Customer Reviews

Valley of Fear

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Conan Doyle wrote The Valley of Fear in three parts: 1. The Tragedy of Birlstone. 2. A flashback to The Scowrers, and 3. An Epilogue. It had the effect of two separate books united by a commonality of characters and theme. The radio presentation took the tack of of interspersing scenes from The Tragedy of Birlstone with flashbacks to scenes from The Scowrers. One particularly dramatic segue came when the announcement of the murder of Jack Douglas followed immediately upon John McMurdo's oath never to betray the Scowrers on pain of death. I listen to audiobooks as I commute to work. This one made me late for work as I sat in the parking lot listening to the trapping of Birdy Edwards.

This is probably the best of the Holmes novels. Like all of them (and the short stories) it is near impossible to put down, and leaves you awestruck at Holmes's genius. Doyle's writing style is extremely impressive as always, his characters seem so very real! This book is believable, a true masterpiece of mystery literature, and in the top tier of the long list of the great English detective stories. It just doesn't get any better than this. Even the long section without Holmes and Watson in it ("The Scowers") is enjoyable to read, and not boring (unlike the Mormon part in a Study In Scarlet). Highly reccommended.

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. More accustomed to writing short stories than well-developed novels, Doyle creates two story lines, only loosely connecting them. He then throws Moriarty, the arch-villain, into the mix, though Moriarty was killed off in a previous novel.

In the first plot, which directly involves Sherlock Holmes, a letter warns, in code, that something dreadful will happen at Birlstone, an ancient manor house surrounded by a forty-foot moat. Before Holmes can act, however, the owner, Jack Douglas, is found shot to death, his face destroyed in the blast from a sawed-off shotgun. Douglas was an American, and the nature of his death and the weapon "proves" to the local police that the killer was also an American. As Holmes investigates, with the help of Scotland Yard, the mystery deepens. Douglas always raised the drawbridge at night, the moat was too big to leap, and there were no strangers in the house. Gradually, Holmes uncovers Douglas's background in America.

In the second plot, a group of coal miners belonging to a secret society welcome a new member, Jack McMurdo, someone accused of murder in Chicago who needed to escape someplace where no one knew him. His lodge has recommended that he go to the Vermissa plain, "the Valley of Fear," and see Boss McGinty, the Bodymaster of the lodge there. McGinty and his men belong to a group which wreaks havoc on the community when it believes injustices have occurred. Seemingly above the law, they have avoided being caught, though rumor has it that a Pinkerton man has been sent to unmask the members of the group. Holmes plays little or no part in this whole section.

The two plots have seemingly little in common, except that the dead man from Part I is branded with the mark of the lodge of miners. The second part, about the lodge of miners, provides the motivation for the murder of Douglas in the first part. It is too bad that Doyle did not separate these two stories, since the story of the miners, though not involving Holmes, could have been developed as a powerful "one-off." It is a story filled with all the ingredients of great fiction--even including a love story--a dramatic and relevant mystery with connections to the social issues of the day. For anyone interested in watching a writer try to bridge the gap between short stories and novels, this "novel," though fun, shows the errors of using two plots with too little integration of ideas. n Mary Whipple

A Study in Scarlet
The Hound of the Baskervilles: 150th Anniversary Edition (Signet Classics)
The Sign of Four (Penguin Classics)
The Naval Treaty
Speckled Band/Mystery of the Second Stain (Sherlock Holmes)

I have quickly become a massive fan of the Sherlock Holmes books after reading previously "A Study in Scarlet", "The Sign of Four", "and Hound of the Baskervilles" and now this has drawn in yet another admirer of the Holmes stories. Valley of Fear is one of the last three Holmes books written by Doyle and you can certainly recognise, after becoming familiar with the earlier written stories, just how much Doyle's storytelling ability has improved over the years. This takes on the same type of format as the first adventure in which the first half of the story introduces you to the crime being investigated, the culprits and the conclusion; then the second half introduces you to the story that tells of the motive behind the crime committed which takes us to America and an almost lawless valley run by a secret order of murderers known as Scowrers.

Holmes receives a cryptic note which he immediately manages to crack and reveals that a Mr. Douglas of Birlstone House is in mortal danger only to find out that when Holmes is on his way to warn Mr. Douglas and investigate who poses the threat to his life, Holmes hears that the man was found dead. Upon initially investigating the scene the initial reaction is that it is suicide but upon further investigation, a tangled web of murder is revealed and it is found that all is not as straight forward as the case first appears. The second half of the story travels to America and tells us of the motives that lead to the initial crime and that in itself becomes an intriguing twisting and turning tale, as the initial introduction to some key names had me thinking "oh he did it because of this" and it actually changes motive direction at the end of the second part when all is revealed and we are given a wonderful hint towards the existence of Professor Moriarty.

