A bit of an anti-climax when the villain is revealed 3/4 of the way through the story! There weren't too many options for the outcome of this, and not too much mystery, but not bad. I think I like the quirkiness of the short stories better. ( )

One of Doyle’s better known Holmes stories, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is one that begins in benign city drudgery and ends in the sensational, sensual moors of the countryside. A family history, plagued by the evil tale of a spiritual being, imposes itself on the pragmatic and scientific modernity of Holmes and Watson’s practice, throwing them for a ghostly loop.

When I was in third grade, I “read” the Hound of the Baskervilles. I had been given a collection of Doyle’s Holmes stories by some well-intentioned relative and being the avid little reader that I was, dug in. I remember very few of the the other stories but because I was, even (or especially) at 9, an avid animal advocate, I remember the The Hound.

At least I thought I did. When I am distressed about the things my son (currently 19 months) is reading in seven and a half years, I’ll have to remind myself that The Hound stuck with me in little part regarding the plot. The tawdry implied love affairs and inherent violence had no effect on me at that age. I think I read it simply because of the dog.

Of course, as a 26 year old, Watson’s recount of the countryside drama, packed with supernatural intrigue, holds much more weight. There are great writers still working today and they’ll certainly do in a pinch but there is nothing quite like the witty one liners and beautiful mysterious prose of Dolye’s stories. Through and through its tiny entirety, the Hound of the Baskerville is fantastic craftsmanship and an inevitable crowd favorite. ( )

Didn't really enjoy it like his other works, found it too dragging and the mystery isn't that really complex. ( )

This novella is quite the classic - and one of the longest-standing books on my TBR list - so I'm glad I was finally, ever so gently pushed into reading it by my ABC challenge. Basic story: Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson get called in to investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Sir Charles Baskerville, and to protect his heir, Sir Henry, from falling foul of the family curse - the dreaded Hound of the Baskervilles, a demonic monster on the moors. Twists unfold, characters become suspects before falling out of suspicion again... poor Dr Watson struggles to fulfil his detective duties in the bleak Devonshire countryside, and Sherlock Holmes sits quietly in the background, smoking his pipe, cultivating his ego, and like the Miss Marple of classic literature, forming spectacular conclusions from overlooked details. The joy of this novel is that the likeable Dr Watson narrates the tale, so his fear and curiosity becomes our own without clever Holmes spoiling the excitement by working everything out too quickly.

Even though I've seen the television adaptation (starring Richard Roxburgh and Ian Hart) a couple of times, I still couldn't remember all the details of the climactic unravelling of the mystery - and there is something fundamentally chilling about the bleak moors, the craggy limestone and treacherous marshes, and the blood-freezing howl of the unseen, fiendish hell-hound echoing across the empty landscape. A very, very good little book. ( )

I have only read 3 chapters and I can conclude this much: Although Sherlock is very bright and clever, he is a total snot. I much prefere my dear Dr. Watson. Good thing he is narrating, or this novel would be terribly boring.

This copy of the Conan Doyle wonderful story is bruised and battered but I bought it anyway, I bought it from Buy the Book in Kinsale, Ireland. I was intrigued by the other label in the book advertising Cite du Livre, Nessim Mustacchi & Cie, Alexandria, Egypt. ( )

A fairly enjoyable tale, but not at all what I expected. This was my first experience with Sherlock Holmes, and I must say I was just a bit put off by it. Holmes has a cocky, uber-intelligent manner of solving mysteries, which would be great if we got to share in the fun. Give me all the details...all the little things I should have noticed about a person's demeanor or dress, and then let me be blow away when Holmes points out all the clues I glazed over in the first. Don't go ahead and loudly boast about what you've found without giving the reader the thrill of the hunt as well! I want a chance to be stupefied by Holmes! I want to say, "Ah! I completely missed that!", not, "Oh, well, how would I have known anyway?" Is it the age or style that leaves out this thread of audience participation? I do admit, I'm very new to the mystery genre, so maybe I've just grown accustomed to the subtle sleights-of-hand in the more modern works. I will give Doyle and Holmes another shot at some point...it just won't be anytime soon. ( )

I purchased this in 1987 and it is one of the books that I often reread. ( )

I’m not sure I’m that big of fan reading about Sherlock Holmes. This one was interesting in the fact that it stayed with the same story throughout unlike in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes it bounces around a lot, but that kind of mystery just really isn’t my style.

This book is one of long story novels which were written by Conan Doyle.

