This collection of Sherlock Holmes stories is coming April 9 from Penguin's Little Clothbound Classics: "irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith." It contains five of the most popular short stories featuring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective: "A Scandal in Bohemia", "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle", "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", "The Adventure of Silver Blaze", and "The Final Problem."
The selection of these particular stories gives a range of the detective's abilities. "A Scandal in Bohemia" shows him using disguises, smoke bombs, and other ruses to discover the hidden location of an incriminating photograph. "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" offers a look at how Holmes takes cases which interest him, not worrying about whether they will make him rich and famous, and also the notion that he sometimes makes his own decisions about justice and does not always involve the police. "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is a great locked room mystery that he has solved before he even confronts the speckled band itself. "The Adventure of Silver Blaze" gives us the classic line about "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time" and how a lack of something may also be a clue. And, of course, "The Final Problem" takes us to the confrontation with Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls.
This is not meant to be a complete collection of everything Sherlock, instead it gives us a range of cases and an illustration of his methods. For those who want a small set of gems from among the jewels of all the adventures, this is just the right size.
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