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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.3 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
First things first: I downloaded this as a free e-book from (I think) Project Gutenberg, and have actually been reading this for a while on an on-and-off basis - able to do so as this is really a collection of short stories rather than a novel in its own right.

It's also not hard to see why Sherlock Holmes is such a popular character: the mysteries are all entertaining, while the prose is not so dense as to be off-putting to the more casual reader.
  
A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet
Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Billingham | 2009 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
The very first Sherlock Holmes novel, it's interesting reading this to see how the character is pretty much already fully formed, and to compare both Holmes and Watson to the various interpretations of each that follows.

This is where Watson first meets Holmes and takes lodgings with him in 221b Baker Street, and where Holmes science of deductive reasoning is first shared with the former following the investigation into a murder in London, that proves to have ties to the Church of the Latter Day Saints ie the Mormons.
  
B
Boneseeker
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Okay, I have a question: who else, while reading this book (if you did), kept imagining Sherlock Holmes as Benedict Cumberbatch? And I don't even have cable to watch it, nor do I have time to watch Masterpiece Mystery....
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Although imagining THE Sherlock Holmes having a kid is probably impossible. Yet in Boneseeker, it's the next generation of Holmes and Watson, only it's not the legendary duo (wait, they're legendary, right?). Instead of being set in London, the story is mainly set in Philadelphia and New York. Arabella, Sherlock's daughter, and Henry, John Watson's son, are on an expedition to find out if a giant hand found are from a Neanderthal or from Nephilim.

Boneseeker is actually quite scary. Sausage murder? Oh dear. But essentially the book is focused on 4 missing scientists who were on the hunt to prove what the hand really is in said expedition above. I think they were also looking for more giant bones – hey, can't give anything away, eh? – before they actually vanished into nowhere.

The notes at the end were really helpful. I was planning on doing some of my own research when I had the time, whether at school or at the library, but then I finished reading Boneseeker and saw "AUTHOR'S NOTES." Thus resulting in me going "Fantastic! Less research and Bing crap for me!" Search engines usually just give a) a bunch of crap, b) something entirely different from what you're searching for, or c) "I'm sorry, but that search term doesn't exist. Try again." That's like "Oh, GAME OVER." *plays funky music* I think my mom once said Google told her "Hahaha, you're so funny. What kind of search term is that?" Seems legit mom. I think that's just Option A or B for you.
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What's disappointing? Sherlock doesn't make much an appearance, to the dismay of Sherlock fans, unless you're just a fan of John Watson. He makes quite the appearance for the majority of the book. Oh, and it's a stand alone. *sigh* I was so hoping for a sequel. On the bright side, no waiting! Isn't that great, with so many series of books popping up by the day?
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Despite the fact Sherlock doesn't make a huge appearance, mystery fans will find this an enjoyable reads. Oh, and maybe for those who enjoy reading about blood and gore...


EDIT: I stand corrected. This is NOT a stand alone (according to author)
------------------
Advance review copy provided by publisher
Original Rating: 4.5
Original Review posted on <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/06/arc-review-boneseeker-by-brynn-chapman.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts
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Enola Holmes (2020)
Enola Holmes (2020)
2020 | Adventure, Crime, Drama
Lavish slab of Holmesian schlock, which managed to get Netflix sued by the Conan Doyle estate on the grounds that it depicts Sherlock Holmes having emotions: frankly, this is the least of the film's divergences from the canon. The great detective's slightly manic younger sister is home-schooled by her mother, and then goes off to London when said matriarch vanishes on her sixteenth birthday.

Doesn't really bear much resemblance to the original canon, nor to the realities of Victorian London or much else, really: there isn't a great deal of detecting going on, but there is a lot of earnest messaging about finding your own path and giving the patriarchy a good kicking. Has clearly had some money spent on it; Brown has a certain presence and Cavill, while arguably miscast, is less problematic than you might expect. For a film which appears to be aimed at a fairly young audience there are some moments of surprisingly nasty violence, but on the whole it's fairly inoffensive. I imagine members of the target audience will probably enjoy it a lot more than me; I think I'll be sticking with Young Sherlock Holmes when I'm in the mood for this sort of thing.
  
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
8
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sherlock Holmes DIDN'T die at The Reichenbach Falls.

That's despite his creator (Arthur Conan Doyle) getting fed up with writing about him, and (supposedly) killing him off at that location during The Adventure of the Final Problem - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story.

You do have to wonder, however, just how dedicated to that decision he was as he left himself an 'out' ("Holmes body was never found"), finally succumbing to public demand - and a boat load of money - to resurrect the character roughly 10 years after he had been killed off (with the earlier-set The Hound of the Baskervilles being released in the interim period).

This, then, is another collection of short stories, with the collection I read including:

"The Adventure of the Empty House"
"The Adventure of the Norwood Builder"
"The Adventure of the Dancing Men"
"The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist"
"The Adventure of the Priory School"
"The Adventure of Black Peter"
"The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"
"The Adventure of the Six Napoleons"
"The Adventure of the Three Students"
"The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez"
"The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter"
"The Adventure of the Abbey Grange"
"The Adventure of the Second Stain"

As before, thoroughly enjoyable all!