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The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb is perhaps the least Holmesian of Conan Doyle’s earlier stories, barely featuring any deduction from the great detective.
Still set firmly within the Holmes canon it is, as the title hints, more adventure than mystery.
1/
Still set firmly within the Holmes canon it is, as the title hints, more adventure than mystery.
1/
The story is mostly told by hydraulic engineer Victor Hatherley who arrives at Watson’s surgery earlier one morning distraught and missing a thumb.
It’s as good of an opening scene as they get, immediately hooking us into a gruesome and bloody mystery.
2/
It’s as good of an opening scene as they get, immediately hooking us into a gruesome and bloody mystery.
2/
It’s a wonderfully imaginative tale of suspense and terror, aided beautifully by Sidney Paget’s atmospheric illustrations – the swinging cleaver preceding the deranged use of household tools for mayhem in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre by many decades.
3/
3/
Conan Doyle pulls off the accomplished trick of having a survivor tell the story whilst the reader still fears for their life.
4/4
4/4
Read my full review of 'The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb' on my blog and join my journey as I re-read and review every #sherlockholmes story. https://www.lukemcgrath.co.uk/the-adventure-of-the-engineers-thumb/
