The Hound of the Baskervilles

It is no secret that The Hound of the Baskervilles, the third Sherlock Holmes novel is the best of the lot. Compared to the first two, which are essentially long short-stories, Arthur Conan Doyle sets the stage here for a village of multiple characters and a creepy tale. I had the most thrilling bedtime chills this week reading this novel before sleep. It totally reminded me of childhood nights spent with Famous Five, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and the like.

Dr. Watson takes center stage in this novel. Holmes sends him to the mysterious moor where an ancient curse of a ghostly hound has been killing off the Baskerville family. It is upto Watson to protect the last of the Baskervilles from certain death by this dog. Through the observations of Watson we get to see the characters of this distant village and thus begins the calculations in our mind as to which of them could be the killer and how this hound is being unleashed. Needless to say that Holmes appears before the end to wrap up the mystery. The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the surest ways to have exciting bedtime reading for a couple of nights.

Rating: 4/4

ISBN: 0241952875