Latest Reads

Just over a week into the new year I already have three books under my belt - all mysteries.

Two were by Sherlock Holmes tales by Arthur Conan Doyle - The Sign of Four and The Valley of Fear. The third was a Tony Hillerman, The Ghostway.

The Sign of Four was promoted by a friend as the best of the Holmes novellas. It does add details about Holmes - such as Toby and the Baker Street Irregulars. And it introduces Mary, the future Mrs' Watson. It was okay -  I still like The Hound of the Baskervilles better. Plus, this one displaces the kind of racist attitudes shown by the upper classes in England in the late Nineteenth Century, and that left me uncomfortable.

The Valley of Fear seemed like two stories lumped together. The mystery part wat the firt half of the novella, and, to be honest, I guess the main "surprise" in the first couple of chapters. There were a few details I did not guess, but I was right about the most important things. The second part of the book is the back story that helped to explain some elements of the mystery part. I found that part of the novella well-written and far more interesting than the mystery. 

As for The Ghostway, typical Hillerman. Well-written and interesting. I like the character of Chee: intelligent, determined, willing to take risks, and sometimes making bad decisions. 

I like the Hillerman far more than I did the Doyles.

Pax et bonum