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The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Hound of the Baskervilles

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An intriguing and suspenseful detective story.
Review: First I must make a note of the fact that this is the first and only Sherlock Holmes story I've read thus far. Therefore I cannot offer any kind of comparison between "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and Doyle's other works. I will simply give you my thoughts about it as a story in and of itself.

The book is simply written and easy to understand, but the plot remains engaging throughout. It is not overly complicated, but neither is it too simplistic or predictable. The Baskerville family has passed down the legend of a giant black hound that plagues the residents of Baskerville Hall, bringing a swift end to any that dare venture alone onto the nearby moor at night. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead upon the moor with the pawprints of a large dog in the earth nearby, the case is presented to Sherlock Holmes in hopes of unraveling the mystery and ensuring the safety of Sir Charles's nephew and Baskerville Hall's new occupant, Sir Henry Baskerville.

Too busy to investigate the matter himself, Holmes sends his friend and assistant, Dr. Watson, out to Baskerville Hall in his stead. Watson is the narrator of the story, and we see threads of the mystery slowly unravel as he makes his reports back to Holmes. Other reviewers have complained about the fact that Holmes is not the central figure in this particular novel, but I actually liked the way the story was done. And as we find out toward the end of the book, Holmes actually plays a larger part than he initially appears to. I must admit, though, that it was a bit depressing to see Watson toil away at investigating and drawing conclusions only to have Holmes repeatedly inform him that his conclusions are wrong. Watson does most of the drudge-work but gets very little in return.

The style of the writing was very appealing to me. The story has a very dark, gothic feel, and is full of suspense. Doyle's descriptions make the eerie moor feel very real. For a book written a century ago, it is still very reader-friendly. The only part where I thought the book dropped off a little was in the last few chapters. For all the build-up and suspense, the climax of the story is much too short and quickly resolved, leaving a feeling of unreality. Also, Doyle concludes by having Holmes simply recite to Watson all the details of his sleuthing that were left out of the action of the book. I think the rule "Show, don't tell," is a good one when it comes to literature, and I would rather have actually seen Holmes come to his conclusions as the story progressed.

Overall, though, I did enjoy the book, and look forward to reading more of Doyle's work. My one last word of advice regards this particular edition of the book (the 1993 Signet Classics printing with Afterword by Frederick Busch). There are numerous typos that really should have been caught and corrected before publishing (most, curiously, are instances where the letter "t" is inexplicably replaced with the letter "b"). I would recommend looking for a different version that is more competently edited.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Men of science investigate the supernatural
Review: "The Hound of the Baskervilles" is among the most famous of the Sherlock Holmes stories overall, and certainly the most famous of the four Holmes novels. Perhaps this is because of its ingenious plot premise. In this story, the famous deductive detective and his friend Dr. Watson are called upon to investigate at Baskerville Hall, a remote country mansion where the new heir to the property fears for his life. Apparently an old family legend has come true, and a horrible hound who haunts the moors is thought responsible for the deaths of the previous landowners. I know of no more chillingly atmospheric and mysterious setups for a mystery than this one. Unfortunately, large portions of the book feature yawning gaps in which Holmes himself does not appear, and we are forced to subsist on less interesting characters. Still, it *is* a Holmes story (fans of Holmes were delighted when this novel first appeared, since it was the first new Holmes story in some years, the author having previously killed off his famous hero in "The Final Problem") and the mystery is a good one, featuring red herrings, suspicious goings-on, and clever sleuthing by the great detective. The climax of the tale, when it finally comes, is as exciting as any Conan Doyle ever wrote. A must for mystery fans.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Review: I really enjoyed reading The Hound of the Baskervilles. I thought it was very exciting and suspensful. Conan Doyle uses a very elevated vocabulary which may not be appropriate for young people. Also Conan Doyle does a great job of illustrating to us what Baskerville Hall might look like and what the moor may seem like at midnight on a cloudy evening. He also depicts the characters very well and he did a great job with the death scenes. I was a little dissappointed that the book was not more scarey. It was not the best I have ever read but The Hound of the Baskervilles was certainly a great book.

Rating: 5 stars
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: 5 stars
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: 4 stars
Summary: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles is about one of the
adventures of the famous Sherlock Holmes.  He's done
some excellent sleuthing and interviewing in this 256
page mystery.  You might be a little uninterested at
the start because it begins a little slow and the
language is a little out of date, but if you stick
with it for a few pages you'll see how intriguing the
mystery is.  The tension raises and raises until you
find out if the case is of the supernatural or just
criminal.
    Sir Charles Baskerville has just died and the very
wealthy Baskerville estate in England is now in the
hands of young Sir Henry Baskerville.  Sir Charles
seems to die of the cursed family hound that Hugo
Baskerville brought upon the family 300 years ago.
Sir Henry is now in terrible fear of the moor which is
always the place that this hound of doom strikes.
Right from when Charles arrives in London strange
things start happening.  He also gets an interesting and mysterious warning.

