Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles (AD Classic Illustrated)

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sidney Paget

In the 17th century Hugo Baskerville is killed by a vicious hellhound. Generations later, Sir Henry Baskerville is found dead at the family estate, and the hound of legend is to blame. Can Holmes and Watson save the next Baskerville heir from an ancient curse before it's too late? Sherlock Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess and is renowned for his skilful use of deductive reasoning, astute observation, and forensic skills to solve difficult cases. Deductive reasoning allows Holmes to impressively reveal a stranger's occupation. Similarly, by studying inanimate objects, he is able to make astonishingly detailed deductions about their owners. This mindset was a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, inspiring authors like Robert J. Sawyer, Neil Gaiman and Stephen King.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Engage Books
• Release date: Jun 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781926606590

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger.

Book preview

Hound_Front_Cov.jpgSherlock030.tif

Sherlock Holmes

1904 illustration by Sidney Paget

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A Division of

Engage Books

www.engagebooks.ca

AD Classic®, BC Classic® and SF Classic® are imprints of Engage Books

www.adclassicbooks.com

First Published by George Newnes in 1902

This edition published by AD Classic in 2011

Jeannette and Joseph Gilder quoted from The Critic in 1902

Cover art by John Atkinson Grimshaw in 1872

Tree shadows on the Park Wall, Roundhay Park, Leeds

Hound illustration by Sir Samuel Luke Fields in 1874

Cover design by A.R. Roumanis © 2010

Original text illustrations by Sidney Paget in 1901-02

Proofread by Amanda Peters

Typeset by A.R. Roumanis

Text set in 10.7/13 Minion Pro

Chapter headings set in 10/20 News Gothic Standard

ISBN: 978-1-926606-59-0

For Kiriakos Chasapoglou

NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

1902

"In The Hound of the Baskervilles Sir A. Conan Doyle has skilfully mingled the criminal and the supernatural element. He first hinted at a ghastly crime perpetrated through heaven knows what uncanny agency. Then he brought back to life the great detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, to unravel the mystery."

– The Critic 1902 AD

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Engage Books / AD Classic / Vancouver

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

1914 photo by Arnold Genthe

Contents

The Hound Of The Baskervilles

1

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

2

The Curse of the Baskervilles

3

The Problem

4

Sir Henry Baskerville

5

Three Broken Threads

6

Baskerville Hall

7

The Stapletons of Merripit House

8

First Report of Dr. Watson

9

The Light upon the Moor [Second Report of Dr. Watson]

10

Extract from the Diary of Dr. Watson

11

The Man on the Tor

12

Death on the Moor

13

Fixing the Nets

14

The Hound of the Baskervilles

15

A Retrospection

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The Hound of the Baskervilles.

1901

illustration by Sidney Paget

CHAPTER ONE

Mr. Sherlock Holmes

Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table. I stood upon the hearth-rug and picked up the stick which our visitor had left behind him the night before. It was a fine, thick piece of wood, bulbous-headed, of the sort which is known as a Penang lawyer. Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly an inch across. To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the C.C.H., was engraved upon it, with the date 1884. It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry – dignified, solid, and reassuring.

Well, Watson, what do you make of it?

Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no sign of my occupation.

How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in the back of your head.

I have, at least, a well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot in front of me, said he. But, tell me, Watson, what do you make of our visitor’s stick? Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss him and have no notion of his errand, this accidental souvenir becomes of importance. Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an examination of it.

I think, said I, following as far as I could the methods of my companion, that Dr. Mortimer is a successful, elderly medical man, well-esteemed since those who know him give him this mark of their appreciation.

Good! said Holmes. Excellent!

I think also that the probability is in favour of his being a country practitioner who does a great deal of his visiting on foot.

Why so?

Because this stick, though originally a very handsome one, has been so knocked about that I can hardly imagine a town practitioner carrying it. The thick-iron ferrule is worn down, so it is evident that he has done a great amount of walking with it.

