“A Study in Scarlet,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“A Study in Scarlet,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a fascinating detective mystery story that introduces Sherlock Holmes to the world.

The story starts by introducing John H. Watson, an army doctor recently returned to London after a disastrous tour in India. Watson is happy to be in London again, but he soon finds that he needs better quarters. Unfortunately, his income is so low that he can not afford anything decent.

Through a friend Watson is introduced to Sherlock Holmes, who has found a comfortable apartment but needs someone to share the rent with. At first Watson is a little bit skeptical about Holmes, who seems to be a very eccentric individual indeed, but when Watson visits the apartment that Holmes wants to rent, he decides that he might as well try it out.

Soon Watson and Holmes have moved into their apartment on Baker Street. From the very start Watson finds himself wondering about Holmes. For one thing Holmes doesn’t seem to have any regular employment, and he has a very strange system of knowledge and study.

After a few failed attempts, Sherlock Holmes himself tells Watson of his career. He is a “consulting detective.” When the police and Scotland Yard are unable to solve a mystery or catch a criminal, they contact Holmes, who uses scientific principals to shed new light on the mystery or track down the culprit.

Soon enough Holmes has a chance to demonstrate his skill. When a murdered man is found in an empty building nearby the police are baffled. The murdered victim has no wound on his body, yet the room is marked with blood. In addition, none of the victims personal possessions were stolen, his money and various other valuables are untouched.

Sherlock Holmes agrees to take the case. When he arrives at the seen of the crime, however, the whole matter seems to get even more complicated, rather than clearing up. First a woman’s wedding ring is discovered on the floor beneath the dead body. Then the word “Rache” is discovered written on the wall with blood.

Sherlock Holmes’ investigation will uncover events that began decades ago in America. The crime is a deadly revenge plot that has taken decades to come to culmination. The daring and persistent perpetrator is a determined person though, and it will take careful panning on Holmes part to capture him.

“A Study in Scarlet” was first published in 1887. This classic story is a good introduction to Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes. Unfortunately, in this book Doyle shows Holmes in a slightly unflattering light, portraying him as proud and angry that he doesn’t get enough recognition for his skill. Other than that “A Study in Scarlet” is a great mystery story. The plot is realistic and reasonably unusual.

All mystery lovers should read the classic “A Study in Scarlet.”

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“The Hound of the Baskervilles,” by Arthur Conan Doyle

“The Hound of the Baskervilles,” by Arthur Conan Doyle is a classic mystery story that pits the detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Watson against a mysterious, possibly supernatural, animal.

The story begins, as usual, with the appearance of a visitor at Sherlock Holmes’ quarters on Baker Street. The man is a doctor, Dr. Mortimer, and he has come to Holmes with a rather intriguing problem. He begins by reading an ancient manuscript that was committed to his care by a man named Sir Charles Baskerville. Dr. Mortimer served as Charles Baskerville’s doctor before his sudden and rather unusual death.

The manuscript that Dr. Mortimer reads is a strange legend passed down through the Baskerville family for many years. According to the legend a certain Hugo Baskerville of the Baskerville line was a wanton and evil man guilty of many wrongs. One night while out on the nearby moor he was seen being pursued by a strange hound creature of unusual size, with glowing, dripping jaws. This hound of hell apparently hunted down and killed Hugo Baskerville. The legend ends with a warning to all men of the Baskerville line that whatever they do they should never go out on the moor at nighttime, for fear that they too may be pursued by the Hound of the Baskervilles.

Holmes is only a little amused by the story, but then Dr. Mortimer goes on to relate the real reason why he has come to seek help. Dr. Mortimer tells Sherlock Holmes and Watson the tale of Sir Charles Baskerville’s death.

Sir Charles Baskerville was found dead in a small alley near his estate. It was evident that he had died from some sort of heart strain. Dr. Mortimer tells Holmes the specifics of Sir Charles Baskerville’s death as reported by the local newspaper, but then he tells Holmes the rest of the story that the press has not been told.

