Sunday 1 July 2012

The Hound of the Baskervilles

BlurbThe terrible spectacle of the beast, the fog of the moor, the discovery of a body, this classic horror story pits detective against dog. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on the wild Devon moorland with the footprints of a giant hound nearby, the blame is placed on a family curse. It is left to Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to solve the mystery of the legend of the phantom hound before Sir Charles' heir comes to an equally gruesome end. The Hound Of The Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised and has continued to hold its place in the popular imagination.


Thoughts: I was actually very pleasantly surprised by this book. Of course I knew I'd love it, but before now I've preferred the short stories to the novels (Study of Scarlet and Sign of the Four). With the other two novels, I found the progression a bit slow - I suppose because I was used to the short story format - but with The Hound of the Baskervilles, there are continual developments and excitement throughout. I also wasn't sure I would like this book because in my head I've always thought of it as the supernatural one, which felt rather out of character for Holmes. But the conclusion is great; very Sherlock. There is perhaps not enough of Holmes himself in the book for my liking, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.



  
  

1 comment:

  1. It's actually an amazing story, just as you say. It's full of supernatural aura at first but very Sherlock at the end.

    I like the part when SH said that he had known that it must be a real dog since Sir Henry lost his second boot. So he knew it couldn't be a ghost, but he kept the clue to himself (as usual).

    Nice reading. :D

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