Perfectly sound! said Holmes.

And then again, there is the ‘friends of the C.C.H.’ I should guess that to be the Something Hunt, the local hunt to whose members he has possibly given some surgical assistance, and which has made him a small presentation in return.

Really, Watson, you excel yourself, said Holmes, pushing back his chair and lighting a cigarette. I am bound to say that in all the accounts which you have been so good as to give of my own small achievements you have habitually underrated your own abilities. It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it. I confess, my dear fellow, that I am very much in your debt.

He had never said as much before, and I must admit that his words gave me keen pleasure, for I had often been piqued by his indifference to my admiration and to the attempts which I had made to give publicity to his methods. I was proud, too, to think that I had so far mastered his system as to apply it in a way which earned his approval. He now took the stick from my hands and examined it for a few minutes with his naked eyes. Then with an expression of interest he laid down his cigarette, and carrying the cane to the window, he looked over it again with a convex lens.

Interesting, though elementary, said he as he returned to his favourite corner of the settee. There are certainly one or two indications upon the stick. It gives us the basis for several deductions.

Has anything escaped me? I asked with some self-importance. I trust that there is nothing of consequence which I have overlooked?

I am afraid, my dear Watson, that most of your conclusions were erroneous. When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth. Not that you are entirely wrong in this instance. The man is certainly a country practitioner. And he walks a good deal.

Then I was right.

To that extent.

But that was all.

No, no, my dear Watson, not all – by no means all. I would suggest, for example, that a presentation to a doctor is more likely to come from a hospital than from a hunt, and that when the initials ‘C.C.’ are placed before that hospital the words ‘Charing Cross’ very naturally suggest themselves.

You may be right.

The probability lies in that direction. And if we take this as a working hypothesis we have a fresh basis from which to start our construction of this unknown visitor.

Well, then, supposing that ‘C.C.H.’ does stand for ‘Charing Cross Hospital,’ what further inferences may we draw?

Do none suggest themselves? You know my methods. Apply them!

I can only think of the obvious conclusion that the man has practised in town before going to the country.

I think that we might venture a little farther than this. Look at it in this light. On what occasion would it be most probable that such a presentation would be made? When would his friends unite to give him a pledge of their good will? Obviously at the moment when Dr. Mortimer withdrew from the service of the hospital in order to start a practice for himself. We know there has been a presentation. We believe there has been a change from a town hospital to a country practice. Is it, then, stretching our inference too far to say that the presentation was on the occasion of the change?

It certainly seems probable.

Now, you will observe that he could not have been on the staff of the hospital, since only a man well-established in a London practice could hold such a position, and such a one would not drift into the country. What was he, then? If he was in the hospital and yet not on the staff he could only have been a house-surgeon or a house-physician – little more than a senior student. And he left five years ago – the date is on the stick. So your grave, middle-aged family practitioner vanishes into thin air, my dear Watson, and there emerges a young fellow under thirty, amiable, unambitious, absent-minded, and the possessor of a favourite dog, which I should describe roughly as being larger than a terrier and smaller than a mastiff.

I laughed incredulously as Sherlock Holmes leaned back in his settee and blew little wavering rings of smoke up to the ceiling.

As to the latter part, I have no means of checking you, said I, but at least it is not difficult to find out a few particulars about the man’s age and professional career. From my small medical shelf I took down the Medical Directory and turned up the name. There were several Mortimers, but only one who could be our visitor. I read his record aloud.

Mortimer, James, M.R.C.S., 1882, Grimpen, Dartmoor, Devon. House-surgeon, from 1882 to 1884, at Charing Cross Hospital. Winner of the Jackson prize for Comparative Pathology, with essay entitled ‘Is Disease a Reversion?’ Corresponding member of the Swedish Pathological Society. Author of ‘Some Freaks of Atavism’ (Lancet 1882). ‘Do We Progress?’ (Journal of Psychology, March, 1883). Medical Officer for the parishes of Grimpen, Thorsley, and High Barrow.

