Book Review: The Valley of Fear
When I thought I would never get tired of Agatha Christie and her bag of tricks, I decided to give her books an interim rest and instead pick up one written by physician-turned-author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who is considered the father of crime fiction. The Valley of Fear, which follows his immensely popular The Hound of Baskervilles, is an overall average fare that excites only in parts.
The novel opens with Holmes and Dr. Watson poring over a cryptic message sent by informant Porlock who works for the dreaded criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty. A subsequent decipherment of the letter's contents reveal an impending danger to the life of a certain Douglas of Birlstone, but things escalate rather quickly when Inspector MacDonald coincidentally comes to take Sherlock's help in solving the murder of John Douglas, an American return who had settled in Birlstone for the calm and quietness of village life.
What follows next is a classic Doylean mystery with Holmes tackling the case from the singular absence of a dumb-bell. Shifting back and forth in time akin to A Study in Scarlet (ASiS), a second part goes on to explain Douglas's past life in America. One may say that Sherlock Holmes plays an extended cameo appearance as he is naturally absent for the whole of the second part which forms the crux of the story. And that's where the problem lies.
The mystery itself is cleared up with as few complications and severely lacks the singularity of other works featuring the detective. That said, a few interesting twists have been deftly packaged to bring in a satisfying denouement. The elaborate use of flashback outlining the lawlessness of the 1870's America doesn't work well as it did in ASiS and is dull for the most part except towards the end where Doyle manages to wrap up the proceedings with a pretty smart revelation.
Holmes's archenemy Professor Moriarty acts as the 'unsuspecting' malevolent force behind the whole episode though he is never physically present. And as the Wikipedia entry mentions, it's curiously surprising that Dr. Watson has never heard of Moriarty in The Final Problem which is set after The Valley of Fear. Based on the real life exploits of the secret society Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland, the opening banter between the Holmes and Watson should alone suffice as a reason for you to read this book. Nothing else sadly!
 |
| The Valley of Fear |
What follows next is a classic Doylean mystery with Holmes tackling the case from the singular absence of a dumb-bell. Shifting back and forth in time akin to A Study in Scarlet (ASiS), a second part goes on to explain Douglas's past life in America. One may say that Sherlock Holmes plays an extended cameo appearance as he is naturally absent for the whole of the second part which forms the crux of the story. And that's where the problem lies.
The mystery itself is cleared up with as few complications and severely lacks the singularity of other works featuring the detective. That said, a few interesting twists have been deftly packaged to bring in a satisfying denouement. The elaborate use of flashback outlining the lawlessness of the 1870's America doesn't work well as it did in ASiS and is dull for the most part except towards the end where Doyle manages to wrap up the proceedings with a pretty smart revelation.
Holmes's archenemy Professor Moriarty acts as the 'unsuspecting' malevolent force behind the whole episode though he is never physically present. And as the Wikipedia entry mentions, it's curiously surprising that Dr. Watson has never heard of Moriarty in The Final Problem which is set after The Valley of Fear. Based on the real life exploits of the secret society Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland, the opening banter between the Holmes and Watson should alone suffice as a reason for you to read this book. Nothing else sadly!
Comments
Post a Comment