This collection isn't quite as good as "The Adventures", but in some ways it shows a continued improvement in Doyle's overall style.Many stories open with a more interesting description of the season, the times, or the relationship of our two central characters. (Watson's discussion of Holmes' neatness and simultaneous messiness in 'The Musgrave Ritual' is marvellous!)

After my bad experiences with the first two books, I can't believe that I now look forward to every Holmes and Waston story, and yet I do. Every story in this volume is interesting and enjoyable, however more than a few have a tendency to slip back into the fantastic and melodramatic modes that coloured "The Sign of the Four" and "A Study in Scarlet". (most notably 'The Yellow Face').

Strangely, the only story I didn't really enjoy was 'Silver Blaze' which is, I understand, quite popular. 'The Final Problem', on the other hand, is delightful in its descriptive passages, and the unique situation of seeing Holmes in such danger. A very good read. ( )

This, the second collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, was also intended to be the last. It ends with “The Final Problem,” in which Doyle kills off the detective. Before he does, as others have pointed out, Doyle fills in more of Holmes’ backstory and captures him in a whimsical mood, in which roses seemingly indicate God’s existence. I’m not sure how this fits with the supposition that Doyle had tired of his creation and felt the detective’s popularity prevented him, Doyle, from acceptance as a truly literary author. That final story stands out by having detailed descriptions of the landscape in the Berner Oberland. Had Doyle recently traveled there? Is he trying out his capacity for serious writing?
By reading the Holmes canon in order, I was struck that Professor Moriarty turns up in “The Final Problem” as Holmes’ arch-nemesis without ever having been referred to previously. Holmes without Moriarty? It seems unthinkable now.
And it was handy that neither body was ever recovered from the bottom of the Reichenbach Falls.

Mystery

Has its ups and downs, but the last one gets me every time ( )

(3.5 / 5)

Part of me thinks that I need to make sure to start spreading out the shorter stories within one collection. But another part of me wonders if that would help. One of the things that's starting to wear on me with these stories is the way most cases are presented the same way—a big info dump to explain the case to Holmes and/or Watson. Sometimes, the person telling the story will share dialog from someone else, and I often find myself asking how the person could be so precise in telling the story. And then there was at least one of these stories where the person telling the story related dialog from someone else who was also relating an event that included further dialog. There came a point where my mind was completely muddled and I couldn't remember who was talking. When you're 3 deep in quotation marks ("'"You astound me!"'") to get the story across, it's getting a little ridiculous.

Some of the cases were still intriguing, while others were a bit more obvious. I think I'm starting to get the hang of Doyle's pattern with these cases, though that doesn't mean I can figure them all out before the end. I think what surprised me the most was the introduction of Professor Moriarty, whom everyone knows as Holmes's arch-rival. But that story was more about Holmes trying to escape the man, with his brilliance and nefariousness only told to us, not really shown in any way. He's dangerous and worthy of Holmes's attention only because Holmes says so. I have no idea if the man will appear in any other stories, but to be honest, this one was kind of a dud for me. I did question partway through this book whether it was worth continuing. I think I will, as I don't think I can really judge the entire character without reading everything Doyle wrote about him. But when I come to the next short story collection, I'll probably take my time with it. ( )