No mention of that local hunt, Watson, said Holmes with a mischievous smile, but a country doctor, as you very astutely observed. I think that I am fairly justified in my inferences. As to the adjectives, I said, if I remember right, amiable, unambitious, and absent-minded. It is my experience that it is only an amiable man in this world who receives testimonials, only an unambitious one who abandons a London career for the country, and only an absent-minded one who leaves his stick and not his visiting-card after waiting an hour in your room.

And the dog?

Has been in the habit of carrying this stick behind his master. Being a heavy stick the dog has held it tightly by the middle, and the marks of his teeth are very plainly visible. The dog’s jaw, as shown in the space between these marks, is too broad in my opinion for a terrier and not broad enough for a mastiff. It may have been – yes, by Jove, it is a curly-haired spaniel.

He had risen and paced the room as he spoke. Now he halted in the recess of the window. There was such a ring of conviction in his voice that I glanced up in surprise.

My dear fellow, how can you possibly be so sure of that?

For the very simple reason that I see the dog himself on our very door-step, and there is the ring of its owner. Don’t move, I beg you, Watson. He is a professional brother of yours, and your presence may be of assistance to me. Now is the dramatic moment of fate, Watson, when you hear a step upon the stair which is walking into your life, and you know not whether for good or ill. What does Dr. James Mortimer, the man of science, ask of Sherlock Holmes, the specialist in crime? Come in!

The appearance of our visitor was a surprise to me, since I had expected a typical country practitioner. He was a very tall, thin man, with a long nose like a beak, which jutted out between two keen, gray eyes, set closely together and sparkling brightly from behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was clad in a professional but rather slovenly fashion, for his frock-coat was dingy and his trousers frayed. Though young, his long back was already bowed, and he walked with a forward thrust of his head and a general air of peering benevolence. As he entered his eyes fell upon the stick in Holmes’s hand, and he ran towards it with an exclamation of joy. I am so very glad, said he. I was not sure whether I had left it here or in the Shipping Office. I would not lose that stick for the world.

A presentation, I see, said Holmes.

Yes, sir.

From Charing Cross Hospital?

From one or two friends there on the occasion of my marriage.

Dear, dear, that’s bad! said Holmes, shaking his head.

Dr. Mortimer blinked through his glasses in mild astonishment. Why was it bad?

Only that you have disarranged our little deductions. Your marriage, you say?

Yes, sir. I married, and so left the hospital, and with it all hopes of a consulting practice. It was necessary to make a home of my own.

Come, come, we are not so far wrong, after all, said Holmes. And now, Dr. James Mortimer –

Mister, sir, Mister – a humble M.R.C.S.

And a man of precise mind, evidently.

A dabbler in science, Mr. Holmes, a picker up of shells on the shores of the great unknown ocean. I presume that it is Mr. Sherlock Holmes whom I am addressing and not –

No, this is my friend Dr. Watson.

Glad to meet you, sir. I have heard your name mentioned in connection with that of your friend. You interest me very much, Mr. Holmes. I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or such well-marked supra-orbital development. Would you have any objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure? A cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available, would be an ornament to any anthropological museum. It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull.

Sherlock Holmes waved our strange visitor into a chair. You are an enthusiast in your line of thought, I perceive, sir, as I am in mine, said he. I observe from your forefinger that you make your own cigarettes. Have no hesitation in lighting one.

The man drew out paper and tobacco and twirled the one up in the other with surprising dexterity. He had long, quivering fingers as agile and restless as the antennae of an insect.

Holmes was silent, but his little darting glances showed me the interest which he took in our curious companion. I presume, sir, said he at last, that it was not merely for the purpose of examining my skull that you have done me the honour to call here last night and again today?

