The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9) ★★★☆☆

~ Bookstooge

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Title: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
Series: Sherlock Holmes #9
Author: Arthur Doyle
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 309
Words: 84K

A bunch of short stories to round out and end the career of Sherlock Holmes. While nothing was really good, nothing was bad and I feel like this book sums up my overall experience with Holmes.

I’ve always thought I was strictly an idea guy when it came to stories and that the characters were simply meant as bones to hang the “idea” on. Well, reading Holmes has made me realize that I’ve changed and I like a good, fleshed out and relatable character. Holmes and Watson are none of those and so it makes it hard for me to enjoy these. Of course, it might just be the era that Doyle wrote in. Then I realize that Dickens didn’t write like this, at all, so I think it was all on Doyle. When I’m reading a collection of short stories like this, I don’t expect great characterization, but none of the previous novels have ever given that to me either, so I can’t even rely on that.

While I am glad to have finally read the entire Holmes canon, I don’t foresee myself ever wanting to re-read these. I want something more than they offer and I don’t think the future me is suddenly going to want that “lack” and thus desire to try these again 😀

★★★☆☆

22 thoughts on “The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9) ★★★☆☆”

  1. That’s interesting. I would have thought Sherlock to be a pretty good character. Especially in the later stories though I think it was just assumed you knew who he was and Doyle didn’t have to put any ore work in.

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    1. It might be the kind of character, ie, emotionless and refusing to understand anyone who thinks/acts differently, but I didn’t find him engaging at all in this final book

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    2. Seconded. I’d also argue that Sherlock and Watson both do have actual personalities, although they’re….hm…thinner? than modern writers would make them–no details on Watson’s PTSD, for example, or descriptions of Holmes’ needle marks getting infected, etc. But you do get Watson’s getting tongue-tied in front of his love interest, or exasperated with Holmes’ untidiness.

      We’re so far beyond the time when basic detective work in stories was groundbreaking, that the stories themselves seem really unspecial.

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      1. This is why I mentioned Dickens. Our current cycle of over-world building isn’t necessarily a new thing at all. But “thinner” is an apt description indeed. Reminds me of those stories from WWII where they describe putting margarine on a piece of bread.

        And that’s why I think the classics really need to be read first, in general. While I would love to think that Nero Wolfe is the best fictional detective, he wouldn’t have a place to be great in without Doyle having broken the ground.

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    1. Hahahahahahahaahahahaha!!!!!!
      (you’ll understand in a minute why I am laughing)

      Yes, I gave Dame Agatha the ol’ College Try.
      I really enjoyed some of her standalone stories but it was only 50/50 and that wasn’t good enough.

      As for that jackass Poirot. Never in my entire life have I hated a literary character as much as I hated Poirot. We are talking I would kill Baby Poirot over Baby Hitler levels of hate. he was arrogant to the point where I would have gladly murdered him and taken the consequences. He was a condescending little euro-trash piece of filth that I would gladly have throttled to death while throwing both of us under a train just to make sure the job was done. And I could keep going on. I really could.

      So you see why I laughed 😀

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            1. I read them in my early teens Booky and I was a right Francophile at the time, (it could have been worse) so I was quite happy with him even though he was Belgian and up his own back bottom.

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            2. I like the book character too! Being arrogant comes with the territory of being a great detective. Holmes and Poe’s Dupin set the model. And who was more arrogant than Nero Wolfe?? The only ‘umble detective I can think of off the top of my head is Father Brown, and he’s about the only fictional detective that I can’t stand because it’s all false humility and he’s really the most superior jerk of them all.

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              1. See, I don’t think Holmes is arrogant at all. Wolfe definitely is but for whatever reason, it comes across as “cute and endearing” to me. But Poirot I literally want to choke to death.

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  3. I’ve never read Holmes (and I’m seeing a pattern here. Hardly read any shakespeare… I AM feeling like a heathen) but maybe it’s a matter of I wouldn’t enjoy them anyway so it’s for the all the best

    I have read some mash ups though of Holmes and Cthulhu by James Lovegrove, which were… okayish.

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    1. Nobody springs to mind. I’m not a huge mystery fan and I’ve already tried (and given up on) both Christie and Sayers.

      I would like to try the Mrs Pollifax series by Dorothy Gilman, but so far can’t find library copies in ebook version. I’m not paying 100 for them on amazon, that’s for sure!

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