Outside of a Dog: Kate Nepveu's Book Log

The other short stories I read were those in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, which were collectively somewhat disappointing. Also, the Strand put frontspiece illustrations with these, frequently spoiling the entire story.

The first is "The Adventure of the Empty House," in which Holmes is revealed to be Not Dead after all. This one has a mystery that is unfortunately no mystery at all from a modern perspective; it actually took me a minute to realize why the killing was perplexing to the characters. The other stories of note are "The Adventure of the Priory School," in which Holmes does something extremely out of character regarding money; "The Adventure of Black Peter," in which Holmes, harpoon in hand, tries to transfix a dead pig in a single blow; "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton," in which Holmes and Watson go a-burgling; and "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange," which is the first time I remember Holmes telling Watson that the game is afoot. Many of the other stories are unremarkable, either predictable or somewhat repetitive.

Two other things I noticed. First, Lestrade hardly appears, and the police officer role is largely filled by young Hopkins; cynically, I think that's because Lestrade's been around long enough that Holmes can't show him up as easily. Second, Watson (or Doyle, really) takes an inconsistent approach to confidential or embarrassing client information: sometimes making a big deal about changing names, sometimes ignoring the problem completely, sometimes writing stories that, if they were really true, couldn't be written no matter how many details were obscured. This happens in the occasional Wolfe story, as well, and it always ruins whatever suspension of disbelief I've managed to build up. These stories worked well enough as bedtime distractions, but they are definitely not the best of the lot.