Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of the Baskervilles

Enjoying the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, I decided to read and review another of the Holmes novels. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of the four Holmes novels authored by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. It was originally serialized in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 until April of 1902. It was published by George Newness as a hardcover in March of 1902.

It's interesting to read the history of the character and novel and how it scopes the existence of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Initially Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes in the short 1893 story “The Final Problem”. After that story's publication, Doyle volunteered as a physician during the Second Boer War and abandoned writing about the character for eight years. The character's popularity led Doyle to write another Sherlock novel, setting this book two years prior to the character's death in “The Final Problem”. Later, Doyle brings the beloved sleuth back to life in “The Adventure of the Empty House” in a soap opera way that mandates readers suspend disbelief and just roll with it.

In The Hound of the Baskervilles, a Dr. James Mortimer visits Holmes and Watson and asks for their assistance in investigating a bizarre murder. He prefaces the details of the murder with the history of the Baskerville family. The most intriguing part of the lesson is that a Hugo Baskerville kidnapped a local farmer's daughter and then was apparently killed by a demonic hound when he attempted to retrieve the young woman after she escaped.

The central murder mystery concerns Charles Baskerville, who succumbed to death on the moors. Was it cardiac arrest? Frightened to death? The clue may lie in the mysterious hound prints found near Charles' corpse. Could this region truly be haunted by a demonic hound?

This third novel-length Holmes mystery is brimming over with atmosphere. The foggy moors, the black of night, and the pretense that something supernatural has draped itself over the small nestled community is simply riveting. Watson, void of Holmes for three-fourths of the novel, pours though the clues with an emphasis on brother and sister caretakers that have...an unusual relationship. An Inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard becomes mixed up with the investigation along with an escaped convict from the local prison. 

While I haven't read many Holmes stories or novels, I can't imagine there is one better than this. The shades of Goth combined with the sensational chemistry between Watson and Holmes (later) is just an unbeatable combination. Whether there is, or will be, supernatural happenings in the series remains to be seen. I'm anxious to read more. The Hound of the Baskervilles is a mandatory read.