The Hound of the Baskervilles

Loved it! Last book of the year!

This is the most “real” Sherlock Holmes story so far. It has no side stories taking up almost half of the book, it is not just a telling of facts made up to seem like a story.

This is a proper mystery novel, although still very dry. It is told mostly from Watson's perspective, as Holmes is seemly occupied with other matters at the moment.

The story begins in London, when the doctor of the late Charles Baskervilles the help of Holmes to solve his strange death that appears to have supernatural causes. The doctor praises himself for being a man of science, but even he cannot think of any other possibility other then a devil hound came from hell to take the life of his patient and friend.

Holmes of course is unmoved by the supernatural appeal, but he finds the details of the case interesting enough, and starts investigating right away. There is an urgency in the matter because the new heir of the Baskervilles is coming from America to live in the old mansion.

The plot already begins to unfold in London, when Sir Henry Baskervilles appears to be followed by someone. Holmes looses track of the suspect, but when Sir Henry is to travel to his state, Holmes designates Watson to go along to be his eyes while he is not there and also to protect the man. Holmes himself is otherwise busy with more pressing matters, and Watson is to send him detailed reports of his findings.

Watson tries his best to do what Holmes would in the situation, and investigates the case to the best of his abilities. This is probably what makes this book more compelling then the previous ones, because Watson is unsure of himself, and he has many doubts about the possible suspects and even to what should be his course of action.

Sherlock himself is mostly unhelpful in his letters to Watson, so he is left to his own devices investigating the crime.

There is some interesting revelations along the story, and Holmes and Watson's first meeting after weeks of being apart is very a very interesting one. They exchange notes and it i apparent that Holmes already solved the case.

After reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, I expected this to be much like those stories which, while entertaining, started to get more tedious as I read on. However, Doyle is renewed in his sense of Holmes' and Watson's characters and produced a wildly entertaining mystery full of deceit, scandal, and murder. Holmes' genius and dry, sarcastic wit plus Watson's admiration for his companion and own brand of intelligence make this a great study in character. The story itself is full of adventure and has many characters and plots that keep the reader guessing until finally the mystery is solved by the dynamic duo and friends.