I really enjoyed this story and it may very well become my favourite Holmes novel. I can imagine, possibly, that this story was written in the same format to "A Study In Scarlett" as an attempt of Doyle showing how his writing has developed in comparison to the first Holmes adventure. It is a superb tale and the hint towards Holmes' biggest enemy in Moriarty just makes this even more interesting as it hints towards the endless reaches of Moriarty's empire. I would highly recommend anyone read this as it is truly one of the most spectacular Holmes novels I have read to date.

The last of the four Sherlock Holmes novels, and one of the two best. It contains more detection in its first section than The Hound of the Baskervilles, with Holmes (off-stage for much of The Hound) actively investigating the murder at Birlstone, and drawing his ever-fascinating deductions from raincoats and dumb-bells; indeed it is the only pure detective story among the four, with the reader given every opportunity to solve the crime. Although the solution is justly famous, it is but a variation on "The Norwood Builder," at much greater length. The second half of the tale concerns the doings of the Pinkerton agent Birdy Edwardes in the eponymous Valley, terrorised by the Freemasons, a gripping and powerful account which is perhaps of greater interest than the detection.

Sherlock Holmes and Watson investigate a mysterious murder in a remote English castle in the first part of this novel. After that, there is a lengthy digression as the action moves across the pond to America, where we are treated to the Holmes-free backstory preceding the crime.

Arthur Conan Doyle seems unable to write a Sherlock Holmes novel in which the great detective is present from beginning to end. Of the four he wrote, three of them adopt this same structure, in which the narrative is broken up by a novella-length episode that could easily have been developed as a stand-alone novel. Even in "The Hound of the Baskervilles," which eschews this structure, Holmes disappears and Watson takes center stage for the middle portion of the story. This does not mean that the novel must be bad; I gave good reviews to all of those books. However, this one is not as successful. While the goings-on among the miners in the Valley of Fear is quite entertaining and makes for a good read, the first section featuring Holmes is fairly mediocre for Doyle. The specter of the arch-criminal Moriarty is raised, but nothing much comes of it. Holmes reappears at the end for what amounts to a brief epilogue, so the story lines never really converge in a satisfying way. This is definitely the least of the Holmes books up to this point.

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson come across a devious murder mystery involving a sawed off shotgun, a moat, a castle and an evil group of men who use masonry to beget wealth and prosperity.

Sherlock is again unflappable in his deductions and wonderful in this story. Mr. Doyle shows that he is not only adept at the mystery but the western as well.

A very enjoyable read.

'The Valley of Fear'. A real page turner but what makes it most memorable for me is not that Holmes is at his best, but Conan Doyle is. After reading this book I recommend you to read this book because it was a suspense story. The whole story moves around Mcginty who was a big criminal in the valley of vermisa also called the valley of fear. There was only one person who could face to that criminal and his name was Jack McMurdo. He behaved as a gangster and he had taken many risks in his life and he was not afraid to take more risks. Don't miss 'The Valley of Fear'. It's terrifying, exciting, and best of all, real.

This novel is the best of the 4 novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle concerning Sherlock Holmes. Once again dear old Sherlock Holmes is back with his faithful Watson to display his stunning capabilities of detection. The way in which the Pinkerton detective Jack Douglas goes undercover and rounds up the thugs in Vermissa Lodge is fascinating. This is one of those few novels which one cannot put down until you have read the last page.

The Adventure of the "Gloria Scott" is a Sherlock Holmes short story about criminals who take over a boat. It's very much like The Valley of Fear. Sherlock Holmes and any kind of mystery is only present for the first half of the tale, while the second half is filled with nothing but horrid violence. The only difference is the Adventure of the "Gloria Scott" is about 160 pages shorter.

There's not much else I can say about the Valley of Fear except it contains of my my all-time favorite quotes - "I am Birdy Edwards." This phrase is a terribly fun thing to say, and it capped a scene that was by far my favorite part of the Valley of Fear experience. Try saying it in internet chatrooms if you get bored.

Rather than purchase The Valley of Fear, I would HIGHLY recommend purchasing The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes (37 Short Stories And A Complete Novel From The Strand Magazine). While it does have some of the more mediocre Holmes tales like the "Gloria Scott" one, it also contains some of the best writing you'll ever find anywhere, like The Adventure of Silver Blaze and The Adventure of the Reigate Squires; works of pure genius. Plus you get pictures, and I didn't see any pictures in the Valley of Fear.

To sum up:

The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes - Capital!

The Valley of Fear - Not capital.