     This book is truly great because sometimes you may
think you know the culprit but it turns out that you're wrong.
The person you think is the culprit is just doing something entirely un-expected and it adds more mysteries to the crime.  Sherlock Holmes has to risk it all and lie
even to his best friend and assistant, the narrator,
Watson.
The setting of the moor is the perfect place for the
legend to exist because of all the ancient structures
and the Grimpen Mire.  You'll have to read the book to
understand what I mean.  The book is an excellent
adventure for all ages and isn't too long of a read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An intriguing and suspenseful detective story.
Review: First I must make a note of the fact that this is the first and only Sherlock Holmes story I've read thus far. Therefore I cannot offer any kind of comparison between "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and Doyle's other works. I will simply give you my thoughts about it as a story in and of itself.

The book is simply written and easy to understand, but the plot remains engaging throughout. It is not overly complicated, but neither is it too simplistic or predictable. The Baskerville family has passed down the legend of a giant black hound that plagues the residents of Baskerville Hall, bringing a swift end to any that dare venture alone onto the nearby moor at night. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead upon the moor with the pawprints of a large dog in the earth nearby, the case is presented to Sherlock Holmes in hopes of unraveling the mystery and ensuring the safety of Sir Charles's nephew and Baskerville Hall's new occupant, Sir Henry Baskerville.

Too busy to investigate the matter himself, Holmes sends his friend and assistant, Dr. Watson, out to Baskerville Hall in his stead. Watson is the narrator of the story, and we see threads of the mystery slowly unravel as he makes his reports back to Holmes. Other reviewers have complained about the fact that Holmes is not the central figure in this particular novel, but I actually liked the way the story was done. And as we find out toward the end of the book, Holmes actually plays a larger part than he initially appears to. I must admit, though, that it was a bit depressing to see Watson toil away at investigating and drawing conclusions only to have Holmes repeatedly inform him that his conclusions are wrong. Watson does most of the drudge-work but gets very little in return.

The style of the writing was very appealing to me. The story has a very dark, gothic feel, and is full of suspense. Doyle's descriptions make the eerie moor feel very real. For a book written a century ago, it is still very reader-friendly. The only part where I thought the book dropped off a little was in the last few chapters. For all the build-up and suspense, the climax of the story is much too short and quickly resolved, leaving a feeling of unreality. Also, Doyle concludes by having Holmes simply recite to Watson all the details of his sleuthing that were left out of the action of the book. I think the rule "Show, don't tell," is a good one when it comes to literature, and I would rather have actually seen Holmes come to his conclusions as the story progressed.

Overall, though, I did enjoy the book, and look forward to reading more of Doyle's work. My one last word of advice regards this particular edition of the book (the 1993 Signet Classics printing with Afterword by Frederick Busch). There are numerous typos that really should have been caught and corrected before publishing (most, curiously, are instances where the letter "t" is inexplicably replaced with the letter "b"). I would recommend looking for a different version that is more competently edited.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Hound of the Baskervilles
Review: _The Hound of the Baskervilles,_ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is a classic Sherlock Holmes mystery that will keep the reader guessing from cover to cover. Set in Nineteenth Century England, the tale of murder and a family curse will hold the reader's attention until the end. When Sir Charles Baskerville mysteriously dies and the heir to his estate is threatened, the real mystery begins. Doyle's masterful writing style is easy to follow and flows so well the book will be over before the reader realizes it.
I enjoyed this Sherlock Holmes mystery because it is easy to read and it flows well. For me, a person that does not usually like classics- or mysteries for that matter, I really enjoyed this book. The story kept my interest and it kept me guessing throughout the entire book. This story is not a thriller, but it is still a good mystery. For someone who prefers John Grisham suspense or a CSI type story line, this book is probably not for them. However, for someone who enjoys simple mysteries and likes to play the role of detective as they read, I would recommend this book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best Mystery Ever
Review: This is hands down one of the best mysteries ever written by Doyle. While Amazon categorizes it as a book for 9-12 year olds, I believe it may be too difficult for the low end of this age range. Either way, adults and young adults alike who enjoy mysteries, or just a suspenseful story written by a master of the craft, should read this book. (...), I know how difficult it is to put together a moving story that can hold a reader's interest. "hound" is a large book that even non-readers will quickly become absorbed in. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sherlock Holmes strikes again!
Review: The Hound of the Baskervilles is a true mystery classic by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It tells of Sherlock Holmes and his trusty comrade, Dr. John Watson. This extraordinary pair has solved dozens of mysteries times before, but now come to their most difficult case. Years ago, Hugo Baskerville was killed by a monstrous hound. This curse of the hound has haunted all the Baskervilles who come to live at the Baskerville Hall. Sir Charles goes to live there, but soon is found dead, scared to death. His only relative, Sir Henry Baskerville, goes to live at Baskerville Hall accompanied by Holmes and Watson. All along the way, they are left mysterious clues that eventually help them unlock the killer. I really liked this classic who-dun-it because around every corner was a twist. It kept you guessing until the end and was really upbeat


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