Chronological Sherlock Holmes: The Resident Patient

Noon Light Reads Kicked off this challenge  this year and I'm excited to join in. Here is this weeks story:

The Resident Patient

I really enjoyed the mystery of this story. I had a hard time figuring out what the strange goings on entailed, but I was interested in learning the final result. It was also interesting seeing Holmes and Watson relate to another doctor.

The Beryl Coronet

This story annoyed me. Not only because the banker makes the stupidest mistake of bringing the most valuable of items home with him, but also because he doesnt keep it in the same room with him. So my annoyance didnt relent enough for me to enjoy the clues unwinding or the big reveal. I also was left with to many questions like how the lender of the crown reacted to it's being damaged and what he wanted the money for.  I did like the redemption of the son, but not much else.

The Red Circle

This was another short tale with some interesting mystery that has a climatic ending. I figured out part of the story in the first few pages, but I found the secret messages and unexpected abduction very interesting. The ending was a little anticlamatic and I thought it was strange we never got to see the main characters husband

The Yellow Face

This story was also a surprise to me. I thought I understood where the story was going but of course like Holmes himself my mind came up with a different solution. I didn't know that Doyle had covered topics like interracial marriage  or the Mormon  practice of multiple marriages. This was a very satisfying read.

 The Speckled Band 

What surprised me about this story was how familiar it felt. Especially since i hadn't read it before. I think it's a testament to  how much Holmes stories have influenced work for decades to come. It was wonderfully creepy when Doyle writes about Holmes just standing there watching Watson sleep. I was also creeped out by the finale with the snake. A very thrilling story.

A Study In Scarlet

The most interesting part of this story was the shocking descriptions of the forced marriages in some Mormon communities. This story is so heartbreaking and yet it's so iconic because we see the first meeting of this classic duo!     

The Musgrave Ritual

This story was another dip into Holmes past. We learn that at the time of this story Holmes was living on his own trying to formulate his deductive theories into a career. When he meets a college friend he takes on the case of a missing butler. I enjoyed the opening pages a lot in this story. Seeing a little of the duos's living situation was very funny. It was also a little sad to read that Holmes would sink into lack of activity, and almost a depressed state. 

I found this cool book at Barnes & Noble's bargin books table and I enjoy the little summaries of the stories along with puzzles and historical information.:

The Gloria Scott

This was my first time reading this story and there were a lot of elements I enjoyed. First off we get to see a little of what Holmes was like during his school days. It was also intersting watching Holmes have a friendship with someone other than Watson ! I really only thought that Watson was the only man on earth that could deal with his personality.

Trevor was a great character and having the mystery around this story lead to Trevor's home was a nice story thread. I enjoyed how the story unfolded and the resolution.