No, sir, no; though I am happy to have had the opportunity of doing that as well. I came to you, Mr. Holmes, because I recognized that I am myself an unpractical man and because I am suddenly confronted with a most serious and extraordinary problem. Recognizing, as I do, that you are the second highest expert in Europe –

Indeed, sir! May I inquire who has the honour to be the first? asked Holmes with some asperity.

To the man of precisely scientific mind the work of Monsieur Bertillon must always appeal strongly.

Then had you not better consult him?

I said, sir, to the precisely scientific mind. But as a practical man of affairs it is acknowledged that you stand alone. I trust, sir, that I have not inadvertently –

Just a little, said Holmes. I think, Dr. Mortimer, you would do wisely if without more ado you would kindly tell me plainly what the exact nature of the problem is in which you demand my assistance.

CHAPTER TWO

The Curse of the Baskervilles

I have in my pocket a manuscript, said Dr. James Mortimer.

I observed it as you entered the room, said Holmes.

It is an old manuscript.

Early eighteenth century, unless it is a forgery.

How can you say that, sir?

You have presented an inch or two of it to my examination all the time that you have been talking. It would be a poor expert who could not give the date of a document within a decade or so. You may possibly have read my little monograph upon the subject. I put that at 1730.

The exact date is 1742. Dr. Mortimer drew it from his breast-pocket. This family paper was committed to my care by Sir Charles Baskerville, whose sudden and tragic death some three months ago created so much excitement in Devonshire. I may say that I was his personal friend as well as his medical attendant. He was a strong-minded man, sir, shrewd, practical, and as unimaginative as I am myself. Yet he took this document very seriously, and his mind was prepared for just such an end as did eventually overtake him.

Holmes stretched out his hand for the manuscript and flattened it upon his knee. You will observe, Watson, the alternative use of the long s and the short. It is one of several indications which enabled me to fix the date.

I looked over his shoulder at the yellow paper and the faded script. At the head was written: Baskerville Hall, and below in large, scrawling figures: 1742.

It appears to be a statement of some sort.

Yes, it is a statement of a certain legend which runs in the Baskerville family.

But I understand that it is something more modern and practical upon which you wish to consult me?

"Most modern. A most practical, pressing matter,

Reviews for Sherlock Holmes

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this before when I was younger, so none of it was exactly surprising to me. It's better than the other two Holmes novels I've read: the structure is better, that is to say, although I also enjoyed the story a little more, probably because it's so iconic and because I remembered somewhat of what's supposed to be going on. Sherlock has less of a spotlight in this, I suppose, since Watson goes about on his own and investigates, but of course, it's Holmes that figures out everything at the end. I actually found the last chapter or so, the explanation, unnecessarily -- although that's probably because I've read it before, so I knew the significance of details like the boots.

Like the other Holmes stories and novels, though, this is easy to read and fun and kinda hard to put down.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have really enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes stories and was excited for this one as it is often promoted as the best. While I did like this story, I did not think it was one of the best. The mystery was not all that challenging, and I felt that the story dragged a bit in places. I enjoyed the characters and the setting, but not my favorite.

[greymowser · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An excellant Sherlock Holmes quest.

[dverdecia-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is a classic. When you look at all the other reviews of it out there I wonder, what can I add? I think that out of all of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries this would have to be the best one. At least, in my eyes the most popular. I highly recommend this book.

[laphenix · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Slow and monotonous, and the world flip toward the end was jarring at best.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this as a youngster, and I'm so glad I read it again! Good thriller, tightly paced, with enough twists and turns to keep my interest! Bravo Holmes!

[tess_schoolmarm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was the first "Sherlock Holmes" book that I had ever read. It was very good and interesting; quick and witty dialogue fast-paced, etc. My only complaint was that it did begin to drag near the end. I will definitely read another of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories!

[knsievert · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked 'A Study in Scarlet', 'The Sign of Four', and the short stories I read from the Sherlock Holmes canon a year and a half ago, but 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' was significantly more enjoyable. I'll have to revisit more Holmes stories soon!

