#45: The Hound of the Baskervilles

Doyle, Arthur Conan: The Hound of the Baskervilles. London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1986. Print. 236 pages.

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SETTING: London, England and Dartmoor in south Devon, England.

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SUMMARY: The most recent baronet of Baskerville Hall is found dead, presumably having died of a heart attack.  A close family friend, however, believes his death is due to a centuries old family curse resurfacing.  Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are implored to investigate the mystery and ensure the safety of the next Baskerville in line to adopt the position of baronet.

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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'...You interest me very much, Mr. Holmes.  I had hardly expected so dolichocephalic a skull or such well-marked supraorbital development.  Would you have any objection to my running my finger along your parietal fissure?  A cast of your skull, sir, until the original is available, would be an ornament to any anthropological museum.  It is not my intention to be fulsome, but I confess that I covet your skull.'" - Chapter 1, pages 8-9.

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I finally made time to visit my favorite used bookstore in DC!  And I came away with not only this treasure, but an Agatha Christie novel as well (which will be my next read)!  I was looking for a comfortable, relaxing read, preferably a mystery by an author I already liked.  It's probably terrible to say this, but I wasn't in the mood to try something new and take a chance at being disappointed.  Sherlock Holmes novels definitely fit into the "books I'm guaranteed to enjoy" category :)

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Things I liked about this book:

1. The ease with which the story is delivered.  I've always been satisfied with the Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories because they are narrated in such a smooth and easy-going manner.  It's a relaxing read, and that's exactly what I was looking for.
2. Dr. Watson as the narrator.  It's a great choice for a narrator, as compared to using a third person narrator or Sherlock Holmes himself. 
3. Sherlock Holmes' activities during the entirety of the novel.  He is a sneaky man who isn't afraid of denting another character's pride in the name of solving the mystery. 
4. The Stapleton family.  I won't say more...
5. The ending.  As is seen in all of the Holmes stories, Doyle provides a nice synopsis of the entire story from Holmes' point of view.  It ties everything together very nicely, and supplies the reader with any details they may have missed.  It's like the pretty, pink bow on the package.

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Things I didn't like about this book:

1. NOTHING.  I got exactly what I was looking for :)

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This review is pretty sparse, but there isn't much else I feel like I need to share about this novel.  These types of story lines are simple and easy to follow, and, for lack of a better word, they are comfortable.  When life gets too busy, I like that comfort of having the perfect book at hand for my leisure-reading.  This novel met all of my criteria for such a book, and I couldn't be more satisfied.  I'm excited that I already have another such novel at hand!  The rest of this year will be very busy, and I will definitely look to these types of novels to provide me with a much needed distraction from everyday life.

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Recommend?  Yes!