As a dense yellow fog swirls through the streets of London, a deep melancholy has descended on Sherlock Holmes, who sits in a cocaine-induced haze at 221B Baker Street. His mood is only lifted by a visit from a beautiful but distressed young woman - Mary Morstan, whose father vanished ten years before. Four years later she began to receive an exquisite gift every year: a large, lustrous pearl. Now she has had an intriguing invitation to meet her unknown benefactor and urges Holmes and Watson to accompany her. And in the ensuing investigation - which involves a wronged woman, a stolen hoard of Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian, a helpful dog and a love affair - even the jaded Holmes is moved to exclaim, 'Isn't it gorgeous!' -Goodreads The Sign of FourThe Sign of Four was incredibly interesting and intriguing. I loved it's unpredictable plotline and interesting characters. Even today, Arthur Conan Doyle keeps young readers engaged with his stories.
To be honest, when I first started reading 'The Complete Sherlock Holmes' I thought it was going to be a struggle against a slow moving plot and old english. But I was glad to be absolutely wrong! Quite soon after starting this eyebrow-raising adventure, I was enthralled by the tale. This is a great book for teens, and although it might be hard to convince them to try because it was published so long ago, it truly is a timeless classic. The specific things I liked about this book are as follows; I may have already mentioned this, but I adore the interesting variety of characters. Sherlock himself is, having heard of him as we all have, what I expected, and yet not at all what I expected. Dr Watson I had no previous expectations about, and yet he is the character we relate to most in the book and is the well-written entry-point into their London. There are many other curious and wonderful characters, but I don't want to spoil it and they are all the more interesting for being discovered on ones own. I also liked the fresh and unpredictable plotline. With a lot of books these days, the plotlines are cliche and predictable. It makes me value all the more a book that takes me by surprise, that I can't figure out. And lastly I am in wonder about the good authorship of this book. Sometimes it is hard to find a really well written book, well, I can honestly say that this book is well written. Things I didn't like; The things I didn't like are a scarcity since I loved this book, but I'm not sure about, as you can see in the blurb, the cocaine. It makes an understandable and completely realistic picture of what it's use is, and it does contribute to the story...but I don't like the use of drugs in books, even if it contributes to the story. I don't like how Doyle doesn't elaborate as to how it's bad for you. Some parents don't want their kid to learn about drugs too early and that's understandable, for that reason you may not want your younger kids to read this one. But just so you know cocaine isn't mentioned a lot, but it is mentioned. 'Study in Scarlet' doesn't mention any cocaine and I highly recommend it too, as another option. All in all I give Doyle's 'The Sign of Four' a 5/5! Great characters, writing, and storyline! I recommend it to anyone above 13. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the book! StoryGirl
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About MeI'm just a girl who loves to read (and also to listen to music, watch tv, and really anything that involves a story). Archives
December 2020
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