The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes #3
by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Classic mystery

This is the first Sherlock Holmes I’ve ever read, though like many, I’ve seen various adaptations. I started with this book of short stories mostly because it was the one I owned. I’ve never been a huge fan of short stories, though, and while I wish now that I’d started by checking A Study in Scarlet out from the library, I’m still glad I’ve started reading Holmes in any form. The issue with reading this book of shorter mysteries, though, is that a lot of the clients start to blend together, as many of them talk and act similarly when they bring Holmes their case. I did spread the stories out, reading 3 at a time, then reading other books before coming back for more, and I think that helped some.

My view of Holmes and Watson, and even some of the other characters, started with an understanding based on some of the adaptations I’ve seen, and while Holmes was indeed standoffish and generally assumed he was the smartest one in the room, I didn’t think he was quite as cold as I’ve seen him portrayed. A few of the cases were really interesting, while there were a couple that I thought had a much less intriguing solution. The introduction of Irene Adler wasn’t at all what I expected, but I wonder if she’ll be back in a future story. Overall, I enjoyed reading these vignettes, and have a feeling I’ll appreciate even more the longer stories when I get to them.

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