Words Devoured: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

This was my first foray into Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series. I've always intended on reading these novels, I just hadn't had a chance to get around to it until I got my Kindle Touch. As one of the many free classics on Amazon, I was eager to download any of the Holmes novels I could find.

While this was my first of Doyle's novels, I have always been a fan of mysteries--including the fantastic Vish Puri series of mysteries by Tarquin Hall. Hall's rotund Indian crime is often called the Indian Sherlock Holmes, and I definitely see a resemblance now that I have read some of the Holmes series.

Sherlock Holmes is an instantly recognizable character. Many people know him through various movies, etc. Others know of him because he is such an iconic character. That I knew of him before I read the novel really helped me get into the work easily. He was already quite familiar.

Holmes is perspicacious, witty and incredibly smart. He notices things that his friend John Watson does not. It's incredibly astounding when Holmes wraps up his cases, and explains exactly what happened, and how it happened. I also greatly enjoy Holmes' analyses of the people he meets; his ability to tell what the person does and where he or she might be from. I wish I could be so astute!

For many of the stories--this is a collection of short words--I had no clue how Holmes figured out what he did, but when he explains it all it seems...well...not obvious... I enjoy that the stories are short within this novel. It allows for many mysteries in one handy package!

Something else I enjoyed is that these stories are case files, compiled by Watson. To the reader, this fact gives a nice insight into someone who spends his time with Holmes. It allows us to view Holmes through someone else's eyes, and gives us another viewpoint of him.

My favorite case in the novel is hard to narrow down. It is either "The Five Orange Pips" or "The Adventure of the Speckled Band". "Pips" was interesting because it was never truly solved as most of the cases have been. "Speckled Band" is truly mind-boggling, that is, until Holmes solves the case.

I have two other Holmes novels to read, and cannot wait until I have a chance to start them! I look forward to further adventures with Sherlock Holmes and John Watson!