The Hound Of Baskervilles By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

Yayyy!!Finally I could read a classic-crime-mystery novel in a single-sitting!!! 
I have never-ever reviewed crime thrillers, will try to do justice for the benefit of the readers and myself (in preserving notes) :P

Q.  For someone like me, who is mercurial, and not into crime or murder mysteries, why would I pick one?

A.   Trying to add a bit of excitement and transforming a languid lazy day into a gleeful one! Additionally, to test the waters, and check if a volatile being like me can stay riveted throughout without oscillating. And yes, this book kept me engaged, though I took a couple of coffee breaks. Moreover, the novel isn’t ginormous at all!

Q.  Does this bewildering case of the fiendish hound, case of supernaturalism vs pragmatism, tug out my heart strings? 

A.   It did heighten the spirits, but maybe the outgrown rationalism wasn’t sated. The naïve, innocent, and the guileless would admire it to the core, but living in a world of cause and reason, where my being has witnessed a lot of pragmatism, and the unexpected, the awe and the surprise element did amuse me, but did not land me into a state of euphoria or utter-fear! <b>

Q. What is the plot all about?

A. Not delving into the plot outline, as it would already be known due to existing swarming blurbs, or else would not want to be known, as it is a crime-thriller. Sharing just a surface-level outline to create the mystery:-

A stranger, leaves behind a walking stick, in the absence of the duo - Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Holmes, corrects the fallacious guesswork of Watson, about the walking stick. Holmes, conjectures about the stranger, Mr. Mortimer, are verified, when the following day, Mr. Mortimer, visits them, on account of the mysterious case of “The Curse of Baskervilles”. Readers are revealed about Hugo Baskervilles, the Devonshire family curse, and the reason of the menace of dogs. The descendant of Hugo, Charles(widower and childless, his generous donations are chronicled in columns) has recently died mysteriously. Holmes cites displeasure on not being notified and invited to the death-scene. Dr. Mortimer, dithers the question by calling it a supernatural case, and he needs advice on the new claimant of the estate, Sir Henry Baskerville(younger brother of Charles), the new heir, who is in grave danger next from the diabolical hound! Henry and Mortimer, visit Holmes the next day, with a news of Henry being warned by someone to keep away from the moor. Barrymore, Henry’s butler, is the prime suspect of Charles’s murder. Subsequently, we are introduced to Stapleton, Henry’s neighbor, who is aware about Holmes and Watson, and the hound and Charles. The story sets into motion…

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Q. What appealed and engaged me the most? 

A. The novel opens, with a hint of danger loitering from a family fiend and not human beings! The combination of the gothic and the detective elements,

The scientific mystery around the phosphorus which I had pre-read from the blurbs,

The writing style which imitates a sense of urgency and straightforwardness, and hence kept me focused,

and the remarkable insoluble-crime solving intrepid-duo of Sherlock Holmes, with an impeccable sense of observation, imperceptibly fantastic sense of reasoning and rationality, and his loyal friend, Watson, setting out to fight out the case of the diabolical hound. <b>These were more-than-enough reasons to keep me engaged!

Q. Was the ending satisfying?

A. With a comfortable ending and no cliffhangers, the ending was fulfilling. Though gradually as the plot progressed, I could conjecture, who the culprit could be!

But, for the unforeseeable, unanticipated and applaudable dramatic element introduced around the convict towards the plot-ending, a solid 4 stars!!

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My best-loved quotes on wisdom from the novel(in no-particular-order):-

“I presume nothing.”

“Evil indeed is the man who has not one woman to mourn him.”

“There’s a light in a woman’s eyes that speaks louder than words.”

“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”

My all-time -fav:

“If he was vulnerable, he was mortal, and if we could wound him, we could kill him.”