The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905)

The stories of Holmes and Watson are nothing if not consistently compelling reads.

This was yet another example of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's excellent writing and his ability to weave story and reality together, although the sudden resurrection of Holmes was a little puzzling in its execution. I'm glad for it though as I love the series, and I'm glad it got to continue. ( )

The stories of Holmes and Watson are nothing if not consistently compelling reads.

This was yet another example of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's excellent writing and his ability to weave story and reality together, although the sudden resurrection of Holmes was a little puzzling in its execution. I'm glad for it though as I love the series, and I'm glad it got to continue. ( )

Compared to the previous collections of Sherlock Holmes stories, this one was slightly disappointing. Sherlock's methods of detection were, of course, top shelf, but the crimes seemed to be a bit pedantic. Without the overarching narrative of the super-villain Moriarty the assortment of murderers, thieves, and ne'er-do-wells was quite common. I hope that in future stories Holmes takes more of an interest with Scotland Yard/MI-6, as many of the current spin-offs focus on this high-stakes partnership. ( )

A delightful return to the Holmes mystery stories, though they definitely take on a more cynical tone than earlier collections. ( )

A very enjoyable collection of Holmes and Watson mysteries, although there is a decided return to the romantic/melodramatic stylings of the early novels.

After the opening story, which goes to lunatic levels to bring Holmes back (but fair enough), there are some great stories throughout. Watson's narrative voice is pitch-perfect, as is his relationship with Holmes. Beyond this, the various Scotland Yard characters are given more depth, and are able to work WITH Holmes, as opposed to just following him around and always being wrong.

As I said above, though, many of the stories seem to veer toward that very 19th century melodrama feel in their denouements, although Conan Doyle handles it quite emotionlessly, so at least it isn't protracted. And many of the stories - those featuring missing people or objects - often seem to end with the same kind of conclusion (I won't say which, but you'll notice the pattern). Still, these weren't initially published in book form, and so I don't hold vague similarities against them.

An enjoyable collection of stories. I'm two-thirds of the way through the canon already! ( )