The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

How it reads

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is mystery (detective fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a big city setting, in the historical past, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are justice and secrets. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It opens a series. The ending resolves happily. At 389 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.