The Valley of Fear (Pocket Penguin Classics)
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Product Description
Product Description
From the annals of Dr Watson comes this dark tale of Sherlock Holmes’ early encounter with Professor Moriarty. When Holmes and Watson receive a cipher from one of Moriarty’s henchmen warning of dark doings at a manor house, they find themselves on the trail of a murderer.
Almost immediately, they are on their way to Sussex where they discover a corpse with its head blown to pieces. But all is not as it seems. For the origins of this case lie in America, and involve a Pinkerton’s man and the doings of a terrible and secretive lodge ...
About the Author
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh in 1859 and died in 1930. Penguin publish all the books about the great detective, A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow, The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, The Uncollected Sherlock Holmes and The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
'I am inclined to think -' said I. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
'I am inclined to think -' said I. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This novel is classic conan doyle. The first half of the book is sherlock at his best though I did guess half of the plot with the introduction of the "history leaflet" There is some criticism on these reviews about the "scowrers" section but I enjoyed it and the twist at the end was not something I expected and was a really thrilling climax.
Essential reading for holmes fans, probably wouldn't start with it if I was new to the Holmes saga...
Essential reading for holmes fans, probably wouldn't start with it if I was new to the Holmes saga...
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Two previous reviewers have criticised this work, resulting in what I take to be an overly low star-rating that might put people off purchasing what is a fantastic, fast-paced, clever and absorbing addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon.
'The Big Pink One' alleges that there is not enough Sherlock in the novel, and that the first half of the book is significantly better than the clicheed second half, which describes the exploits amongst the crime-gang the 'Scowrers' in America. However, the first part is absolutely classic Sherlock - complete with an apparently impossible case, magnificent deduction and set pieces, and a surprising conclusion. In fact, the first part reads like a classic Holmes short story. The expansive drama of the second half allows Doyle to immerse himself and his characters in the corrupt mining valleys of America, where a quite brutal description of gang life unfolds. This again contains a twist which is hard to see coming, leading to a satisfying conclusion. Finally, in the Epilogue, the two parts are neatly connected with a satisfying conclusion, poignancy, and an indication to future Holmes cases. Plenty of good stuff here!
'Mary Whipple' criticises the second part of the novel and how it doesn't fit very well with the first. She also objects to Moriarty's role in the novel, though he was supposedly killed off previously. However, though 'The Valley of Fear' was written after 'The Final Problem' in which Moriarty falls, it is SET beforehand in the Sherlock Holmes universe. This chronology is common with many of the Holmes tales, and so isn't a problem. I also think that the two parts fit together perfectly. In fact, the 'flashback' technique used by Dolye is quite common in literature, and used to great effect here. The plot twists are satisfying and surprising, and in the second half there is some magnificent writing and a genuine sense of excitement in the text.
Similar in format to 'A Study In Scarlet', 'The Valley of Fear' fully deserves its place amongst the canon of the great four Sherlock Holmes novel-length stories. A great, absorbing and fast-paced read.
'The Big Pink One' alleges that there is not enough Sherlock in the novel, and that the first half of the book is significantly better than the clicheed second half, which describes the exploits amongst the crime-gang the 'Scowrers' in America. However, the first part is absolutely classic Sherlock - complete with an apparently impossible case, magnificent deduction and set pieces, and a surprising conclusion. In fact, the first part reads like a classic Holmes short story. The expansive drama of the second half allows Doyle to immerse himself and his characters in the corrupt mining valleys of America, where a quite brutal description of gang life unfolds. This again contains a twist which is hard to see coming, leading to a satisfying conclusion. Finally, in the Epilogue, the two parts are neatly connected with a satisfying conclusion, poignancy, and an indication to future Holmes cases. Plenty of good stuff here!
'Mary Whipple' criticises the second part of the novel and how it doesn't fit very well with the first. She also objects to Moriarty's role in the novel, though he was supposedly killed off previously. However, though 'The Valley of Fear' was written after 'The Final Problem' in which Moriarty falls, it is SET beforehand in the Sherlock Holmes universe. This chronology is common with many of the Holmes tales, and so isn't a problem. I also think that the two parts fit together perfectly. In fact, the 'flashback' technique used by Dolye is quite common in literature, and used to great effect here. The plot twists are satisfying and surprising, and in the second half there is some magnificent writing and a genuine sense of excitement in the text.
Similar in format to 'A Study In Scarlet', 'The Valley of Fear' fully deserves its place amongst the canon of the great four Sherlock Holmes novel-length stories. A great, absorbing and fast-paced read.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Poor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. All he wanted to do was write historical drama and dinosaur novels, but he could never escape his most famous creation. He couldn't even kill him properly. So like a character from a zombie movie, Sherlock Holmes rises, once again, for one more case, on the proviso that the reader also tolerates a Holmes-free story within the story. In the style of the early Holmes novels, this is a 'game of two halves': a mystery with Holmes investigating a classic 'closed system' murder, followed by a novella set many years before. The problem with The Valley of Fear is that the first part is so much better than the second, which suffers from a tedious plot, soap-opera dialogue, preposterous characters, and worst of all, no Sherlock. The result: its probably the least enjoyable Holmes novel.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
He should have stopped at the 3rd book.
Doyle seemed to have wrote this book under protest,it brought to mind a spoilt pop star who would sing their greatest hits under protest because they were sick to the back teeth of... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Chris
"Am I never going to get out of the Valley of Fear?"
The last of the four complete Sherlock Holmes novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Valley of Fear gives the reader two plots for the price of one. Read more
Published on 15 Jan 2009 by Mary Whipple
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