The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is the second of the Sherlock Holmes short stories has his first case (as recounted to Watson), another early case, and introductions to Sherlock’s brother Mycroft and his archnemeis Professor Moriarty. It’s not as varied as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but it does have a couple of interesting cases. It reveals a lot about the Holmes so I think it’s worth the read in the canon. By this book, I find more reasons to adore Holmes and the Watson/Holmes relationship.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is the most famous of the Sherlock Holmes novels and has his most famous case. Of the three novels and one short story collection I have read so far, I am inclined to agree at least with the former. It is a rather good stand alone novel as you may not get the background on Holmes or Watson, but their characters are easily sketched. This novel has more than one mystery, and more red herrings as a result. The earlier two novels were not as layered. It is very gothic. Why is Devonshire so gothic? I guess it is the moors. Watson shines in this novel particularly. I think my appreciation of these stories and characters were cemented in this novel. The pacing, mystery, and likeability of this novel were all there.