Review: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Case Book of Sherlock Holmes / 0-425-04822-5

This collection contains the following short stories:

- The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
- The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
- The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
- The Adventure of the Three Gables
- The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
- The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
- The Problem of Thor Bridge
- The Adventure of the Creeping Man
- The Adventure of the Lion's Mane
- The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
- The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
- The Adventure of the Retired Colourman

This much-neglected collection is often inexplicably left out of Sherlock Holmes anthologies despite the high quality of the cases herein. The Sussex Vampire case, in particular, is especially good and concerns a client who fears that his wife may have vampiric inclinations. Of course, with Holmes on the case, the answer soon becomes clear and is both more and less simple than originally believed. I suspect, in fact, that the disinclination to include this volume in most anthologies does not reflect the quality of the stories, but rather reflects their rarity and the belief that Holmes fans only want the stories they have already been exposed to. If you love Holmes even a little bit, check out this collection and lose yourself in the wonder world that is Sherlock Holmes.

~ Ana Mardoll

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