[tess_w · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was the first "Sherlock Holmes" book that I had ever read. It was very good and interesting; quick and witty dialogue fast-paced, etc. My only complaint was that it did begin to drag near the end. I will definitely read another of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories!

[ladycato · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Still an enthralling mystery after all of this time! I hadn't seen the TV episodes of this story for years, so I approached the book with an open mind. The suspense builds wonderfully. Of course, there is some very Victorian racial commentary that induces eye-rolling, but fortunately those mentions were few. I wouldn't mind reading more Holmes mysteries in the future.

[therebelprince · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very, very enjoyable read: definitely the pinnacle (thus far) of the Holmes canon.

Every element fits into its proper place: the isolated location is well described, with many fascinating features such as the Neolithic huts, fatal bogs and rows of yews. Each character is well-drawn, and each has their own mystery which interlocks perfectly with the overarching puzzle. By utilising different aspects of Watson's narrative voice - his diary, his letters, his reminiscences - Conan Doyle is able to shake up his writing formula somewhat, and present us with a mystery in which both Watson and Holmes are used to their respective strengths.

Beyond this, the mystery is multi-faceted and - particularly noteworthy - the novel is about every aspect of the crime, not just the "whodunnit" or how. As a result, even though the revelations are really no more than typical Conan Doyle fare, they are in no way a letdown, because it is only part of a larger canvas.

Seasoned crime readers like myself will probably pick up on the big clue planted very early in the book but, even then, it by no means allows you to solve the crime. The only aspect which might be seen by some as negative is that the book is always happy to pause and consider any minute clue (half a chapter is spent on exactly which newspaper a ransom-style note was cut from). To me, though, this is quintessential Holmes. The traces of romantic characterisation and storytelling linger, but are kept in check by the power of the work overall. As a result, I'm soldiering on with renewed vigour to the sixth of the nine Holmes books.

[muumuumousie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Holmes’ cool logic meets Gothic horror in this, the most famous of the Sherlock novels. The eerie setting does not disappoint, with the centuries-old Baskerville Hall, the deadly mire, and the moonlit moor. These make a wonderful atmosphere for an intricate mystery. The tone is on point, the twists and turns really deliver, and the secondary characters are quite compelling. I especially liked the young Sir Henry, a man of action and decision whose powerful persona is like to that of Sherlock. Sherlock, John Watson, and Sir Henry are all newcomers to Baskerville Hall, and it was fascinating to watch the ways in which each of them handled the transition to such an unusual and dangerous place. This novel certainly delivers, and it completely deserves all its hype. Moody and dark, and utterly unforgettable.

[niquetteb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sherlock Holmes mystery taking place in England, told by his accomplice, Dr. Watson. It has a rather slow beginning, but the end makes up for it with suspense and action.

[jguidry-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classic Sherlock Holmes at his finest. A great story with thrills along the way. I've read and seen the movie versions of this story multiple times, but I still enjoy reading this over and over again. The story never gets old.

[siok-76276 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an unexpectedly good read - modern writing and a plot that sucks you in right from the beginning. What was a bit unsatisfactory was the way the villain died - he died without a chance to explain himself or to rant against all the injustices he felt (like in all conventional plots).

[varwenea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” – Sherlock Holmes

After having watched the movies and TV shows, I finally read my first Sherlock Holmes book. From various reviews and from the Foreword, I thought I had chosen one of the best, if not the best, Holmes book. Unfortunately, it felt --- ‘passive’. I’ll explain.

The story surrounds a ghostly hound that haunts the Baskervilles family from several generations ago. After the untimely and unexplained death of Sir Charles Baskerville, the last Baskerville heir, Sir Henry, and his family friend, Dr. Mortimer, seek the help of the famous Sherlock Holmes to determine once and for all, the truth between the mystery hound and the legend that curses the Baskerville family members and estate. With a butler and wife at the estate, a number of inquisitive neighbors, an escaped convict, and the shadowy, foggy grounds of Grimpen Mire with moor and bog-hole that is the grassland version of quicksand, a delectable setting is laid for the whodunnit and how.