Before his death Sir Charles Baskerville had a strange fear of the moor and told Dr. Mortimer that he feared that he was being pursued by a hound-like creature. When Dr. Mortimer examined Sir Charles Body he also found footprints off to the side, not the footprints of a human, but the footprints of a giant dog.

It is far too late for Sir Charles Baskerville, but Dr. Mortimer has an important issue that need to be considered. The heir to the Baskerville estate is Sir Henry Baskerville, and soon he will come to live on the moor where his father did. Dr. Mortimer fears that whatever it was that killed Sir Charles Baskerville may also be a danger to Sir Henry Baskerville.

The case becomes even stranger when Sir Henry Baskerville makes his visit to Holmes the next day. He tells Holmes and Watson that he has received a strange warning made of words cut from a newspaper. It says, “As you value your life or your reason keep away from the moor.” Before long Holmes determines that Sir Henry Baskerville is being followed by someone.

Sherlock Holmes feels that something very strange is happening with relation to Sir Henry Baskerville, but he has a very important case that he must finish first. Instead Watson is sent to Baskerville Hall with Sir Henry Baskerville to keep watch on the situation and keep Holmes alerted if anything important happens.

Before long it becomes even clearer that there are very strange things happening around Baskerville Hall. Sir Henry Baskerville has a definite enemy, and whether it is a supernatural creature, an animal, or a human is unclear. Only Holmes will be able to unravel the mystery before it is too late.

“The Hound of the Baskervilles,” by Arthur Conan Doyle was originally published in The Strand magazine between August 1901 and April 1902. It was this novel that really launched Doyle’s wonderful character Sherlock Holmes into international fame. Readers lined up in front of The Strand’s London offices to read each new installment of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” as it came out.

Compared with the other shorter stories about Sherlock Holmes, “The Hound of the Baskervilles” is able to go into much greater detail about Holmes’ scientific and intuitive method of untangling mysteries and tracking down crime. In addition the story has a lot more characters than other Sherlock stories. Arthur Conan Doyle does a good job of defining them and referring to them in such a way that the reader can keep track of them.

Although “The Hound of the Baskervilles” is definitely much different from Doyle’s other short stories about Sherlock Holmes I’m sure that all mystery lovers will enjoy this classic novel.

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“Behind the Attic Wall,” by Sylvia Cassedy

“Behind the Attic Wall,” by Sylvia Cassedy is a rather strange Victorian tale about a young orphan girl who is thrown out of boarding school and ends up living with her great aunts.

Maggie never lasts long at any boarding school. She doesn’t get along with the other students at all, and she is always in trouble with the teachers. When she is finally kicked out one to many times her Uncle Morris comes to pick her up and take her to live with her great aunts. From the start Maggie realizes that her Uncle Morris is a very eccentric man. For one thing he asks her questions that don’t seem to make any sense, and he says the most curious things.

But Maggie endures the trip, because she is sure that living with her great aunts will be wonderful. She can see them in her mind as kind, caring old ladies living in the perfect house of her dreams. But when Uncle Morris finally arrives at Maggie’s new home she finds that reality is much different. Her great aunts are perfectionists that have great plans for reforming Maggie. In addition, the nice home that she had imagined is really a huge building that used to be a boarding school. Now the empty classrooms and dormitory rooms remain but there are no students. The whole building is sort of frightening. What is more some people even say that it is haunted.

Then Maggie starts hearing strange voices. She isn’t sure where they are coming from but they seem to be speaking about her. Maggie is determined to figure out where the voices are coming from, and eventually they lead up to the top of the great boarding school to the attic. Little does she realize that it will result in an unusual adventure that will teach her how to love and will change her personality more than any boarding school or strict great aunt ever could.

“Behind the Attic Wall” is, in my opinion, a fairly good book. The descriptions are vivid, and many of the characters are quite unusual. I particularly liked the way Maggie and Uncle Morris were described. The story’s plot is definitely unique, and sure to intrigue readers. The mysterious aspects of the plot are revealed in just the right order and at just the right time. Overall I would definitely recommend “Behind the Attic Wall,” by Sylvia Cassedy.

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