ameno, ágil y vigente más de un siglo después. Muy victoriano. #sirarthurconandoyle #lasaventurasdesherlockhomes

Como siempre, la agudeza y el ingenio de Holmes hacen que cada aventura parezca compleja al principio y que transcurra con muchas rapidez, además de resultar simple y menos dramática al final. Mi admiración no hace más que crecer por el simple hecho de que a fin de cuentas todo se reduzca a la explicación más elemental.

n  “It saved me from ennui,” he answered, yawning. “Alas! I already feel it closing in upon me. My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. These little problems help me to do so.” n
- Sherlock Holmes

I am so glad to finally be done with this book that took me years to read. I would have DNFed it a long time ago because it just couldn't hold my attention and I had to force myself to finish it, but I absolutely love all the adaptations of Sherlock Holmes: from the RDJ movie, to the BBC Sherlock, to CBS's Elementary, I just had to know more about him and see where they get all their material from. Sadly, most of it is not from this book.

This consists of 12 short stories, and I have summarized stories 5-12 below.

[previous update: Slowly making my way through this collection. It’s taking me a long time because I’m just not a short story person, but I do love Sherlock Holmes.]

➸ “The Five Orange Pips”
n  I say now, as I said then, that a man should keep his little brain-attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.”n
This one’s about a man who comes to see Holmes on a dark and stormy night because he’s received a letter with the initials “K. K. K.” It has him worried because his uncle had received the same letter and then died seven weeks later. Then his dad received the letter and died a few days later. To me, the events in this just happened too quickly and I don’t think there’s any way a modern reader could have concluded the actual solution to the story, and I was also confused as to why everything happened.

➸"The Man with the Twisted Lip"
n  “I think, Watson, that you are now standing in the presence of one of the most absolute fools in Europe. I deserve to be kicked from here to Charing Cross."n
- Sherlock Holmes, when he solves the crime
This story starts when a friend of Watson's wife arrives, panicked, that her husband has been missing for two days and is probably in an opium den. Watson offers to go pick him up from there and send him home in a cab. On his way out, he hears an old man telling him to take a few steps, then turn around and look at him, and that's where the fun begins. I don't want to spoil anything but that scene had me laughing out loud. And also, this is one story where I was able to kind of figure out the ending! And the end had me laughing too.

Also, this is the first short story I noticed where Watson's first name is mentioned to be James rather than John.

➸"The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle"
n  “I can see nothing,” said I, handing it back to my friend.

“On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences.”n

This story takes place two days after Christmas, and it begins with Sherlock pondering over a hat and a goose that commissionaire Peterson had been left on the street after there was a small fight. He brings it to Holmes to find out who the owner is, and Holmes later sees that the goose had a blue carbuncle hidden inside it. The mystery is who put it there and why. I just wasn't as interested in this story as some of the others. Also, some of the conclusions Holmes draws, I have come to notice, are just a little far-fetched. Like he "deduces" that because a hat is big, the guy must have a big brain and is therefore intellectual? Nope, not true.

But this one is a true gem: n  "Just see how it glints and sparkles. Of course it is a nucleus and focus of crime. Every good stone is. They are the devil’s pet baits. In the larger and older jewels every facet may stand for a bloody deed."n

➸ “The Adventure of the Speckled Band"
n  When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals. He has nerve and he has knowledge. Palmer and Pritchard were among the heads of their profession. This man strikes even deeper, but I think, Watson, that we shall be able to strike deeper still. But we shall have horrors enough before the night is over.n

This story takes place in April 1883 when Watson was still living as a bachelor with Holmes at Baker Street. But Watson recalls this story several years later because he wasn't at liberty to share the details earlier until the woman passes away (but it never becomes clear why he couldn't share the story before). Anyway, one day a 32 year old woman comes in and tells a story about her stepfather who is from one of the richest families in England, although by now they have lost most of their wealth. He had left for India where he practiced medicine, but one day was set off and killed his butler due to a robbery in his house. He was imprisoned and when he got out, came back to England. All was well until at the age of 30, her twin sister announced she was engaged and two weeks later ended up dead. Just from this little summary, it's not hard at all to figure out who did it or even why (the girls' mother had left them an inheritance they could have upon getting married). I guess the mystery is HOW because she died in the middle of the night in a locked room after hearing some strange whistling that her sister in the next room could not hear. Now her sister is engaged and has heard the same whistling sound and is scared, which is how she ended up at Sherlock's doorstep.

