As if you couldn't tell, I have the utmost respect for Doyle and his stories. Obviously, if it weren't for Doyle, there would be no Sherlock Holmes and subsequently no reason for this page to be in existance because without Sherlock Holmes I would not have known about Jeremy Brett and therefore would not have made a page in memory of him.

 

My ultimate favorite story in Adventures has to be the "Speckled Band". While all the stories are all brilliantly written, I never in my wildest dreams would have come up with a plot like that story. The characterization was fantastic, and the suspense and ending was tightly written, leaving the reader on the edge of his seat until the story was finished. A genius work.

 

My favorite novel, contrary to most people's is not The Hound of the Baskervilles.  I like the Hound, but it is not my favorite. My favorite full length Holmes story is The Sign of Four. I loved the Holmes/Watson interaction and bantering. The story added color to the character of Sherlock Holmes and introduced his cocaine use. It is my opinion that without The Sign of Four many other pastiches could not have been written, for Holmes's cocaine habit would never have been introduced. Besides the cocaine usage and making Holmes a more colorful character, the rest of the story is amazing as well.

 

The characters are all well drawn and the plot is definately, in my humble opinion, one of the most intriguing of all of Doyle's stories. The boat chase at the end of the book made me hold my breath, wondering for a few fleeting moments whether or not the great detective would be able to catch his prey.

 

But in all honesty, I like all of Doyle's Holmes stories including the Mazarin Stone. :-p But that is another site, devoted to why many Holmesians and Sherlockians do not like that story.

 

However, all the canon (Doyle stories) should not be missed, because if they are you are definatly depriving yourself of wonderful characters and stories.