Short Review: The Adventure of the Speckled Band

The Adventure of the Speckled Band

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Short #8 from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
-- Book 3 of Sherlock Holmes
*Audio Part from The Complete Sherlock Holmes | Narrated by Simon Vance

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  3.0 Stars

Helen Stoner consults Sherlock Holmes about the death of her twin sister, Julia, who died before her wedding, crying that: "it was the Speckled Band!"  Holmes must investigate their mother's estate and the unpleasant Dr. Roylott, Helen's stepfather, who allows gypsies to camp on his estate and has both a cheetah and a baboon running amok in the grounds.   But can Helen be believed?  Is Dr Roylott as bad as he seems?   And can the specked handkerchiefs worn about the necks of the gypsies really be a coincidence?

Said to Dr. Watson:

I shall be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket.  An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pikes into knots.  That and a tooth-brush are, I think, all that we need.

They sure do travel light.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band is a very short mystery involving the unexplained death of a woman, and her mysterious parting words to her twin sister:

‘Oh, my God!  Helen!  It was the band!  The speckled band!’

And so Helen Stoner consults with Sherlock Holmes to investigate the reason behind her twin sister, Julia's death--a tragic event that happened right before the victim's wedding.

As far as mysteries go, this one wasn't all that difficult to ascertain the main culprit.  In fact, I'm of the impression that there hadn't even been any conscious effort to keep readers in the dark about who killed Julia Stoner.  I figure that the 'how she was killed' was the true mystery.

Nonetheless, this is a short and enjoyable story, written charmingly, and again show-casing the arrogant cleverness of Sherlock Holmes.

On a side note: This is the second Sherlock story I've read--actually I listened to The Complete Sherlock Holmes audio book narrated by Simon Vance.  A rather nice way to pass the time when you have multitasking to do and want to listen to a short story.

But that's a moot point.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• Mount TBR Challenge
• 2016 Halloween Bingo