Board 8 > Well, I read the first Sherlock Holmes story (spoilers)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Truly, the Mormons are a terrifying evil.

Honestly, not the best detective story Ive read, but I can see how this would thrill contemporary audiences who werent familiar with the tropes. Holmes makes so many crazy leaps of logic, though.

The full length books generally aren't as good as the short stories (aside from Hound of the Baskervilles, which might be the best Holmes thing of all), and Study in Scarlet is probably my least favorite of the full length books. The Mormon stuff just takes so long and it's not interesting.

What, you didnt like 40% of the book being a description of the killers backstory, then at the end he reexplains what happened?

Really bizarre writing, I kind of assumed it was published in chapters for word count.

You would be correct. Holmes stories were originally regularly released in Strand Magazine and didn't get released in standalone books until later.

Read the second, but I skipped part of the last chapter where the criminal explains his entire backstory in excruciating, MGS1-level detail.

The original Les Enfants Terribles

None of the full length books are good! Just read the short stories.

Also, I was completely shocked when the dead twin turned out to not be the other twin. The whole twin element is completely pointless.

if you want non-arthur conan doyle sherlock holmes stuff, i'd recommend the new adventures of sherlock holmes short story collection by stephen king et al. it's hit-or-miss but some of the stories are really good.

Thanks. Right now, I want to focus on the classic Holmes stories, and then Hercule Poroit.

I can give you recommendations on Hercule Poirot stories, too.

Sure, go ahead. I plan to eventually read them all, but my impression is that the order doesn't matter.

Leonhart4 posted...

I can give you recommendations on Hercule Poirot stories, too.

I'd be interested in some Poirot recommendations too.

I've got the complete boxset of the David Suchet TV series, so I've watched a few, but the only one I've read is Murder on the Orient Express.

Anagram posted...

Sure, go ahead. I plan to eventually read them all, but my impression is that the order doesn't matter.

For the most part, but you definitely want to save the final Poirot book for last.

I'll try to divide the books into tiers

Best Poirot Books
Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (my personal favorite)
Lord Edgware Dies
Murder on the Orient Express
Three Act Tragedy
The ABC Murders
Murder in Mesopotamia
Death on the Nile
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
The Hollow
Curtain (the last book, save it for last)

Good Poirot Books
Murder on the Links
The Big Four
The Mystery of the Blue Train
Black Coffee
Peril at End House
Dumb Witness
Appointment with Death
Evil Under the Sun
Five Little Pigs
The Labours of Hercules
Taken at the Flood
Mrs. McGinty's Dead
Hickory Dickory Dock

The rest are fine or forgettable. I don't think any of them are outright terrible, but honestly, the later books aren't as high quality as the early books, but that's probably because Christie eventually got tired of Poirot as a character.

Thank you, Leon. I've seen the recent film versions of Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, so I might just skip those. Any I should start with?

Mysterious Affair at Styles is the first book, so it's a good starting point. Murder of Roger Ackroyd and ABC Murders are considered her other Poirot classics, so that's a good first three to start with, I'd say.