Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Genre: Mystery (Classic/Softer-Edged)
Plot Summary:
Sherlock Holmes and his colleague are asked by Dr. James Mortimer to investigate the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville. Sir Charles was supposedly killed by an evil hound that has haunted the family for years. Holmes sends Watson to Devonshire to investigate and to watch out for the heir to Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry Baskerville Once there Watson must deal with not only the mystery of the hound, but an escaped murderer as well. In Devonshire Watson meets the suspects and begins the investigation.
He reports his finding to Holmes, and when Holmes turn up near the end of the story they begin to solve the puzzle and set a trap to catch the true culprit behind Sir Charles' death.
Geographical Setting: England, London, Devonshire
Time Period: Victorian England
Series: the fifth story of Sir Doyle's featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Appeal Characteristics:
Classic, great characters and setting. Holmes is the benchmark for the eccentric detective and the Devonshire setting sets an excellent mood for the story.
Read-alikes: For setting and an obnoxious detective Anthony Berkeley's Second Shot. For more Sherlock Holmes in a more modern style Laurie King. Anne Perry sets her novels in the same time period as Holmes. Colin Dexter's Insector Morse is highly intellegent and as irascible as Holmes. Carole Nelson Douglas takes one of the characters from the Holmes short story "Scandel in Bohemia" and gives her a series of her own.
Red Flags: Slight supernatural themes
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