Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle | Teen Ink

Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

July 25, 2010
By bookcrazy PLATINUM, Rocky Hill, Connecticut
bookcrazy PLATINUM, Rocky Hill, Connecticut
35 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Maybe I wasn’t a Nancy Drew fanatic, but I used to devour every book I could find in the Boxcar Children series and The New Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley series as a child. I was a huge mystery reader back then, but not anymore. Picking up a mystery book again, in fact one of the best in the genre like The Hound of the Baskervilles, proved to loads to fun.

As this is my first Sherlock Holmes book, I’m not sure how the narration works in the other books but I loved it here. I’m glad that the story was told through the perspective of Dr. Watson, Holmes’ assistant. The infamous detective Sherlock Holmes is too cold and arrogant of a man and I probably couldn’t have put up with him if he took the front seat of the action. I liked how the readers got a chance to see Holmes’ wits and logic in the beginning before he went behind-the-scenes for the majority of the book until the very end. This allows Watson to shine through; his loyal charming personality as opposed to Holmes’ personality puts a twist to the story. (Apparently, in the book previous to this one, Holmes had died jumping off a cliff, but the public was so heartbroken that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had to start writing books pre-dating other Homes books. He sort of brought Holmes back from the dead this way.)

The resolution was predictable, but nonetheless, I enjoyed it. The daunting English moors, the beautiful descriptions, the page-turning plot with twists and surprises, and the interesting characters made up a great mystery.


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on Jan. 25 2012 at 3:40 am
ILOVESHERLOCK PLATINUM, Sydney, Other
31 articles 0 photos 36 comments

Favorite Quote:
All your dreams can come true, if you have the courage to pursue them. - Walt Disney

Sherlock Holmes is the best detective ever - I'm so glad you like this book, now you have to read the rest!

on Jan. 16 2011 at 4:18 pm
Imaginedangerous PLATINUM, Riverton, Utah
31 articles 0 photos 402 comments

I've read them all, and you're right that Watson is one of the greatest narrators ever. I didn't like 'Hound of the Baskervilles' much, though, because the middle (without Holmes) got boring. The end was great!

 

(Just a side note about your review- while it's pretty well written, the part about Holmes's death was unecessary and would ruin some of the stories for someone who hasn't read them yet.)