S A A. (lovegoodbooks) reviewed The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes (Collector's Library) on + 55 more book reviews
I am a great fan of Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In fact, in my heyday, I had read every single one of the Sherlock Holmes adventures/mysteries/and returns of... Or at least I thought I had, until I stumbled across this batch. I had never even heard of these 12 stories before.
Sadly, I have to say that the hiatus taken by the author between the last of the previous stories and this set of tales did not serve him or his readers well. This set of cases is told in a hurried, slap-dash fashion and it truly lacks that certain "je ne sais quoi" that made the previous stories so enticing and riveting. One never quite relaxes into any of these. It feels like a quick-quick, let's-tell-this-story-and-get-it-over-with kind of feeling.
On the other hand, when I bought the book, I did so because it looked so good. I actually had no idea that it contained a new set of stories, previously unread by me. It's just such a tidy little book, I had to buy it. With the gold leafed pages, the nice tight binding and even a charming ribbon bookmark that is bound into the spine. And it fits nicely in the hand. I must confess (my dear Watson), I actually enjoyed the aesthetics of this one much more than the contents...
Sadly, I have to say that the hiatus taken by the author between the last of the previous stories and this set of tales did not serve him or his readers well. This set of cases is told in a hurried, slap-dash fashion and it truly lacks that certain "je ne sais quoi" that made the previous stories so enticing and riveting. One never quite relaxes into any of these. It feels like a quick-quick, let's-tell-this-story-and-get-it-over-with kind of feeling.
On the other hand, when I bought the book, I did so because it looked so good. I actually had no idea that it contained a new set of stories, previously unread by me. It's just such a tidy little book, I had to buy it. With the gold leafed pages, the nice tight binding and even a charming ribbon bookmark that is bound into the spine. And it fits nicely in the hand. I must confess (my dear Watson), I actually enjoyed the aesthetics of this one much more than the contents...