This story just went on a little too long for me, and I wasn't really invested until the very last part, when I was hoping there would be some kind of plot twist and maybe the most obvious suspect would turn out to not be the perpetrator, but sadly, that never happened. I think I need to take a break from these short stories.

➸ “The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb”
n  “Well,” said our engineer ruefully as we took our seats to return once more to London, “it has been a pretty business for me! I have lost my thumb and I have lost a fifty-guinea fee, and what have I gained?”

“Experience,” said Holmes, laughing. “Indirectly it may be of value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.” n

Takes place in the summer of '89, shortly after Watson's marriage. But he's recounting this a couple of years later. Watson had returned to practicing medicine and was no longer living with Holmes. A hydraulic engineer shows at Watson's doorstep, and Watson discovers that his thumb has recently been cut off. Then the engineer recounts a long-winded story about how he was hired to help someone repair their system to discover some type of something (metal?) that is as valuable as gold, and that he would be paid handsomely. But this person ("Colonel Lysander Stark") makes sure that he has chosen someone who is a bachelor and orphan with no ties to anyone else. He says it's because he wants this mission kept secret so the neighbors don't discover it, but really, that should have been a huge red flag. That's exactly how the Craiglist Killer chose his victims as well. But anyway, this engineer agrees to meet this random man at his house at midnight to help, and when he gets there, he meets a strange woman who tries to warn him away, but of course he doesn't listen. And that's when things go very wrong.

Sherlock Holmes was only in this story for a few minutes. The majority of it was just the engineer's tale, and then we don't even get to see Sherlock's deduction process. He just gives us the conclusion and that's it. I would give this story like a 0 or 1 star. Stories like this are the reason why it has taken me years to try and finish this book.

➸ "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor"
n  It is always a joy to meet an American, Mr. Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the folly of a monarch and the blundering of a minister in far-gone years will not prevent our children from being some day citizens of the same world-wide country under a flag which shall be a quartering of the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes.” n

This one is about a man who gets married only for his wife to disappear a few hours later. And Sherlock is able to figure it out before he ever even meets this man, just from Watson reading the newspaper article about it to him. I did enjoy it more than the previous one.

n  "Draw your chair up and hand me my violin, for the only problem we have still to solve is how to while away these bleak autumnal evenings."n
- In which I, too, am Sherlock Holmes (we both get bored so easily, ugh)

➸ “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet"
n  “It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."n

This one is about a banker who lends £50,000 to an English noble, and as collateral, receives a beryl coronet that is worth at least twice as much. He keeps it in a safe at his house but makes the mistake of telling the whole household about it. Of course, someone tries to steal it, and he think it's his son who has some gambling debt, but his son won't say a word about the matter, so he calls Sherlock in to investigate.

This story too had a hard time of keeping my attention. The most interesting part of it, to me, was that I learned that beryl is a real word. Previously I had heard of it only from Sailor Moon (Queen Beryl).

➸ “The Adventure of the Copper Beeches"
n  “To the man who loves art for its own sake,” remarked Sherlock Holmes, “it is frequently in its least important and lowliest manifestations that the keenest pleasure is to be derived. It is pleasant to me to observe, Watson, that you have so far grasped this truth that in these little records of our cases which you have been good enough to draw up, and, I am bound to say, occasionally to embellish, you have given prominence not so much to the many causes célèbresand sensational trials in which I have figured but rather to those incidents which may have been trivial in themselves, but which have given room for those faculties of deduction and of logical synthesis which I have made my special province.”n
- Sherlock lecturing Watson on his literary shortcomings. n  “If I claim full justice for my art, it is because it is an impersonal thing—a thing beyond myself. Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should dwell. You have degraded what should have been a course of lectures into a series of tales.”n

This final tale is about a woman who comes to Holmes asking about a job that seems too good to be true: a man has offered to pay her £100 a month (or year?) to come be a governess at his house for his 6 year old. Her previous job as a governess only paid £4 a month, so naturally, she was a little wary of what all the job might entail. He tells her he wants her to help around the house a little, and that his wife is particular and wants things a certain way: she needs to cut her hair, wear the dress she is given, and so on. Sounds strange, and if this book wasn't written in the 19th century, you'd really think this would take a really different direction than it does. I won't say anymore, but this was a real page-turner, but the ending turned out to be rather common and something that had been used in this book before.

