Tigerpetal Press : Book Review: The Return of Sherlock Holmes

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I liked it; it was good

This is the third collection of short stories I’m reading from my Arcturus boxed set! I know for certain that it comes after The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

Read: March 30 – March 31, 2024

Audience: General
Book contains: murder, attempted murder, death, crime

Purchase a copy from Amazon.ca

I Love Unraveling the Mysteries!

The podcast I found for this book was called The Return of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This time, I added the stories to my Audiobooks playlist in the order they appear in my book, so I could listen to them one after another.

I solved fewer of these tales as I was reading, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the mysteries spun by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I also understand that he was tired of the character, which was why he orchestrated the detective’s death in The Final Problem and only came back to him due to reader demand. Nonetheless, the quality of the stories didn’t seem to dip in any noticeable way.

First Case

The Empty House is the first case after Sherlock Holmes returns from the dead, and he startles John Watson into a near faint. This case follows Watson and Holmes as they hunt down the last of Moriarty’s network.

I love Holmes’ dramatics! He seriously had to disguise himself and give Watson the shock of his life when he revealed the fact that he wasn’t dead after all. Poor Watson…

Second Case

The Norwood Builder is a frame job. A builder in Norwood has been murdered, and their client is the number one suspect, He comes to him to help clear his name.

I was following along with the clues of this one and found it a delight! A super cool twist at the end that I wasn’t expecting, but I loved the way Sherlock proved he arrogant detective inspector wrong as always.

Third Case

The Dancing Men involves the woes of a husband whose American wife is receiving disturbing coded messages. Holmes and Watson take the case to crack the code and inform their client of his wife’s secret troubles.

One case where Holmes is too late, but he solves the case nonetheless, and I loved that my copy included pictures of the code, so if I wished, I could’ve set the book aside and tried cracking it myself.

Fourth Case

The Solitary Cyclist brings a female client for Holmes—a woman who cycles to work as a music teacher but is disturbed by a man who follows her on another bicycle for a stretch along the road. A scheme of inheritance is afoot.

I loved this client, as she is stubborn, independent, and courageous, which is rare for Victorian literature. I also found it amusing when Holmes sent Watson out to search for clues and Watson missed pretty much everything important.

Fifth Case

The Priory School is another one that must’ve inspired an episode in the BBC’s Sherlock as it includes the disappearance of a young boy of wealth from a boarding school. Holmes’ client is the distressed schoolmaster.

This tale included a map of the grounds and where the boy might’ve gone. There’s a bit of fun misdirect in this one!

Sixth Case

The sixth case is about the murder of an old sea captain who was speared with a harpoon. Black Peter is the tale that begins with Holmes walking in after harpooning a dead pig—one of my favourite unexplained (now explained) scenes in the Sherlock series.

There’s nearly a wrongful arrest, but this is one case in which I don’t feel bad at all about the victim’s death. He sounded like a proper brute! I feel like justice was done.

Seventh Case

This case got a whole episode of the BBC series, though the name was changed, as few a few other details. Charles Augustus Milverton (Magnussen in the series) is a case involving the Napolean of blackmail, whom Sherlock must negotiate with for the return of a packet of letters that will ruin a young lady’s engagement.

This story really ended with a bang! And with Holmes and Watson on the wrong side of the law. Luckily they didn’t get caught!

Eighth Case

The Six Napoleons was changed to The Six Thatchers in the series, but a lot of the tale was carried over. The storyline of the memory card and Mary’s old agent partners was invented for the series, however.

This case was cleverly constructed, but it was no match for Holmes. I was surprised to discover what was concealed in the plaster busts, even though I shouldn’t have been. I smacked myself for my foolishness.

Ninth Case

The Three Students is not a case of murder but of espionage. The papers of an illustrious exam at an even more prestigious school have been tampered with, and they must discover the culprit—one of three students—before the exam takes place the following morning.

This is a case where I’m not upset with myself for not figuring it out. It was one in which Sherlock discovers an incredibly important clue without informing Watson about it, so we weren’t given quite enough information to figure it out ahead of time.

Tenth Case

The Golden Pince-Nez is a fascinating tale about the murder of a secretary in a closed house—nearly a locked door mystery! It is brought by Inspector Stanley Hopkins, who seems to be the inspector with the most respect for Holmes and his methods.

I admit I had no idea what a pince-nez was before reading this story. They’re a pair of glasses, apparently—the ones without temples, just the lenses and bridge (and maybe a chain).

Eleventh Case

Holmes is retained to solve the disappearance of a soccer/football player in The Missing Three-Quarter. The truth behind the disappearance is heart-rending.

I had little interest in this case because I’m not so much into sports and didn’t understand a lot of what was said by the client, who used a lot of sports jargon. Holmes seemed to be in the same boat, as he doesn’t follow sports either.

Twelfth Case

The Abbey Grange, another case brought by Inspector Hopkins, appeared simple at first—an open and shut burglary and murder—but Holmes’ gut feeling drove him to dig deeper. And he was right.

This case was super fun to read. The misdirect was interesting, and I always love hearing about an inspector who actually respects and admires Holmes rather than begrudgingly asking for his help.

Thirteenth Case

The Second Stain is a lot like The Naval Treaty from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, in which a massively important document that may lead to civil unrest had been taken.

I was expecting this culprit, as they were acting strange throughout the story, but I couldn’t have guessed their reasoning for stealing the documents.

Overall

I saw a few more cases that I recognized as inspiration for cases in the Sherlock TV series, including Charles Augustus Magnussen and The Empty Herse.

I highly recommend these short stories to anyone and everyone who loves mysteries and detective tales. Sherlock Holmes is absolutely the detective.