The Hound of the Baskervilles

This is the most “real” Sherlock Holmes story so far. It has no side stories taking up almost half of the book, it is not just a telling of facts made up to seem like a story.

This is a proper mystery novel, although still very dry. It is told mostly from Watson's perspective, as Holmes is seemly occupied with other matters at the moment.

The story begins in London, when the doctor of the late Charles Baskervilles the help of Holmes to solve his strange death that appears to have supernatural causes. The doctor praises himself for being a man of science, but even he cannot think of any other possibility other then a devil hound came from hell to take the life of his patient and friend.

Holmes of course is unmoved by the supernatural appeal, but he finds the details of the case interesting enough, and starts investigating right away. There is an urgency in the matter because the new heir of the Baskervilles is coming from America to live in the old mansion.

The plot already begins to unfold in London, when Sir Henry Baskervilles appears to be followed by someone. Holmes looses track of the suspect, but when Sir Henry is to travel to his state, Holmes designates Watson to go along to be his eyes while he is not there and also to protect the man. Holmes himself is otherwise busy with more pressing matters, and Watson is to send him detailed reports of his findings.

Watson tries his best to do what Holmes would in the situation, and investigates the case to the best of his abilities. This is probably what makes this book more compelling then the previous ones, because Watson is unsure of himself, and he has many doubts about the possible suspects and even to what should be his course of action.

Sherlock himself is mostly unhelpful in his letters to Watson, so he is left to his own devices investigating the crime.

There is some interesting revelations along the story, and Holmes and Watson's first meeting after weeks of being apart is very a very interesting one. They exchange notes and it i apparent that Holmes already solved the case.

After reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, I expected this to be much like those stories which, while entertaining, started to get more tedious as I read on. However, Doyle is renewed in his sense of Holmes' and Watson's characters and produced a wildly entertaining mystery full of deceit, scandal, and murder. Holmes' genius and dry, sarcastic wit plus Watson's admiration for his companion and own brand of intelligence make this a great study in character. The story itself is full of adventure and has many characters and plots that keep the reader guessing until finally the mystery is solved by the dynamic duo and friends.

Perhaps the best written Holmes novel I read so far. It contains beautiful descriptions of Dartmoor, made all the more wonderful to me having just been walking on the moors not too far from Princetown, watching the ponies in the mist and pointing out the bright green mire to my darling wife as not the best place for a stroll.So far my joint favourite Holmes story - a joint 1st with the excellent [b:The Sign of Four 608474 The Sign of Four Arthur Conan Doyle https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1299346921s/608474.jpg 21539872].

Ah, Holmes. Classic. Baskerville, arguably the classic of the classics. What can I say that hasn't already been said? Holmes and Watson go off to a country estate at the behest of Sir Henry Baskerville, determined to find a rational explanation to the legend of a demonic hellhound, and to the death of an uncle that is being explained as the hound's work.

This book was by no means bad, I just read this book at a young age so parts of it were hard for me to understand. This book uses vocabulary from older times, so children won’t understand all the words. But this book is great for early middle schoolers or late elementary schoolers, especially if they love a mystery.

