The Return of Sherlock Holmes

How it reads

The Return of Sherlock Holmes is mystery (detective mystery, specifically), and its dominant mood is tense. The suspense is the kind you feel in your shoulders. 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's light and escapist — easy to fall into.

It's a later book in a series — you'll usually want to start earlier. The ending resolves happily. At 455 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.