The Return of Sherlock Holmes

** probably the least favourite sherlock holmes collection I have read (so far this year) **

And I have read 6 Sherlock Holmes books in the last 40 days. (is this a cry for help? maybe)
Return of Sherlock Holmes starts with such a bang, we have the elusive and charming detective coming in from the cold. The tempo range of the mysteries seems to have increased. The bad guys are smarter, trying to provide a better match to the detectives genius, and yet the book feels like its written without its soul.

In the foreword, Stephen Fry mentions that one of the reasons Sir Arthur Conan Doyle killed Sherly's character was to experiment and focus on his historical fiction writings. He wishes to expand his portfolio but they didn't quite fetch the readership (and revenue) as that of the detective. So the Return of Sherlock Holmes was a bit of fan pandering, of sorts? The writing and mysteries felt a bit repetitive and half-hearted. Or maybe I am overdosing on murder mysteries and find myself unamused.

Out of the short story collections, I think this is my favorite volume of Sherlock Holmes stories. Every mystery had some twist or detail that intrigued or surprised, and each one was written in a very enjoyable and engaging style. Really great stuff.

4.5 stars


I read this as part of the #CatchUpOnClassics readalong that I am participating in this year. This is one of 6 5 classics I will be reading for this readalong. I didn't even realize this was a Sherlock Holmes book until someone mentioned it in my comments. I know very little about Sherlock Holmes but I was excited to read it although I have to admit that I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

I have found another classic that I really like guys!! This book was split into two parts. The first part being about the murder case and the second part being about what happened in the past that lead to the recent murders. I will say the second part threw me off at first. I thought I was reading a completely different story but the connections soon came and I loved it.

I actually listened to the audiobook of this while also following along in the book. I really enjoyed the narrator David Timson. I think he did an amazing job voicing the characters. I thought the language was so easy to understand. That might be because the edition I read was published in 1993 but I just loved it.

I can't wait to read more of the Sherlock Holmes series.

3.5

Another collection of short stories. Nothing exceptional. I like the character of Holmes, he is as rational and intelligent as one can be. These stories make for a good past time.