The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2

By: Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 29 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Volume two in this series consists of one novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and two collections of short stories, which include "Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" and "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" (a total of 23 stories). These creations by Doyle represent the finest work of his Holmes series, and certainly the most famous. They are reproduced here (and in all volumes) in the order in which they were first published.

First appearing in print in 1890, the character of Sherlock Holmes has now become synonymous worldwide with the concept of a super sleuth. His creator, Conan Doyle, imbued his detective hero with intellectual power, acute observational abilities, a penchant for deductive reasoning and a highly educated use of forensic skills. Indeed, Doyle created the first fictional private detective who used what we now recognize as modern scientific investigative techniques. Doyle ended up writing four novels and 56 short stories featuring Holmes and his companion, Dr. Watson. All but four are told in the first person by Watson, two by Holmes, and two are written in the third person. Together, this series of beautifully written Victorian literature has sold more copies than any other books in the English language, with the exceptions of the Bible and Shakespeare.

Public Domain (P)2010 Audio Connoisseur

A Solid Set of Holmes Stories

This audiobook combines two Holmes collections (The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes and The Return of Sherlock Holmes) and one novel (The Hound of the Baskervilles). The near 28 hours of stories make a solid addition to the Holmes canon, cleanly and vividly written, with occasional flashes of humor, brilliance, and intellectual play. They even include the death and resurrection of Doyle’s genius detective. Sometimes the culprit is rather guessable early on, and there is little action in the way of gunfights and brawls and the like. But it is a pleasure to watch Holmes at work through Watson’s idolizing eyes.

As for Charlton Griffin’s reading of the three books, it is appealing if you like his voice and approach to reading in general. I first heard him reading The Iliad and found it wonderful. As in that book, in this one his pronunciation of words is clear and his delivery authoritative. He does tend to get rolling on the Griffin Rhythm, which at times threatens to make the different books by different authors he reads sound as if they were written by the same person. But I do like his distinctive style. Because Griffin is American, his British accents may be a little dodgy, but he uses an effective, neutrally British-flavored accent for Watson’s narration. And his Holmes is pleasurably intellectual, proud, and sardonic. The only criticism I’d make is that most of his women sound simpering, nasal, high-pitched, and weak; I wish he’d try less hard to make them sound “female.” But the majority of voices in this audiobook are male, and he’s quite good with them.

Griffin effectively uses mood music related to the subjects of the stories to introduce and conclude each one, as well as spooky hound howls to introduce the chapters of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Apart from one story featuring gunshots, there are no other sound effects in this audiobook.

In conclusion, this is a fine Holmes collection.

Great book, great narrator

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes I would, specially because I find it to be interesting, well written and well narrated.

Any additional comments?

I strongly recommend Volumes 1 & 3 of The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes.

Charles Griffin is fabulous

The narration of Sherlock Holmes stories is absolutely fantastic. Very fun and enjoyable. Holmes becomes a known acquaintance and is quaint and admirable. Watson is a perfect foil and easy to sympathize and identify with. Highly recommended!

A Great Classical Series

Really, what more can I say about a series so famous as this. The stories remain as entertaining today as they did when first written.

Again, Charlton Griffin preforms flawlessly. It is great he has stayed committed to the series, as changing narrators between volumes can be annoying.

Highly recommended!

Sherlock is always awesome

Where does The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

pretty high

What other book might you compare The Complete Stories of Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2 to and why?

Volume 1. Because it's the same characters and author.

What does Charlton Griffin bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

nothing too unexpected

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

not really

Any additional comments?

absolutely great

Sherlock is BACK

I love these stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It brings me back to the first time I ever read them.

After all the "Sherlocks" from TV and movies, ahh!

Narration is clear, easy to understand. Voices are easy to differentiate. Female voices not falsetto.

Mind Over Matter

Sherlock is, in short, brilliant. This collection of stories supports that fact. I downloaded this and could not stop listening to it. I will listen to it again and again and learn something new each time. Doyle's development of his main character and his loyal friend Doctor Watson was, is, and will be unparalleled in police and detective stories.

Best of the Best

Loved It! Best collection of Sherlock Holmes and read by one of the greats! I have re-listened several times!

A classic.

Wonderful tails of the greatest detective ever imagined. Vividly discriptive, the listener can see the happenings as if there. Excellent narration. Almost like an old time radio show using different voices for each character.