Perhaps movies and televisions have ruined my perspective; I had expected to journey with Holmes and Watson in their fact-finding. Since Holmes is tied-up with his current cases, Watson accompanies Sir Henry to his newly inherited estate ahead of Holmes. The facts are then revealed via Watson’s reports and excerpts from his diary; this approach and associated writing-style yields a past-tense feeling and the reader is not on the same journey with them. When Holmes ‘arrives’ (I’ll let you interpret the reason for the air-quote marks), the action begins, but the culprit is already identified. Even the ta-da moment is rather flat, and a last chapter is written as a retrospection. I didn’t even have a chance to get excited. Having guessed a couple of things didn’t help either. The book simply didn’t generate the excitement I had wanted. I feel like such a traitor to literature for saying such blasphemy against the great Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Well, if it’ll make you feel better, when I was little, I thought these stories were based on a real detective.

Anyway, it’s still a pretty good read, especially since its first release was 1901. I also valued the book having reinforced the Holmes’ and Watson’s behaviors and methods commonly depicted on the screen.

One quote:
On the love between siblings:
“…But first I had the unpleasant duty of breaking the news to Barrymore and his wife. To him it may have been an unmitigated relief, but she wept bitterly in her apron. To all the world he was the man of violence, half animal and half demon; but to her he always remained the little willful boy of her own girlhood, the child who had clung to her hand. Evil indeed is the man who has not one woman to mourn him.”

[lgandt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Actually now having "read" it, after having seen so many film versions. I had little trouble "seeing" it all happen.

[greeniezona · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(This is not the version that I own, which makes me a little cranky, but I'm moving on.)

After watching the BBC Sherlock rendition of The Hound of the Baskervilles, I had to re-read the original to see what was kept and what was changed. I brought it with me on a road trip to Chicago and ended up reading it all aloud to Andrew in the car.

Some books are pure pleasure to read aloud, and this is one of them. The phrasing is right for speech. The vocabulary is just a slight stretch from one's normal daily repertoire. There is enough variety between quiet moments and passionate ones to support a variety in pitch of voice. Books from this era were almost certainly meant to be sometimes shared aloud by the fireside or in the parlour. (When I was your age, television was called books!) Reading them in the car is close enough to do.

As with many of the Sherlock stories I've read in the past, I remembered the how, but not the who or necessarily the why. It was a pleasure to rediscover, especially alongside someone experiencing the novel at the same time, and reading instead of watching allowed for the sorts of pauses to speculate and exchange theories.

There are other stories I want to revisit as well, in addition to some I've yet to read, in light of my current obsession with BBC Sherlock. As always, there are too many things to read, not enough time to concentrate through the distractions of my house full of boys.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though the incredible cruelty to a dog gets totally ignored in this frightening tale,
we get most of the clues and so can make more predictions than in previous short novels.

The mystery is a complicated one, not the least of it is why Dr. Watson did not follow Sherlock's
explicit instructions to never leave the baron alone.

One other remaining mystery - since neither he, nor his body, were ever found, where is the final proof that the murderer is dead?

[nx74defiant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

For a large section of this book Sherlock does not appear. You hear Dr. Watson's point of view. It is only later you learn what he has been doing off screen.

It was a really enjoyable mystery.

[carolfoisset · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Doyle's descriptions of both characters and setting are top notch. I always enjoy "deducing" along with Sherlock and Watson. The mystery in this book was just so-so.

[andrew1theqm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A veritable classic, what more can you say! Despite the course of time this is still a great story. After all the collections of stories about Sherlock Holmes I really enjoyed the greater depth that a novel allowed with a very intriguing story and some great inventiveness in the writing! I wish he'd written more as extended novels. Definitely should be read by everyone.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can I say? Hound of the Baskervilles is a classic and might possibly be the best of the Holmes stories. Perfectly crafted, and perfectly atmospheric, this is the kind of story that can be read again and again.

