The Complete Sherlock Holmes

The Heirloom Collection

By: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 58 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the 2014 Audie Award for Classics

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales are rightly ranked among the seminal works of mystery and detective fiction. Included in this collection are all four full-length Holmes novels and more than forty short masterpieces—from the inaugural adventure A Study in Scarlet to timeless favorites like “The Speckled Band” and more. At the center of each stands the iconic figure of Holmes—brilliant, eccentric, and capable of amazing feats of deductive reasoning. By his side is Dr. John Watson, his steadfast assistant and our trusty narrator. This set is a must-have for every discriminating bibliophile and Sherlock Holmes fan.

Volume 1
A Study in Scarlet: A Novel
A Sign of Four: A Novel
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories

Volume 2
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories
The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Novel

Volume 3
The Return of Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories
The Valley of Fear: A Novel

Volume 4
His Last Bow: A Novel
The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes: Short Stories

Public Domain (P)2013 Brillance Audio, all rights reserved.

Doyle is a legend; Vance a master narrator.

Although a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, this is my first reading of Doyle's complete Sherlock Holmes. Not since Jeremy Brett's exquisite portrayal of Sherlock have I enjoyed the brilliance of the original stories.
Vance's narration is so well acted that the characters come to life; it's more like listening to a play, rather than a book reading.
Despite the length of this book, I believe this is only my first of many readings. This audio production is a magnificent treat!

Good value; long, repetitive, variable quality

This is a LONG audible book and is, thus, a great value for a credit.

The book is generally quite enjoyable and it's nice to know Holmes' whole 'canon' collection.

However, a few negatives:
1) A book of this size and complexity (lots of sub-parts) really needs some kind of better organization, introductions, or explanations of structure. I finally wound up downloading some lists from on-line so I'd have some clue where I was at.

2) The collection is quite long which presents some pains.
- It's broken into 7 smaller 'books', which makes it harder to keep track of where you are.
- The the general story format is very similar. So, after a few dozen hours, it gets quite repetitive. I almost stopped about 1/3 and 2/3 through (with intent to return months later when the repetition was less 'fresh.'

3) This is a collection of short stories, with a few novels/novellas thrown in. With so many stories, logical consistency isn't perfect, nor is quality quite consistent. In particular, I definitely enjoyed some of the novels less than most of the short stories.
- Some of of them don't flow very well and are somewhat confusing, especially "A Study in Scarlet" which had me wondering whether I'd somehow jumped to another story.
- "Study in Scarlet" also seemed rife with inaccurate and distorted history, which took away from enjoying a 'period piece.'

Overall, it's an interesting collection and a good value if you're using credits. However, if you're not using credits, I might suggest considering a smaller, more selective collection to avoid some of the negatives mentioned above.

Simply marvelous!

Everyone agrees that the Sherlock Holmes stories are brilliant. But here the reader has just made it better. Extremely well read.

Fantastic

A must for every Sherlock fan. Vance does a great job especially over such a long run.

Fantastic

Great story of course. Simon Vance's performance was also amazing. My only complaint is that you can't navigate the stories/chapters with much ease.

100+ years old and still entertaining

These stories may be more than 100 years old but they are still intriguing and entertaining. Sir Arthur is a wonderful storyteller who translates as beautifully to the spoken word as to the written page. Simon Vance does a marvelous job as narrator and seems to be having as much fun presenting the works as we have listening. I have spent many happy hours commuting in bumper-to-bumper stop-and-go traffic while communing with Simon and Sir Arthur, and not regretting a minute of it!

Exceptional Story Telling and Narration

This is the best narration of a book I've ever heard. Of course the Sherlock stories are fantastic.

Amazing narrator completes Sherlock Holmes

I do love Sherlock Holmes, and this was my first time reading the complete works. The stories are - naturally - very good. But the narrator in this book is absolutely amazing. Highly recommended!!

Captivating, amazing, incredible!

The stories are well-written, interesting, and so much fun to follow along with! The narrator is incredible and truly puts on a great show! Absolutely loved this audiobook and would highly recommend!!

A great read!

The narrator's performance was terrific! I highly recommended to all Holmes fans.
You will enjoy it!