The affair occured in the dismal.

A old man died of heart attack accidentally.He had seemed to be surprised by something.

What is thing that surprise him ?

It`s a very big dog like a beast!!

After then a few people who are relative of Baskervilles was dying. In addition prisoner broke jail….

The situation is more complex!!

What threaten the Baskervilles?

This story is little long and difficult,but it`s very thrilling!!

I want you to read it once. ( )

A classic.

"The Hound" does not have the most intricate plot, but it's tight and mostly believable. The imagery is striking and for me really takes the book up to a higher rating: I enjoyed the descriptions of the dark and foggy moors, the phantom hound baying, and the butler's creepy doings in the night - all of which created a very distinctive tone. Along with these types of elements, Holmes and his sidekick Watson have spawned so much of what we see today in books, TV, and film.

Favorite quote:
"My body has remained in this armchair, and has, I regret to observe, consumed in my absence two large pots of coffee and an incredible amouont of tobacco."

The short story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" was also included in this edition, and I was very surprised to read that Doyle considered it his best Holmes story. The setup is intriguing but the conclusion is far too contrived. ( )

The Hound of the Baskervilles was my first expedition into the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes, and I greatly enjoyed the experience. As I have no means of comparison, I am not sure whether the style of the novel is consistent or singular in terms of Sherlock Holmes novels and stories, but I was delighted by the narration provided by Dr. Watson. As a narrator, he is faithful and consistent, and Doyle skillfully manipulates the character to both gain the reader's confidence and sense of security, while keeping many important facts close to his chest. Holmes, on the other hand, was detestable. From his very first introduction I felt repulsed by the character. For that reason, I am glad that the narrator was Watson and not the infamous detective himself. In the end, he played a relatively minor role, and the novel itself is very enjoyable. ( )

Really good books with a lot of suspense, mystery. But as you read this book, you "might" don't like Holmes because he is very arrogant to Watson. I think everybody should read this mystery book ( )

I was not looking forward to reading The Hound of the Baskervilles, but it was this month's book club selection and, as a good little book clubber, I knew I had to persevere. The book had two strikes against it: 1) I really don't like mysteries and 2) I envisioned several pages about a couple of boring Brits (not to be confused with Monty Python Brits) who occasionally stumbled over a body. One of the great things about book club is that it often proves me wrong. I really enjoyed the book, although the answer to the mystery seemed a bit obvious (probably because so many shows/movies/books today seem to mimic Doyle's mysteries, so modern audiences expect them to unravel in a Sherlock Holmes way). Holmes reminded me a lot of television's House, and so my only complaint was that the arrogant braggart wasn't in it enough to entertain me with his often curt and direct manner. Overall, enjoyable and I plan to seek out the short stories soon. ( )

it was ok. The beginning was really boring though ( )

sir charles baskerville dead on the wood and there was very large dogs footprint near body. this most damous sherlock holmes story. ( )

in a sentence: sherlock holmes and dr. watson are on the case of a mysterious, super-huge, hell fire breathing, psychotic hound from hades intent on killing all the baskerville men.

i must sheepishly admit that this is the very first sherlock holmes book i've ever read, despite the fact that i own the complete sherlock holmes by sir arthur conan doyle (a gift from my wonderful husband). i was so excited about the cover of the book that i own that i took the time to take a picture of it for this post because i could not find it anywhere online. seriously, how cool is that cover?

the story is narrated by watson both as an active voice and from a couple entries from his diary and letters to holmes in correspondence. his observances of holmes were very interesting and more at the 'commoner' / reader level. after all, we'd be foolish to assume that we are anywhere near the intellect of mr. sherlock holmes!

the mystery was a little tough to get into, though by the end i was rushing through the pages to discover what conclusion the detectives would come to! i enjoyed the cleverness of the clues, the creativity in laying out the net to catch the bad guy / bad hound, and that i was kept in the dark enough to enjoy the suspense. there were many shady characters that had me guessing who was good, who was bad, who was shady, etc. these characters also felt distracting from the story line at points too, but i believe it was supposed to be a diversion from who the real culprits were...creating a line of shady suspects to choose from.

as a result of reading this book, i am interested to read further adventures of holmes, and perhaps even watch a movie version of this book. the pace of the plot was pretty even keel, with mystery and new developments tossed in periodically to keep you intrigued, and saving the intense conclusion for the very end. and for those who missed parts of the story, sherlock holmes kindly recalls all details for watson (and consequently, the reader) and pieces everything together from the start of the case to the end.

