The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes #7)


The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes #7) by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Blurb:

The deadly hand of Professor Moriarty once more reaches out to commit a vile and ingenious crime, but a mole in Moriarty's criminal organization alerts Sherlock Holmes of the evil deed by means of a cipher . . .
When Holmes and Watson arrive at a Sussex manor house they appear to be too late. The discovery of a body suggests that Moriarty's henchmen have been at their work. But there is much more to this tale of murder than at first meets the eye.

Review:

Holmes smiled. He was always warmed by genuine admiration – the characteristic of the real artist.

Once I realized that this one would be a Moriarty-story my excitement-levels cranked up to … well, I don't know exactly to what but it was a lot! Sadly, while The Valley of Fear was an interesting case it wasn't what I had hoped for, it felt more like a set-up than a case of it's own, especially because the second part is entirely separated from Holmes & Co.

"Well, the name has a familiar sound. Someone in a novel, was he not? I don't take much stock of detectives in novels – chaps that do things and never let you see how they do them. That's just inspiration: not business."

Generally, this really was more of a disappointment: the character moments weren't as great as in The Hound of the Baskervilles, nor was the case as confusing and don't even get me started on the second half of the book. I saw through McMurdo right from the beginning and ended up just waiting for "the big reveal" which, consequently, really wasn't all that big for me.

"Have no fears, boys; for we have a dozen witnesses that we are in the Union Bar at this very moment."

Rating:

It's really not that bad, if it came across like I disliked the story, but it also wasn't particularly good. I so wish I'd get some kind of true Moriarty vs. Holmes showdown. Well, anyway this one gets a 3/5 stars from me.

Details:

Name: The Valley of Fear
Deutscher Titel: Das Tal der Angst/des Grauens (Beides funktioniert, anscheinend?)
Series: Sherlock Holmes
Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Previous Books in this Series: Eine Studie in Scharlachrot (#1), Das Zeichen der Vier (#2), Die Abenteuer des Sherlock Holmes (#3), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (#4) The Hound of the Baskervilles (#5) The Return of Sherlock Holmes (#6)
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 240

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