The Sign of four

The Sign of Four - Arthur Conan Doyle
Rating:6.5/10
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson accompany a beautiful young woman to a sinister assignation, Mary Marston has received several large pearls – one a year for the last six years – and now a mystery letter telling her she is a wronged woman. Unbeknownst to them all, others stalk London’s fog-enshrouded streets: a one-legged ruffian with revenge on his mind – and his companion, who places no value on human life...


Summary by Goodreads.com


Second novel to the Sherlock Holmes series, I found that it continued with all the wit and skill of technique and precise story telling exhibited in the first novel. Although I enjoyed the novel, I found the ideas and concept of the plot unfortunately clichéd in these modern times. The suspense and mystery therefore could not quite live up to its prequel. Despite the lack of focus I gave the end of the novel I believe this story would still appeal to those who enjoy a mystery/detective novel.


Good Points:

• Written with skill and finesse.
• Not too taxing for a short read.

Bad Points:

• Not as entirely gripping as the first novel.
• Story substantially slowed towards second half.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid: 

Borrow

The Shining

The Shining - Stephen King

Rating:9/10

Danny is only five years old, but he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes a caretaker of an old hotel, his visions grow out of control. Cut off by blizzards, the hotel seems to develop an evil force, and who are the mysterious guests in the supposedly empty hotel?

summery by Goodreads.com  

A brilliantly written and at times truly terrifying horror novel. With sufficient amounts of conventional gore and subtle literary techniques to make your spine crawl this completely absorbing novel is well worth it's slow introduction. The overlook hotel is brimming with secluded inescapable horror as it starts to take on a life of its own and the in-depth characters with their grim-reality backgrounds only serve to make the novel chillingly realistic. I would recommend this book to those who truly appreciate a profoundly deep horror novel with complex and intricate structure and content. 

Good Points:

• Completely absorbing, utterly terrifying.
• Written with amazing finesse, designed for full on gore and subtle nightmarish illusions.

Bad Points:

• Slow beginning.
• Aimed at generally older readers, not for the timorous. 

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

• Buy, definitely a work of fiction worth adding to any collection.