The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

This is a collection of 12 short stories. Initially I thought it was just going to be a novel like The Hound of the Baskervilles but I was mistaken.

1. A scandal in Bohemia
In this short story you are introduced to Holmes and learn some previous vices of his. It is a captivating mission full of disguises and tricks. I enjoyed it very much.

2. The Red-Headed League
This short story involved a much larger crime but I didn't like it as much as the first one. I think maybe because it just seemed so odd... although I guess that can be the criminal mind; very creative.

3. A Case Of Identity
"...he had drifted into the habit of winding up every meal by taking out his false teeth and hurling them at his wife, which, you will allow, is not an action likely to occur to the imagination of the average story-teller. "

I love that I can chuckle while reading! This was an interesting adventure. More disguises but I predicted the outcome right away.

4. The Boscombe Valley Mystery
This story was very fun to read. A real murder and mystery. I still knew exactly who was to blame for it but I was not able to figure out how it would be proved. Obviously I am not a Sherlock Holmes. These stories are so much fun to read!

5. The Five Orange Pips
This story leaves you wishing it had an end. It begins by mentionning that some stories are too odd and do not have the outcome which you might desire. And so, this one is rivetting but I HATE not knowing the ending. My guess would be they faked their death. Who are they? You would have to read and find out.

6. The man with the Twisted Lip
This story is clever but not much in it is too different from some of the other stories. I still enjoyed it though.

7. The adventures of the Blue Carbuncle
A story that demonstrates the kind of man Sherlock Holmes is. Very clever and yet in solving the mystery and yet very forgiving when faced with genuine repentance.

8. The Adventure of the Specled Band
This story is the first one that hints at a supernatural cause and yet, because it is Sherlock Holmes, you know it has to be something real and tangible since that is what he is all about. A bit creepy since it is trying to make you think it is a spiritual thing.

9. The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb
A severed thumb and human crushing... A very action packed tale.

10. The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
I am beinnging to see very common themes and outcomes in these stories.

11. The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
A real mystery trying to discover who stole the very precious jewels. SO many of these stories deal with people mysteries. It was neat to come back to one that had to do with thievery and figuring out how they did it and who it was.

12. The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
The series ends on a very good note for me. This last story, although I knew the just of it, kept me feeling uneasy the whole time because it dealt with imprisonment but was so vague that one couldnt guess the nature of what was going on (the imagination can be so much worse than the reality). I liked this story because it had more to it, in a sense than some of them.

So, another book down. And this one I really did enjoy. you can pick it up when you have a few minutes and put it down just as easily since you know you will be back to finish it not too long. Absolute opposite of Middlemarch!!!