The Valley of Fear

Rating:
Summary: THE VALLEY OF FEAR
Review: 'The Valley of Fear'. A real page turner but what makes it most memorable for me is not that Holmes is at his best, but Conan Doyle is. After reading this book I recommend you to read this book because it was a suspense story. The whole story moves around Mcginty who was a big criminal in the valley of vermisa also called the valley of fear. There was only one person who could face to that criminal and his name was Jack McMurdo. He behaved as a gangster and he had taken many risks in his life and he was not afraid to take more risks. Don't miss 'The Valley of Fear'. It's terrifying, exciting, and best of all, real.

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Summary: Marvelous Adaptation of Print to Audio
Review: Conan Doyle wrote The Valley of Fear in three parts: 1. The Tragedy of Birlstone. 2. A flashback to The Scowrers, and 3. An Epilogue. It had the effect of two separate books united by a commonality of characters and theme. The radio presentation took the tack of of interspersing scenes from The Tragedy of Birlstone with flashbacks to scenes from The Scowrers. One particularly dramatic segue came when the announcement of the murder of Jack Douglas followed immediately upon John McMurdo's oath never to betray the Scowrers on pain of death. I listen to audiobooks as I commute to work. This one made me late for work as I sat in the parking lot listening to the trapping of Birdy Edwards.

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Summary: The Best of the Best
Review: I have read all of the Holmes tales many times, and I think this one reigns supreme. I believe that was also Doyle's opinion. It is the finest detective story I have ever read, masterfully composed. The Vermissa Valley section builds to the most shocking moment I've ever experienced in literature.

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Summary: Just Couldn't Put It Down....
Review: Not being a Sherlock Holmes fan, I came by the "The Valley of Fear" through a somewhat less traditional route. I was familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's, "The White Company", "Sir Nigel" and "The Adventures of Gerard", but for some inexplicable reason his wonderful mysteries escaped my earlier readings. I aim to remedy the deficiency. For now, this is my first Sherlock Holmes book, and I just couldn't put it down.

Who can really add to all that has been written over the years about this classic? The reader cannot help but be struck with Doyle's writing style. Its economy is a marvel. It is crisp and crackling, not to mention spellbinding. Even a straightforward introduction is masterly handled. Here, for example, is Watson telling us about the crime scene we are about to enter: "....I will.... describe events which occurred before we arrived on the scene by the light of knowledge which came to us afterwards."

Of course Doyle can establish a new scene with the same economy, but turn up the atmospheric temperature a good deal higher. He begins his retrospective "Scowrers" section in the snowbound Gilmerton Mountains, where a single track railroad leads us through a "long, winding tortuous valley," which is part of the "gloomy land of black crag and tangled forest."

This book is really two books woven together by the mysterious history of the central crime victim. The first is set in England, the second in the United States. Keep a sharp ear out for Doyle's deft handling of the King's English and then its transformation into the 19th Century Americanized version. The King's English is all about civility and civilization. In the American tongue, Doyle takes us to the fringes of civilization, to a Western mining town, where cruelty -- not civility -- is the order of the day.

I suppose one could argue that Holmes' deductive reasoning is the ultimate bulwark against chaos and violence. Perhaps for another Sherlock Holmes book. But I can't help but cite one example of Watson's obvious English sense of what is proper. Holmes' companion/narrator takes a stroll in an old-world garden surrounded by ancient yew trees, where he accidentally overhears the murder victim's wife laughing. Worse, she is laughing with her just murdered husband's faithful male companion. As Watson the narrator puts it, "I bowed with a coldness which showed, I dare say, very plainly the impression which had been produced upon my mind......I greeted the lady with reserve. I had grieved with her grief in the dining room. Now I met her appealing gaze with an unresponsive eye." Good ol' Watson!

May I suggest to the reader that, after this classic, you turn to R.L. Stevenson's, "The Master of Ballantrae"? Stevenson's masterpiece also jumps from the old world to the new, and like "The Valley of Fear" the new world for Stevenson also represents murder and mayhem. Something to ponder from these two great Scottish novelists.

Rating:
Summary: Just Couldn't Put It Down....
Review: Not being a Sherlock Holmes fan, I came by the "The Valley of Fear" through a somewhat less traditional route. I was familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's, "The White Company", "Sir Nigel" and "The Adventures of Gerard", but for some inexplicable reason his wonderful mysteries escaped my earlier readings. I aim to remedy the deficiency. For now, this is my first Sherlock Holmes book, and I just couldn't put it down.

