The Hound of the Baskervilles: Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes (Oxford World's Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent characters, engrossing mystery.
Review: Familiar with his stories for years, I finally decided to buckle down and read one of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories of Sherlock Holmes, and "The Hound of the Baskervilles," the most famous of the novels, was the one I decided to pick up. To my surprise, I tore through it. It was a simple read, yet a complicated and satisfying mystery.

As with all the Holmes stories, his assistant Dr. Watson is charged with telling the tale of the bloody Baskerville curse. Sir Charles Baskerville, who was the charge of the family estate, has recently been gored to death by some sort of animal, and Sir Henry, the new heir to the household and the family fortune, fears that the mythic curse of a hellhound stalking the family grounds is true.

A strange twist occurs in this investigation, though, for it's not Holmes who goes to investigate the house. It's Watson, who studies the suspicious neighbors and staff, keeps close watch over Sir Henry and begins to notice that some very odd things are lurking about the moor.

Is the curse behind this killing, or is it a villain of flesh and blood?

The lead characters are defined well, and, though this is my first Holmes story, I understood the basics and the rhythm almost immediately. The narrative structure that Doyle is famous for is, as expected, charming, and the characters are well-defined. The mystery is properly twisted, and I didn't really guess the middle or the ending.

The best twist, to me, wasn't the reveal of any villain or method. It was the twist involving the shadowy figure on the moor. I didn't see it coming at all, and, when I read it, I realized that this old novel still had the narrative tools to surprise me.

It's a classic for a reason.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery on the Moor
Review: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has created perhaps the best detective in Sherlock Holmes. "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is narrated by the faithful Watson, a man of genius not quite on par with that of Holmes, the master mystery solver. Holmes is forever quizzing Watson to see things the way he does, to figure out the mysteries of small things, like a walking stick left behind by a visitor.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" tells the story of Henry Baskerville, a man who has inherited his family's home and fortune (as the supposed final heir), but also their apparent curse. His uncle was recently found dead on the grounds of Baskerville Hall, with little explanation for his death. The locals are sure as to the cause; it is the mysterious hell-hound that haunts the moors that was the cause of his death. The local doctor brings the matter to Holmes and Watson and they are charged to protect the young Henry Baskerville from a similar fate, as well as to solve the mystery of the hound.

While trying to gather facts for his intrepid employer, the faithful Watson narrates the strange happenings among Sir Henry's neighbors, wanting to add his own theories, but leaving the mystery solving to his much-admired mentor. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes a well-paced narrative that builds to a climax that is still exciting even when we know the real mystery behind the hound. At the end, it is Holmes and not his faithful sidekick Watson, who reveals the tricks of his trade and how he solved the mystery that no one ever suspected. Doyle has created a wonderful pair of complementary characters in Holmes and Watson and it is a joy to read their adventures.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Sherlock Holmes Novel
Review: The novel I read is called "The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Arthur Conan Doyle. I liked this book because of the characters, how the story developed, and how it was written.
The main characters in the book are Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Together they solve the mystery of who killed Sir Charles Baskerville. I think they make a good team because Sherlock does more of the thinking about evidence and theories and Watson goes out and does the leg work of asking questions and gathering information. Even though Sherlock knows the answer to the mystery, he wouldn't be able to do it without Watson and he doesn't act like the superior of the two.
I also liked the book because it was a mystery so the more I read, the more exciting it got as the killer's identity was revealed. I did not know who the killer was or what his motive was until the end.
Finally, I liked the way the author wrote. When Sir Henry was being chased by the hound, I almost felt like it was after me. He had the characters say things like "By Jove" and "Good Heavens". Also, instead of writing "he said" all the time, it was sometimes written as "said he". Lastly, words would be repeated which I thought made it funny such as: "The brute, the brute", "His wife, His wife", and "A beard, a beard".
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and agree with those who say that this is one of the best detective stories ever written.