The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrated by B. J. Harrison

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are visited by a young lady of 30 with a face like a hunted animal. Fear, it seems, causes her to constantly shiver. But her horror lies in the fact that her fears are so vague. Two years ago, in the small hours of the morning, a low whistle was heard in their ancestral home. It was then that her sister suddenly died. Now she lives in the same room her sister vacated, and last night, the whistle sounded again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B.J. Harrison
• Release date: Jun 22, 2007
• ISBN: 9781937091569

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a Scottish author best known for his classic detective fiction, although he wrote in many other genres including dramatic work, plays, and poetry. He began writing stories while studying medicine and published his first story in 1887. His Sherlock Holmes character is one of the most popular inventions of English literature, and has inspired films, stage adaptions, and literary adaptations for over 100 years.

Reviews for The Adventure of the Speckled Band

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the play version by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, premiered in 1910, of one of his more famous short stories, indeed the one that headed his own personal list of his favourite dozen of his own stories published in The Strand magazine in March 1927 as part of a competition whereby readers could guess the author's list to win a prize. This three act play expands on the already excellent narrative of the short story to produce a really great tense narrative, with Dr Grimesby Rylott being a really well drawn domestic bully terrorising his step daughters and household. Really great - I wonder if this play is ever staged today?

[lgandt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps I think I might be learning too much about crime, I love it when things are referenced and I have to find out about it.

[john4fougere · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sherlock Holmes gets a visit from a woman, asking him to take up a rather mystrious case. The woman explains to Holmes that her sister was killed. The woman also stated that her sister's last words were something about a speckled band. The woman thinks that their father killed her, but does not have the proof, which is the reason she has come to Holmes. Holmes takes the case and sets out, with the help of his assistent Watson, to uncover this interesting mystery. The father suspects that his daughter went to Holmes and he pays him a visit saying to leave him alone. What does he have to hide? With Sherlock's keen sense and good examination skills, him and his partner find many interesting clues on who might have killed the sister.I personally think that the Shurlock Holmes books are the greatest books I have ever read. This book was an amazing mystery story.The book used a few words I did not under stand(until I looked them up in the dictionary) but it was still a fantastic book. The book litaraly kept me on the edge of my seat. The book is also very unpredictable. You never really know what is going to come next. Some books you can tell what is going to happen, but with this book you can never tell. I recomend this book for readers who enjoy a good mystery book.

[willi1nicholson · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Sherlock gets another visitor. This time, the visitor's sister gets killed, and the father is the prime suspect. Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Watson, go to solve the mystery. They have to use stealth and intellect to solve this perplexing mystery. As always, Sherlock finds the killer. This time, though, it was backfired. The father used a snake to kill the sister, and planned to do it again. Sherlock startled the snake, and it bit its owner instead. So ends another Sherlock Holmes mystery.Conan Arthur Doyle has passed, but his stories live on. Even now, Sherlock Holmes is still a name that is known everywhere. This book is different because the murderer died, which doesn't usually happen in the stories. Even so, this is a magnificent book, perfect for a rainy day. Not jut rainy days, this book is a perfect read on any day if you just want something to read that is small, yet satisfying.

[jovanh470volny · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sherlock Holmes, The adventure of the Speckled Band is a complex tale of mystery. The many character differences and events create a story that cannot simply be explained, but understood by reading and finding out for yourself. It will leave you in a state of confusion and have you examining the events that have occurred to solve the mystery beforehand. It is composed well and surprising even though much foreshadowing is given near three quarters of the book, and you may or may not have figured out, or at least suspected the culprit.Sherlock Holmes, and his partner, Watson, are visited by a young woman who explains to them that her sister has passed away in a tragic and unsolved manner. She gives the important detail that her sister was to be married in a short while, and that their stepfather Dr.Roylott would have to sever his earnings to fund the sister's married life. By this time Holmes and Watson already have an idea of what took place the night the sister died. Holmes and Watson travel to the home where the young woman's sister had been found dead, Stoke Morran, to conduct further investigation of the death. Dr. Roylott’s mansion harbors a number of exotic creatures, collected from all his trips to India. Of these, there is a snake, a Speckled Band which was used to go into the sister's bedroom to kill her. This was an act committed by Dr. Roylott, who in the end paid the price for housing such an animal. He was found dead, bitten by his own snake.

[bobbyhoffman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought that this book was good because it was a mystery. Who doesn't like a good mystery, you don't know waht really happened until the very end. The Sherlock Holmes books are the best at this. You have your susspisions about what happened or who killed who, but most of the time you are wrong in the end. In this book I thought that the murderer would end up being the uncle, but I didn't know how he killed the victim. He was a selfish man that wanted nothing more than money. In the end his pet kills him. I thought that this book had a good plot to it even though it was made a very long time ago. In these books Sherlock Holmes always seems to amaze you at the end when he tells you what happened before there is really any proof.

[kresslya · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Adventures of the Speckled Band is classic detective literature. Intrigue, murder and suspense. Great writing and a good plot.