In our last exciting episode, Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis Moriarty had fallen to their deaths at Reichenbach Falls, Switzerland. Yet here he is again in a collection of thirteen new short stories. How is that possible? Well, the answer is far from elementary, and you will have to read the first of the stories in this collection to find out the improbable answer.
Despite declaring that he did not intend to write any more stories about Sherlock Holmes, Doyle did eventually write The Hound of the Baskervilles after a seven year hiatus; three years after that, he produced this collection of stories.
The elapsed time has not changed Holmes or Watson, but it has changed the character of the stories. In many of them there is no crime to be solved, only problems - usually that of missing persons. I wouldn't be Robinson Crusoe if I said this collection is not as strong or as pleasing as the two volumes that preceded it, and I wonder how much of that can attributed to the absence of crime.
Having said that, I did spend several enjoyable weekends following the exploits of Holmes and Watson. True to form, I did not solve any of the cases. I didn't even come close. This is due to my own limitations and not those of the author. Doyle is a masterful storyteller, and he did take me on exciting and perplexing excursions into the English countryside. I look forward to sharing future rainy afternoons with Holmes and Watson in their continuing adventures.
I read the Oxford World's Classics edition which contained an informative introduction and enlightening end notes.