fave quote: (holmes to watson) "It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light. Some people, without possessing genius, have a remarkable power of stimulating it" (pg 8) a solid description of what holmes thinks of himself and of watson - in a backhanded compliment sort of way...

fix er up: i had a really hard time visualizing the locations. this could be because doyle just didn't spend as much time on describing physical places as he did on describing the characters, or because i just don't know what the English country side is supposed to look like, let alone a mire / moor. ( )

If you look at the rest of my library you'll notice a distinct lack of classics. I read more of these when I was younger, but haven't recently. Why now? Because I read it as an eBook on my iPhone - Classics application - a few pence for a bundle of books. And it really was readable. Best thing was I could read in the dark (ie at night) with no problem.

Anyway, on to the book. I've not read any Sherlock Holmes before, and, luckily, had somehow avoided catching it on TV etc, so didn't know the ending. Lets face it, some classics can feel a little, you know, worthy (?) now, but this was just thoroughly enjoyable, perfectly readable, could have been written an time. OK, the characters aren't deep, but they are deep enough for a mystery story, the setting is great, and the twists and turns still work well today. Kept me gripped to the end. ( )

An entertaining mystery of the know-it-all detective Sherlock Holmes. Most of this book is really focused on Watson, whom I found a more likeable character. A few of the plot points didn't really work for me (phosphorus with no smell, ever smell an unlit match?), but certainly everything was explained in the wrap-up last chapter. I'm not generally a fan of mysteries, but I enjoyed this one. ( )

Classic mystery in which Sherlock Holmes and Watson investigate a death on the moors, believed by the superstitious locals to have been caused by a ‘hound of hell’ which legend says plagued the Baskerville family for many generations. With the most recent death, suspicions are brought to Holmes by the family doctor, who wonders what he should do as the new Baskerville heir is arriving the next day from America and he does not wish him to meet the same fate as his friend. Holmes sends Watson to Dartmoor to the Baskerville estate to keep an eye open and to help protect the newest Lord of the Manor and of course subtle clue after subtle clue are dropped into the story, but it’s only Holmes who is able to pull them all together. I haven’t ‘read’ this story for many years and had forgotten whodunit and the reader for this was fabulous, so it was a real treat for me. Conan Doyle was one of my early favorite authors and he does a detective story in a way that no one else can! ( )

A classic of the mystery genre. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful assistant are called in to investigate a seemingly supernatural hound haunting the Baskerville family. The mystery is satisfyingly creepy, without becoming ridiculous or unbelievable. I would complain about the notes in the Penguin Classic edition, though. People who have never read the story before should be careful not to read the notes, as several of them reveal important plot points. ( )

My favorite Sherlock Holmes story. I love the longer format and the spooky location. ( )

Entertaining and effective descriptions, but the story is ludicrous and, as with most detective stories, the hero is conveniently TOO brilliant.

I also correctly guessed the 'villain' the moment they first arrived in the story and figured out another 'significant' plot twist very early. My criteria for determining the effectiveness of a mystery novel is, 'If an idiot like me can figure it out before the hero then it can't be *that* good.' ( )

10.0

Bad doggie.

Sherlock Holmes is a dick, and a terrible protagonist. As a rule, his adventures seem to have an odd, sagging pace to them simply because Holmes is so good at what he does; Holmes solves a case within five minutes, and the rest of us and poor Watson puff along playing catch up for the rest of the story as Holmes crows about his innate superiority. Luckily, in The Hound of the Baskervilles, we ditch Holmes' autistic, socially-retarded ass and ride side-saddle with Watson, who is hugely more qualified as a narrator. As a result, The Hound of the Baskervilles moves along at a wonderful, grim clip. Watson captures the bleak atmosphere of Baskerville Hall in all its terror, ratcheting up the tension as he stumbles across red herrings, bumps in the night, and deadly suspects. Watson’s not half the detective, but he’s ten-times the story-teller. Holmes and his wall-eyed logic would have killed The Hound of the Baskervilles, which thrives on its grisly, gothic atmosphere; Watson is infinitely more aware of the howls, the fog, and the ghosts, and his descriptions have a beauty of their own. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the perfect detective story (bad dudes! bad blood! vile trickery!) clad in the best traditions of a true horror story (dire omens! demonic possession! a curfew which thou must not break!) Worth It even if you’ve been thoroughly spoiled by That Wishbone episode. ( )