Ruby Loves Adventure

Summary from Goodreads: It is in this, the second Holmes novel, that the great detective comes fully to life - not only as a melancholic and an inscrutable master of deduction, but also as an incurable drug addict. "Which is it today?" Watson asks Holmes matter-of-factly on the opening page of the novel, "morphine or cocaine?" "It is cocaine," Holmes famously replies. "A seven-per-cent solution. Would you like to try it?" Mary Morstan comes to Holmes in the hope that he will be able to solve a mystery. Ten years earlier her father, Captain Arthur Morstan, had returned to London on leave from his regiment in India where it is said that he and one Thadeus Sholto, "came into possession of a considerable treasure." By the time his daughter arrived at his hotel, he had vanished without a trace. The Sign of Four remains a small masterpiece of suspense, and the novel has enjoyed a steady readership ever since its first publication in 1890.

Thoughts: Well now, I didn't expct any of the events to happen one after another: a young girl triggers Holmes and Watson to help her find out what had happened to her father, then they discover a death, a native, a man without a leg, and end up with a river chase in the Thames. Oooh. Heartpounding. The book has the same formula: Holmes will eventually apprehend the perpetrator, and the last chapter/few pages of the book would provide a back story on the perp. Which oerall, provides a great conclusion to the tale.

In this book, Holmes is getting even more addicted to drugs, and Watson gets to fall in love. They all get their insecurities and their problems, providing more of an insight in the main characters as compared to the first book, which was just an introduction to them.

Although some parts of the story can't be relatable now [well, we are so technologically advanced now, who would ever think of consulting the newspapers or using telegraph machines to convey messsages anymore?] Holmes and Watson will forever remain to be amazing characters, well, considering the number of movie and telly show adaptations that have already been out over the years.

Published: 1800s
Available From: everywhere!
Publisher: Don't know - i think this is now availabel for free since the 100 year license is up!
Book was: read using the 1001 Classic Novels iPod Application.
Rating: 3/5