Who can really add to all that has been written over the years about this classic? The reader cannot help but be struck with Doyle's writing style. Its economy is a marvel. It is crisp and crackling, not to mention spellbinding. Even a straightforward introduction is masterly handled. Here, for example, is Watson telling us about the crime scene we are about to enter: "....I will.... describe events which occurred before we arrived on the scene by the light of knowledge which came to us afterwards."

Of course Doyle can establish a new scene with the same economy, but turn up the atmospheric temperature a good deal higher. He begins his retrospective "Scowrers" section in the snowbound Gilmerton Mountains, where a single track railroad leads us through a "long, winding tortuous valley," which is part of the "gloomy land of black crag and tangled forest."

This book is really two books woven together by the mysterious history of the central crime victim. The first is set in England, the second in the United States. Keep a sharp ear out for Doyle's deft handling of the King's English and then its transformation into the 19th Century Americanized version. The King's English is all about civility and civilization. In the American tongue, Doyle takes us to the fringes of civilization, to a Western mining town, where cruelty -- not civility -- is the order of the day.

I suppose one could argue that Holmes' deductive reasoning is the ultimate bulwark against chaos and violence. Perhaps for another Sherlock Holmes book. But I can't help but cite one example of Watson's obvious English sense of what is proper. Holmes' companion/narrator takes a stroll in an old-world garden surrounded by ancient yew trees, where he accidentally overhears the murder victim's wife laughing. Worse, she is laughing with her just murdered husband's faithful male companion. As Watson the narrator puts it, "I bowed with a coldness which showed, I dare say, very plainly the impression which had been produced upon my mind......I greeted the lady with reserve. I had grieved with her grief in the dining room. Now I met her appealing gaze with an unresponsive eye." Good ol' Watson!

May I suggest to the reader that, after this classic, you turn to R.L. Stevenson's, "The Master of Ballantrae"? Stevenson's masterpiece also jumps from the old world to the new, and like "The Valley of Fear" the new world for Stevenson also represents murder and mayhem. Something to ponder from these two great Scottish novelists.

Rating:
Summary: Crime Does Not Pay
Review: Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson come across a devious murder mystery involving a sawed off shotgun, a moat, a castle and an evil group of men who use masonry to beget wealth and prosperity.

Sherlock is again unflappable in his deductions and wonderful in this story. Mr. Doyle shows that he is not only adept at the mystery but the western as well.

A very enjoyable read.

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Summary: Classic Doyle
Review: The last of the four Sherlock Holmes novels, and one of the two best. It contains more detection in its first section than The Hound of the Baskervilles, with Holmes (off-stage for much of The Hound) actively investigating the murder at Birlstone, and drawing his ever-fascinating deductions from raincoats and dumb-bells; indeed it is the only pure detective story among the four, with the reader given every opportunity to solve the crime. Although the solution is justly famous, it is but a variation on "The Norwood Builder," at much greater length. The second half of the tale concerns the doings of the Pinkerton agent Birdy Edwardes in the eponymous Valley, terrorised by the Freemasons, a gripping and powerful account which is perhaps of greater interest than the detection.

Rating:
Summary: Doyle at his best.
Review: The other reviews on this page express my feelings for 'The Valley of Fear'. A real page turner. But what makes it most memorable for me is not that Holmes is at his best, but Conan Doyle is. I remember reading of the Molly Maguires in school. And the thought of them terrified me. Doyle caused me to relive that fear by his accurate depicting of this terriost group. And even a brief reading in any encyclopedia is proof enough that is what they were. Doyle was frequently topical, even to Americans. Remember 'The Five Orange Pips' and it's connection to the Ku Klux Klan? Don't miss 'The Valley of Fear'. It's terrifying, exciting, and best of all, real.

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Summary: Valley Of Fear
Review: The story is a report on the actual events surrounding the arrest, conviction, and hanging of the Molly McGuyers in Schuylkill and Carbon Countys, Pennsylvania at the end of the 19th century. In the story the Mollys are like the gansters. In the Pa. coal region they are folk heros who fought and died for workers wrights. See the movie, "Molly McGuyers" staring Sean Conrey, it's an exact match.

The actual Pinkerton, McGowan, Died of old age in California.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Holmes Novel
Review: This is probably the best of the Holmes novels. Like all of them (and the short stories) it is near impossible to put down, and leaves you awestruck at Holmes's genius. Doyle's writing style is extremely impressive as always, his characters seem so very real! This book is believable, a true masterpiece of mystery literature, and in the top tier of the long list of the great English detective stories. It just doesn't get any better than this. Even the long section without Holmes and Watson in it ("The Scowers") is enjoyable to read, and not boring (unlike the Mormon part in a Study In Scarlet). Highly reccommended.