A very enjoyable collection of Holmes and Watson mysteries, although there is a decided return to the romantic/melodramatic stylings of the early novels.

After the opening story, which goes to lunatic levels to bring Holmes back (but fair enough), there are some great stories throughout. Watson's narrative voice is pitch-perfect, as is his relationship with Holmes. Beyond this, the various Scotland Yard characters are given more depth, and are able to work WITH Holmes, as opposed to just following him around and always being wrong.

As I said above, though, many of the stories seem to veer toward that very 19th century melodrama feel in their denouements, although Conan Doyle handles it quite emotionlessly, so at least it isn't protracted. And many of the stories - those featuring missing people or objects - often seem to end with the same kind of conclusion (I won't say which, but you'll notice the pattern). Still, these weren't initially published in book form, and so I don't hold vague similarities against them.

An enjoyable collection of stories. I'm two-thirds of the way through the canon already! ( )

The Return of Sherlock Holmes is comprised of thirteen adventures. There is a certain formula to Doyle's writing. Someone is always trying to scam, blackmail, or extort something from someone else. Clients come to Holmes when Scotland Yard thinks the case is out of their league. Scandal, public embarrassment, or out and out trickery is usually the name of the game. Sherlock is always the master of disguises; a chameleon of identity. He is always seeing details others commonly miss. Confessional: I got a little tired of his smug attitude. I do love Watson, though. ( )

I wasn't all that impressed by this collection of stories. Some of it just felt like it had been done before, others seemed like a bit of a stretch to get to the end. At least one was almost too obvious. I'm not a fan of the cavalier response to the murder of a man in one of the stories, criminal though he may have been. I didn't even realize why Mary Watson was suddenly gone in this book until I read some other reviews (I thought maybe Holmes's "death" and return must simply have taken place before Watson was married, since I've never really paid much attention to the dates), because it was so vaguely alluded to. I would really have hoped for at least a little more consideration for the loss of the woman whose relationship with Watson came about in a previous book. But I guess the weak ending to the relationship mirrors the weakly shown beginning to it. I've come this far, so I'm determined to finish out the entirety of these stories, but I hope to see a return to some of the more interesting and inventive stories of the earlier books. ( )

Ci hai provato, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, ma non te l’abbiamo fatta passare liscia: Sherlock Holmes ci piaceva troppo perché tu potessi lasciarlo morto in fondo alle cascate di Reichenbach. Così una volta tanto, le lamentele dei lettori sono servite a qualcosa e il nostro investigatore preferito è tornato a deliziarci con il suo metodo scientifico, la sua sospetta asessualità e il suo suo meraviglioso rapporto con il dottor Watson.

Proprio in questa raccolta di racconti il loro rapporto si fa più profondo e definito: vediamo Sherlock disperarsi con lui al pensiero che per una volta sia Lestrade ad aver ragione (sacrilegio!) e manifestare il suo bisogno per la sua compagnia durante le indagini (anche se continua a risolvere ogni mistero per lo più autonomamente, grazie al suo metodo), oppure cercare di allontanarlo per proteggerlo da situazioni potenzialmente pericolose.

D’altro canto, Watson gli ricorda di andarci piano con le sue debolezze. La prima, quella più evidente a qualunque dottore, è la sua dipendenza dalla cocaina nei periodi di magra criminale: Watson si fa vanto di averlo fatto smettere. La seconda è il suo assoluto disinteresse per le relazioni interpersonali: ogni tanto, Watson deve ricordare a Holmes che le persone potrebbero rimanere ferite da certi comportamenti… Infine, il buon dottore si preoccupa moltissimo dei rischi che Holmes è disposto a correre per risolvere un caso e cerca di riportarlo a più miti consigli (senza riuscirci… logica schiacciante, ricordate? Quindi non gli resta che accompagnarlo e condividere… Il miglior amico di sempre).

Inoltre, Watson ci ricorda sempre il nostro stato di meraviglia di fronte alle straordinarie capacità deduttive e logiche di Holmes: di fronte a lui siamo tutti ciechi come pipistrelli... ( )

"I have heard your name, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and I am aware of your profession, one of which I by no means approve."
"In that, doctor, you will find yourself in agreement with every criminal in the country," said my friend, quietly. ( )