The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In 2010, we had to read for classes one of the Sherlock Holmes' books. My teacher gave us three options. Those options were The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Study in Scarlet and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. We had to vote for the one we considered the most interesting, and the winner was THotB. Since then, I made the promise to read the entire canon... but I did it with one purpose: To get to TMoSH. Do you know why? Because in this one Holmes was supposed to die, and also because Moriarty appears.
Okay, now off to review each story.
Silver Blaze:
Plot: A great horse (Silver Blaze) has just disappeared and he had a race the next day, so they need him because the bets are made and people might get angry if they don't get to see the famous horse running.
Thoughts: This one is not outstanding, but it was interesting to see how Holmes deduced who did the villainy. It's not a complex one, but it's not predictable, so I really enjoyed it.
The Yellow Face:
Plot: Mr. Munro is married and has a happy life until one day he sees a yellow face inside a cottage where his wife was found once. He's jealous and consults Holmes to see what he can get from his story.
Thoughts: This one has a touching moment in the end, which I rather liked. Oh, and Holmes is not perfect, ladies and gentlemen. He sometimes has his deductions wrong.
The Stockbroker's Clerk:
Plot: A man is offered a job, but he's suspicious as to the employer's motives. Holmes and Watson hurry to see what's behind all that.
Thoughts: Ah, there's always a fool. Someone is deceived, but Holmes managed to discover who the responsible for the tricks is before it was too late. A good story, in general.
The “Gloria Scott”:
Plot: This is Holmes' first case, dated back to his university days. The story revolves around a ship named “Gloria Scott.”
Thoughts: Holmes first case! I really liked this story. Watson always wants to know things about his friend's past, and here's where he got his fill. Sherlock was a misanthrope back in his university days. Ah, Holmes, some people never change...
The Musgrave Ritual:
Plot: This was a clever one. It rounds about a family ritual and the disappearance of two people.
Thoughts: As I said, this was clever and really intriguing. Holmes' way of solving the riddle (for it is indeed a riddle) is not the usual one, so I ended up enjoying it immensely.
The Reigate Puzzle:
Plot: Holmes is sick, and he decides to give himself (or rather Watson pushed him) a vacation. In there, Holmes finds that there are also people who need him, so he decides to quit his vacation and solve a case for them, which is about a murder. The victim had a mysterious torn piece of paper in his hand, and it appear that this paper was very valuable.
Thoughts: This one was very intriguing and thrilling. It had an intense action scene that I enjoyed deeply. There was indeed a puzzle. If you can, try to solve it before Holmes reveals the answer.
The Adventure of the Crooked Man:
Plot: A man is dead and his wife is suspected. Holmes calls Watson (Did you hear that, people? Holmes calls Watson) to ask him his opinion about the case and to see how everything ends.
Thoughts: Damn Holmes and his ability to make complicated things simple. Why did he call Watson? Not because he needed his help, but merely to have someone to show his brilliance. But the story was interesting, and we have some more of Holmes ever-growing arrogance.
The Resident Patient:
Plot: Blessington hires Dr. Trelawney as his doctor and everything is well until one day something happens to Blessington and Trelawney's new patients seem rather odd, so he gets suspicious and asks Holmes for advice.
Thoughts: With each story in this collection, they grew better and better. This one was really interesting and it kept me glued to the book throughout the course of it. The answer to the problem was just as intriguing as the problem itself.
The Greek Interpreter:
Plot: A greek interpreter, Melas, is hired to a job. In his workplace, some weird things happen and Melas feels there's something wrong.
Thoughts: In this story, Mycroft Holmes is introduced to Watson's astonishment. See, Watson? Sherlock Holmes has a brother. Mycroft was quite an interesting character. He's just as intelligent as Holmes is, the difference being that Mycroft is kind of lazy and prefers to stay either at home or at his club. This one was a wicked and interesting story.
The Naval Treaty:
Plot: An important document, a naval treaty, has just been stolen from Percy Phelps' office. There are many suspects and they all could have a motive for doing the deed.
Thoughts: This is the kind of story that I tend to enjoy the most. The mystery was present during the entire narration, and it always has you thinking as to who might have stolen the document. Holmes, now please take my application as your assistant. I'm serious.
The Final Problem:
Plot: Holmes is hunting down his great arch-enemy, professor Moriarty. Moriarty is a genius and plus, he has malice, so that obviously makes him a dangerous man and Holmes is determined to bring him to an end.
Thoughts: The best story in this collection. Sure, why not? Seeing Holmes trying to defeat an enemy that has his same abilities was great. The ending was sad because Watson was all broken because of Holmes' “death.”
Poor him.
...
The Sherlock Holmes' canon is one of my favorite series of all time. I read the nine books in a row without getting bored, so that should tell you something. I continue to love Sherlock and all his treats. I love his arrogance, his misanthropy, his coldness, his intelligence... everything. They make him a really interesting character, and we know he's the master of deduction.
I admit that even when my favorite collection of short stories is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (my review), this one was also really good. And as I said, it's one of my favorite books of all time.
When I graduate as a chemist, I'm gonna be like him, and my name is gonna be Vanessa the kick-ass, mad, gorgeous and sherlockian chemist.
Just kidding. That sounds immature and stupid as hell, but I still wanna be like him.
Anyway, what are you waiting for if you haven't read this? GO READ IT NOW!!! What else can you possibly want from a book? There's mystery, there are murders, there's a sociopath with his assistant... The perfect formula for a book.
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