I’ve waited a few weeks to do a write-up of my progress with the Chronological Sherlock Holmes Challenge. Since my last post I’ve read:

• “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client”: Sir James Damery consults Holmes on a delicate matter. Violet, daughter of General de Merville has fallen in love with a rogue, and Damery needs Holmes’s help to unmask his evil ways before Violet marries him.
• “The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier”: This story is narrated by Holmes (one of only two). James Dodd seeks Holmes’s help because he hasn’t seen his friend and fellow soldier Godfrey Emsworth, and he fears for the man’s life.
• “The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place”: John Mason, head trainer at racing stable Shoscombe Old Place has noticed some odd events, and he calls on Holmes to investigate.
• “The Adventure of the Creeping Man”: Professor Presbury’s secretary and future son-in-law Trevor Bennett is concerned about the professor’s unusual behavior and seeks Holmes’s help to get to the bottom of it.
• “The Adventure of the Dying Detective”: Holmes may be at death’s door, but he calls on Watson help him bring in Culverton Smith.
• “The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane”: The second story narrated by Holmes. Set after Holmes has retired to Sussex, in this case, Holmes examines a local man’s mysterious death, only to see the same strange attack repeated on a dog and another man.

Of these stories, “The Creeping Man” and “The Dying Detective” left the most impression. I barely remember reading the first three on this list, and the final is fresh in my mind only because it’s the most recent read. Only “The Dying Detective” has made its way into the storytelling of BBC’s series Sherlock in the guise of “The Lying Detective.” In this episode, Culverton Smith is a philanthropist who has committed murder through the use of a secret passageway in a hospital, where he kills anyone being treated in a specific room. Holmes starts taking drugs again so he can fall ill and be committed to Smith’s hospital and lead the man into the trap of trying to kill Holmes. The episode is actually a pretty good one, with Toby Jones playing Smith. One of the reasons “The Creeping Man” left an impression is it’s so far-fetched. Really? Injecting yourself with an extract obtained from monkeys is going to make you act like a monkey? Come on, Conan Doyle. One might be tempted to believe Conan Doyle was more or less phoning it in toward the end of Holmes’s career, given the fact that the stories are not as memorable.

“The Illustrious Client,” “The Blanched Soldier,” “Shoscombe Old Place,” “The Creeping Man,” and “The Lion’s Mane” Rating:

“The Dying Detective” Rating:

I read these stories as part of the Chronological Sherlock Holmes Challenge. They are the 54th-59th stories in the chronology (time setting rather than composition). Next up is the final story in the challenge, “His Last Bow.” I plan to write a wrap-up post when I review that story next week.