The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My version had all 12 stories from the original The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, which is the third volume in the Sherlock Holmes series. The stories are all easy and fun and provide enough information that you can sometimes guess the conclusion, which makes them especially satisfying. You can fancy yourself as clever and crafty as Holmes himself. And yes, I just used the British expression "fancy" because of all this reading.

1. "A Scandal in Bohemia" A surprise! And a bit feminist.
2. "The Red-Headed League" - Somewhat obvious but fun.
3. "A Case of Identity" - So sad, and feels unresolved in a way.
4. "The Boscombe Valley Mystery" The mystery revolves around whether a son murdered his father. Interesting.
5. "The Five Orange Pips" - Anti-racism! 
6. "The Man with the Twisted Lip" - Kind of funny, but not a great story about poverty
7. "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" - Not my favorite.
8. "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" - Creepy story about the death of a sister.
9. "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb" - Woah, intense! A little scary.
10. "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor" Bride disappears! Okay story.
11. "The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet" - Good one about son accused of stealing a coronet.
12. "The Adventure of the Copper Beeches" Great but somewhat predictable story. I love how Watson concludes this one.

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The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book makes no mystery of the fact that there will be four co-conspirators. The mystery isn't as interesting as in the first one, and the criminal's back story isn't either. This one is more of romance if anything.

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A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read this when I was 12, and apparently, I loved it then, so I'll leave the five stars I gave it back then. I reread it as an adult because my dad had The Complete Sherlock Holmes and it's the first in the collection. Maybe more of a 4 star, because seriously why is this story all over Utah, and why doesn't the murderer just use a fake name? But delightful in its vengefulness.

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