Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Dead Rabbits Society: The Lost Reminiscence of John... by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Dead Rabbits Society: The Lost Reminiscence of John... by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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Hardcover

Reader Reviews
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful: Short and More Than Satisfactory, April 15, 2002 Reviewer: A reader from New York, NY United States I liked this book very much. I don't normally write comments on the web, but reading Marc Ruby's review I just felt I had to remark on a couple of things he said. 1. He says (asks) why would Holmes help the police and solve crimes when in hiding (from Moriarty's gang? That, to me, is like asking why doesn't Holmes stop breathing while hiding? Holmes must be Holmes. It is second nature to him. I think any fan of the "canon" would agree. This thus strikes me as a frivolous criticism. 2. Marc says the ending (unique to say the least)is "unlike Holmes". Here I think he is totally off the mark. Any reader of the Doyle stories knows that Holmes is not afraid to act "outside" the law when he deems it necessary. Far from being "unlike Holmes" I thought the ending was something Holmes would very likely do. Although the morality of it is worth a discussion or two. It certainly makes Doctor Watson's eyebrows go up when Holmes tells him of it. Although in the end he (Watson) agrees it was the right thing to do. 3. He says it's a bit easy to "get ahead" of Carraher. I'm not certain what this means. Does it means it is possible to figure out (guess) who the killer is prior to the end? Perhaps. But this too is not a true criticism. I certainly did not "get ahead" of Carraher in terms of the twists and turns of the plot and the killing of at least two of the people came initially as a surprise. Anyway, Holmes stories are not really about "hiding" who the "bad person" is (Anyone read "The Speckled Band" and not know right off?) but rather about the logic and display of observation that Doyle (and now Carraher) offers the reader. Holmes mysteries are not about the cliche of having the killer be "the one you suspect the least". Rather they are about the manner in which Holmes solves crimes, the way he "sees" things that others (the police) don't see, and strings together inferences from the smallest detail. That is what (I think)defines a true Holmes story and this is what Carraher's book truly offers. I notice that Marc Ruby does say in his review that the book allows "our detective to once again reveal his scintillating analytical abilities, which barely stop short of estimating the brothers' respective bank balances." I agree with Marc on this point. In fact, that really is the joy of the book (besides the excellent writing) for Carraher does allow Holmes to "reveal his scintillating" abilities, not just once but throughout the book. Holmes is the detective "magician" with the "eyes in back of his head" and that is the Holmes that many other "Holmes" writers ultimately fail to give us but which Carraher offers us in abundance. This book is a must-read for any Holmes fan.