The Sign of the Four

JJJJ

My View:   Doyle doesn't disappoint in this Study follow-up. He uses the same attentive, easy-going, awe-struck voice to characterize the everyman Watson as he observes his housemate's mood swings between cases as well as deductive delight while working. New levels of intrigue are added to this novel as more emotions are layered into the already complex plot and the characters become more rounded. Doyle cleverly adds Mary Morstan into the story, bringing Watson out of his flat narration and making him an actual working character in the books instead of a plain background voice. Learning more about Holmes's opinions on various people makes him seem more 3D (if less likeable). In an uncommon twist of events, I actually like the movie characters better... they seem somehow more friendly (I'm referring to the Robert Downey Jr./Jude Law films). A very good, fast-paced read. Went even quicker and more intensely than Study in Scarlet. I can't wait to pick up the next volume and follow Holmes's (original) stories even further.

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sign_of_the_Four

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Sign-Four-Arthur-Conan-Doyle/dp/B001OLZSKG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263013398&sr=1-4

General Information:

Method of Reading:	iPod Touch Kindle app and Kindle (in The Sherlock Holmes Collection), 160 pages in paperback
Dates of Reading:	January 1, 2010-January 3, 2010
Author:	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Publication Year:	1890
Recommended To:	Same as A Study in Scarlet: any mystery fans over age 12. But it's probably best to wait until about my age as I know some people who had to read Holmes novels in middle school and it really turned them off to the series.
Quotes:
Movie?	See A Study in Scarlet.

Always,

Your Bibliomaniac

Bibliographic info:   

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of the Four. N.p.: n.p., 1890. Electronic.