BOOK REVIEW:
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
By Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle
Entering the office of Sherlock Holmes
and unveiling an 18th century manuscript, James Mortimer recounts a story which
he is hoping to present as a screenplay to Alfred Hitchcock. It seems a man
named Hugo captured and imprisoned a young country lass at his estate in Palm
Beach, only to fall victim to a marauding chihuahua from hell as he pursued her
along the lonesome moors late one night. Ever since, Mortimer reports, the
Baskerville line has been plagued by the mysterious and supernatural beast. The
recent death of Sir Charles Baskerville has rekindled suspicions and fears. The
next of kin, the duo finds out, has arrived in Florida to take up his post at
Baskerville Hall, but he has already been intimidated by an anonymous note of
warning and, strangely enough, the theft of a pair of Uggs.
Agreeing to take the case, Holmes and
Watson quickly discover that Sir Henry Baskerville is being trailed by a
mysterious bearded stranger, and they speculate as to whether he is friend or
foe. Holmes, however, announces that he is too busy to accompany Mortimer and
Sir Henry to Palm Beach to get to the bottom of the case, and he sends Dr.
Watson to be his eyes and ears, insisting that he text him regularly.
Once in Palm Beach, Watson discovers a
state of emergency, with armed guards on the watch for an escaped convict
roaming the moors. He meets potential suspects in the crew of “Top Chef” (the
domestic help) and Mr. Jack Stapleton and his sister Beryl, Baskerville
neighbors.
A series of mysteries arrive in rapid
succession. A Mr. Barrymore is caught skulking around the mansion at night, Watson
spies a lonely figure keeping watch over the moors and the doctor hears what
sounds strangely like a dog's howling that someone named Timmy has fallen into
a well. Beryl Stapleton provides an enigmatic warning and Watson learns of a quickie
between Sir Charles and a local woman named Laura Lyons on the night of his
death.
Doing his best to unravel these threads
of the mystery, Watson discovers that Barrymore's nightly jaunts are just his
attempt to aid the escaped con, who turns out to be Mrs. Barrymore's brother, a
politician who was imprisoned for tax evasion. He also learns that the lonely
figure surveying the moors is none other than Sherlock Holmes himself. It takes
Holmes (hidden so as not to tip off the villain as to his involvement) to piece
together the mystery.
Mr. Stapleton, Holmes has discovered,
is actually in line to inherit the Baskerville fortune, and as such is the
prime suspect. Laura Lyons was only a pawn in Stapleton's game; a Baskerville hooker
whom Stapleton convinced to make and then miss a late night date with the horny
Sir Charles. Having lured Sir Charles onto the moors, Stapleton released his
ferocious chihuahua, which frightened the superstitious nobleman, bit his foot
and caused a heart attack.
In an overly dramatic final scene,
Holmes and Watson use the younger Baskerville as bait to catch Stapleton
red-handed. After a pizza and beer at the Stapleton’s, Sir Henry heads home
across the moors, only to be waylaid by the dachshund. Despite a dense fog,
Holmes and Watson are able to subdue the crazed beast and Stapleton, in his
panicked flight from the scene, falls into a swamp and is eaten by alligators.
Beryl Stapleton, who turns out to be Jack's harried wife and not his sister, is
discovered at home watching TV and finishing the beer, having refused to
participate in his dastardly scheme.
Holmes ties up the loose ends,
announcing that the stolen Uggs were used to give the hound Henry's scent, and
that mysterious warning note came from Beryl Stapleton, whose philandering
husband had denied their marriage so as to put Laura Lyons, the hooker, on
retainer. Watson asks Holmes how on earth he had figured everything out and Holmes answers, "No problem!" The case is closed.
(Ed.
note: We were hoping to do our next book review on "The Last of the Mohicans" by James Fenimore
Cooper, but we were unable to locate a copy. By a stroke of luck, we were able to
find a rare photo of the author's daughter, which he hoped to use on the cover.)
If you haven't gotten my book yet, don't worry--
you can click HERE to buy it on Amazon.
I would really appreciate some (good) reviews on Amazon!!
But wait, there’s more! From now until the end of May, anytime you purchase one of Wayman Publishing's books/eBooks and send the verifiable receipt number to waymansweepstakes(at)gmail.com you will be automatically entered for a chance to win an iPad mini!
Go here for further details: http://www.waymanpublishing.
My book is sort of like this:
Cinderella
I have a photographic memory that was never
developed----fishducky