Format read: paperbackReading time: 4-5 hoursTags:detective fiction, murder mystery, classic, Victorian, high-pacedOwn a copy: yesReread likelihood: 8/10SummaryIn this Sherlock Holmes novel, our heroes work on a mysterious case about an ancient murder, a family curse, and a supernatural hound. Despite Holmes' steadfast opinion that there is no such thing as the supernatural, all things in this case point towards the opposite. Sir Charles Baskervilles, the owner of a large estate, is found dead one morning under suspicious circumstances. His friend, Dr Mortimer, seeks out Holmes to discuss Sir Charles' death. Here, Dr Mortimer produces an old document about the Baskervilles family that talks about a generational curse brought on by Sir Hugo Baskervilles, Sir Charles' ancestor, and the first victim of the Hound. Since Sir Charles' death, Sir Henry, his only living relative and heir, inherits the family fortune and moves back to England to claim his birthright. As one can expect, Sir Henry's life is in danger as someone–or something–is haunting the Baskervilles.ReviewIn true Holmes fashion, he decides to take on the case, but he doesn't work on it directly, sending Watson instead to Devonshire to investigate the murder. During the better part of the book, Watson is our eyes and hears in this case, and he is the ‘lead detective' because Holmes is completely absent. This is rather unusual for Sherlock Holmes stories in which Holmes is always at the forefront of the narrative. I like the fact that Watson takes charge and investigates several leads about the case. He befriends people in the region, talks to several key witnesses (and suspects), travels to other nearby towns, and keeps Holmes informed at all times via wires, letters, and his personal diary.The use of the epistolary in this novel is also interesting. It reminded me of Bram Stoker's [b:Dracula 17245 Dracula Bram Stoker https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245.SY75.jpg 3165724] and how the bulk of the story is told through letters. Readers of Sherlock Holmes are used to ‘hearing' Watson's voice as he is the narrator for all of Holmes' adventures. However, having his thoughts in the written form, especially in his diary, offers a more intimate view into his mind.This novel plays with a few different genres, chief of which is the gothic. The Hound, the mansion, and even the location are all described in a very gothic fashion. However, there is also an element of the romantic here, especially with Watson's personal musings about the place, its people, and its history. Watson shows us in this novel how clever he is and how sensitive and entuned he is with his environment and the people around him. As always, he serves as a great juxtaposition to Holmes' much more practical and clinical character.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It is high-paced and engrossing, which makes it a pleasure to read. It's also always nice to dive back into Holmes and Watson's world. All of their adventures are true comfort reads.

This is a book I never expected to like. I have to admit that I sometimes get lost in books with complicated plot lines. My perception of this book was that it might be overly dramatic. I sometimes find books regarded as classics as intimidating. I was very worried that I might get lost in the plot or that the story might be overly dramatic or that I might find the text to be intimidating.

I'm happy to report that none of these things happened. I found this book to be one of the best books I've read. The plot is clever and unexpected, but easy to follow. The characters are dramatic but also witty and funny. And the text was surprisingly easy to read.

Add another tally mark for me for Classics I've Read and Loved.

This one was fun but not my favorite of the Sherlock stories. I feel like the plot got a little too convoluted and my suspension of disbelief took a hit. That being said, I think it's a really nice change of pace to get a mostly Watson-only story where he can't lean on Sherlock's brilliance. Watson's sleuthing is definitely clunkier, but he's relatable that way.

Coming from BBC Sherlock, I was surprised to find that the hound is really just a hound. I really thought there would be more of a twist to it than that. I liked seeing Sherlock and Watson in a spooky scenario though, especially with both of them being horrified when the hound finally appears. Sherlock is either smug or cool/nonchalant so it's always fun to read about him getting flustered. I was also legitimately shocked when he showed up in the hut. I really enjoyed his appearance in that scene where he tells Watson to be careful his gun. It was also cute how they were both really excited to see each other and Sherlock was apologetic of his ruse.

Now that I've read the original novel, I'd really like to see the other adaptations of it. The BBC plot was pretty much completely different so I wouldn't mind watching one that's more faithful.

I've seen just about all the Movies and TV Specials of “Hound of the Baskervilles” and thought I would try the books out for my 2nd Classic Book this month. As I was reading I had a picture of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce(Homes & Watson in the 1040's Movie Series). The book is great and describes the dreary Moors and landscape very well. Read the book and if not able to get the 1939
film with Rathbone and Bruce or else the 1959 version with Cushing and Lee, both movies follow the book very well!! - David

The most awaited story, the comeback of everyone's favorite detective Holmes, a gothic representation of a village in Victorian England, an exciting detective game, a thrilling adventure. This classic by Sir Doyle is an all-time favorite. The story may have become a little backdated, but its appeal has not diminished.

A scary book to choose for my falling-asleep-read. I really enjoyed it and looked forward to going to bed every night just so I could plug into this book (listened to on Playaway). This is my first Doyle, not counting the stories my dad used to read to me at bedtime. For some reason I thought it would be inaccessible and difficult to get into but I was pleasantly surprised. I was into it from the very beginning.

The story still holds up very well, with excellent gothic worldbuilding and characters and well maintained mystery.

The Victorian writing style, though, slow and protracted, with half the book made up from letters and diary entries and the dialogues few, short and far apart, is not that captivating any more for the modern reader, to be honest.