In fact, this is at least my third read and on this go-around I was much more able to admire the subtle clues and hints Conan Doyle wove through the tale. Although I do have one question: Dr. Mortimer's wife is mentioned several times in the story and I have to wonder how she felt about him traipsing off around the world without her?

If you like gothic, or mysteries, or just a good atmospheric thriller, you can't go wrong with this one.

[lydia1879 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I purchased a lovely, and clothbound copy of this book because it is one of my favourite books.

I love this story. I love Sherlock Holmes, I love John Watson. I love the way Conan-Doyle writes atmosphere in this novel. This story, in particular, is somewhere between a detective story, an adventure story and a gothic thriller.

The first time I read this book, I read it almost completely in one sitting. And when I looked up, the sun had set.

Oh. Oops.

I was totally enamoured and enraptured with this story. I think it's one of Conan-Doyle's most beloved because it's a little bit longer than the short stories, so people get sucked in a bit more.

ANYWAY. Totally biased review. Holmes & Watson are my favourite. Everyone can go home. The end.

[empressreece · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Im fan of everything Sherlock Holmes by Doyle & Laurie King. I wish Dolye was here to continue the stories because no one but Laurie King compares.

[thebookmagpie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There is nothing that needs said about this that has not already been said.

Although sometimes I wish that Holmes would be a TOUCH nicer to Watson?

[karin7-11 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Holmes and Watson are engaged on a case to both find out how someone died and to save his heir from the same fate. Legend has it that there is a giant demon hound with glowing eyes and mouth who prowls about the moors, and giant dog footprints are found near the body of the victim. Naturally, Holmes doesn't believe it's something supernatural, and so he sends Watson off to investigate & report back to him.

This is my first, and most likely last, Conrad Doyle novel. I almost liked it. I'm not sure what all the fuss is about over this writer or his Sherlock Holmes character. It was not the best 19th century mystery novel I've read, and I wasn't particularly impressed with Holmes. The writing is so-so, and so I'm really rating this 2.5, but have rounded it up.

[soulflower1981 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When you recognize that you love a good mystery book it is hard to say that you hate the king of the mystery/detective story, so I won't because this was legitimately an excellent book. It held my interest from the first few pages until the very end, which is rare for a book to do for me. In most instances I find myself not wanting to come back for at least a day and then pushing myself to read the rest of a book, but this one I read every single day since I started it for at least an hour a day.

Doyle came back to Holmes for this great story that infused supernatural and reality together nicely. He made you believe that it was possible the supernatural was occurring, but then revealed all when appropriate. I enjoy a writer that can turn the plot around quickly to reveal the truth of what is happening to characters.

The characters are believable for the time period. The motives are sound and reasonable as well. Some mysteries I have felt that the author is grasping at straws, but here everything adds nicely. It may just be that Doyle has had enough experience filling in every plot hole imaginable that one doesn't feel that he is lacking. He even goes as far to explain how an animal was fed while its master was away. These things showcase a brilliant writer who thinks about the aspects that a reader may notice or question.

This story made me desire to devour more Doyle in the future. I believe that reading some more Sherlock Holmes stories may be in my near future!

[carmenmilligan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It was good, but not great. One of the most popular and enduring detective series ever written? Well, I would rather read an Agatha Christie, I think. I still think about Ten Little Indians...

Don't get me wrong, I liked the book and enjoyed reading it, but it doesn't make me want to run out and get another Sherlock Holmes book. However, nor will it keep me from reading another one, should it be recommended.

As for recommending this one, I would say that yes, you should read it. If for nothing else than it is of some repute and should be added to your read list based solely on that merit.

[rosa.mill · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The text was adapted extremely well however the style of the illustrations was a little bit to bright and happy for the tale. I felt like this should have had a darker illustration style.