Now the reason I was interested in reading more about Sherlock is because I wanted to learn more about how his brain works, and where the tv and movie writers who adapt these stories get his character from, and scenes like this really enlightened me: "Holmes was settling down to one of those all-night chemical researches which he frequently indulged in, when I would leave him stooping over a retort and a test-tube at night and find him in the same position when I came down to breakfast in the morning." Now I can kind of see where the tv and movie writers of Holmes get their material from.

And I'll end with some more insight from Sherlock:
n  “Do you know, Watson,” said he, “that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.

“They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.

“But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law cannot accomplish. There is no lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard’s blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbours, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is but a step between the crime and the dock. But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser. Had this lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I should never have had a fear for her. It is the five miles of country which makes the danger."n

If you made it this far, check out my blog for more reviews: The Bookish Expedition and also check out my bookstagram: instagram.com/moonspree

Hay tanta expectación en torno a Sherlock Holmes que fue genial seguir con algunas de sus historias más conocidas y aclamadas. Todos comienzan de la misma manera, con un personaje que visita a Holmes y Watson y presenta su historia (y todos son muy buenos narradores, por supuesto), pero todos son lo suficientemente únicos como para mantenerme interesada en las historias. También es cierto que los casos son bastante obvios a veces en cuanto a quién cometió el crimen, pero luego el método del acto es realmente interesante y diferente. Creo que de ahí viene la mayor parte de la diversión al leer el libro.

Aunque Watson es responsable de registrar las historias, es bastante sorprendente ver lo poco que puede contribuir a las investigaciones. Es como si todos los demás personajes tuvieran que ser simplificados para hacer que Holmes sea más impresionante. Pero está bien, porque sus deducciones siempre son geniales, aunque es extraño la frecuencia con la que no sigue el camino habitual de la justicia.

En resumen, en este recopilatorio de casos os encontraréis pequeños dramas criminales divertidos, rápidos y satisfactorios. Estos fueron escritos de tal manera que uno comienza a escuchar la refinada voz en inglés del homónimo de las historias. Las frases habituales de Sherlock, los movimientos físicos expresivos y el estilo característico conllevan misterios que de otro modo tendrían poco peso. Este libro definitivamente vale la pena leerlo.

(A) 85% | Extraordinary
Notes: It finds an ideal medium in chapter-length tales: a rare short story collection with no misses, only hits and better hits.

Sorry to say, but Sir Doyle's middle name should be Average, as his books (especially his short stories) are.
The characters, Holmes excluded, are linear and somehow dull, (many of them look stupid, in order to make place for the bright detective) some plots are nice, the majority are banal, the only glimpse of light being two or three smart rationing/story. The literary value is more than questionable, there are few words of spirit or sentences to be remembered. So, three stars are more than enough.

5+ stars (8/10 hearts). Overall, I love these stories. I enjoy seeing Holmes’ brainwork, and it’s still utterly fascinating to me. I love all the humour, as well as the pictures of daily life in the late 1800s. I love Watson and Sherlock as people, and their friendship is really very nice. And I really appreciate all the injunctions to OBSERVE rather than just SEE. The Sherlock books are a goldmine to any mystery lover, and they can be read and reread with delight. Binge-reading them in published order is highly recommended. ;)

Individual reviews:

I.tA Scandal in Bohemia: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
II.tThe Red-Headed League: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
III.tA Case of Identity: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
IV.tThe Boscombe Valley Mystery: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
V.tThe Five Orange Pips: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
VI.tThe Man with the Twisted Lip: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
VII.tThe Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
VIII.tThe Adventure of the Speckled Band: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
IX.tThe Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
X.tThe Adventure of the Noble Bachelor: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
XI.tThe Adventure of the Beryl Coronet: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
XII.tThe Adventure of the Copper Beeches: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Recommended ages: 16+. Content: See individual reviews.

A Favourite Quote: “And yet I believe that my eyes are as good as yours.”
“Quite so,” he answered[.] “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “They have been identified as her clothes, and it seemed to me that if the clothes were there the body would not be far off.”
“By the same brilliant reasoning, every man’s body is to be found in the neighbourhood of his wardrobe.”

This book is a collection of cases that sherlock n his hot bf(dr.watson) solve or try to solve, this was sooo much fun to read the stories were so interesting n it got me in a "I need to read every detective story ever" mood...HIGHLY recommend if u want some fun chill time n crack some cases.