Litsy

Fractured | Karin Slaughter

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This book was an easy read! From the moment I started, I was hoooked. I really didn‘t see most of it coming! 🤯 I‘m excited to read more of the Will Trent series and see what case he solves next!

13 likes

mcctrish

The Beautiful Mystery: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel | Louise Penny

Just a float and read day here

Cuilin Honestly jealous!! Enjoy. 1h

Aims42 Looks like a good place to relax, enjoy! 😎🤩 1h

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Enjoy!! 1h

AmyG Lovely afternoon! 1h

24 likes1 stack add4 comments

AroundTheBookWorld

Mexican Gothic | Silvia Moreno-Garcia

#MexicanGothic #SilviaMorenoGarcia #book #books #bookmark #bookmarks #bookmarket #bookmarkets #bookmoment #bookmoments #bookquote #bookquotes #bookqueen #bookquirk #quote #quotes #bookworm #bookworms #bookworld #bookword #bookwormproblem #bookwormproblems #epicreads #bookend #bookends #bookending #bookendings #bookedit #bookedits #bookeditor #bookrecommendation #Horror #Fiction #HistoricalFiction #Gothic #Mystery #Fantasy #Thriller #BookClub 💟💟

10 likes

Sace

Nancy Drew 21: The Secret in the Old Attic | Carolyn Keene

There‘s a lot going on in this synopsis and to be honest that makes me nervous. 😂

#NancyDrewBR @Librarybelle

Librarybelle 😂 What a synopsis! 3h

19 likes1 comment

IMASLOWREADER

The Housemaid | Freida McFadden

another saturday doing ot…and this is finally ready for me from the library to keep me company #audiobook #readinggoals #readinglife #mcfadfan

9 likes1 stack add

Sharpeipup

The Rivals: A Novel | Jane Pek

Such a fun display at my library. 🏁

TheBookHippie 🙃 6h

20 likes1 stack add1 comment

dabbe

The Adventure of the Creeping Man (Annotated) | Arthur Conan Doyle

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin @dabbe

Thoughts, Sherlockians?

Daisey, erzascarletbookgasm, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Born.A.Reader, Aimeesue, Larkken, Librarybelle, mom2bugnbee, Chrissyreadit, Read4life, StayCurious, CatLass007, Mollyanna, curiouserandcurioser, eeclayton, IndoorDame, kelli7990, TheAromaofBooks, 5feet.of.fury, Tineke, Fr3NcHtOaSt, Blackink_WhitePaper, RayHallucinogen, Pageturner1, PageShifter, AnnR, kimrenee, aroyse, CrystalE02

CatLass007 There doesn‘t seem to be a crime. The mystery is, “Why is the professor behaving in such an odd manner?” as I said in a previous answer, I don‘t consider this science fiction or scientific fiction. It‘s pure fantasy. (edited) 14h

Read4life Fantasy. Just not what I look forward to in a Holmes story. 13h

Cuilin If there are no laws regarding the ethics of scientific experimentation, then there can be no crime. I think it‘s just another interesting case to answer why a professor had a personality change? The solution was nuts! Monkey nuts!! lol 8h

See All 8 Comments

CogsOfEncouragement I have no need to keep SH stories in a tight category. My expectation is to be entertained with something. If Doyle veers from some unstated guardrails so be it. There was certainly a mystery to be solved that the others couldn‘t/were too afraid to get to the bottom of. SH uncovered that for them. 6h

eeclayton Legally speaking there might be no crime, but ethically, there is. However, this story isn't about pursuing the culprit (Lowenstein), but about what is wrong with the professor.
I still consider it detective fiction, with an added sci-fi element. 4h

Librarybelle I like that thought, @eeclayton …detective fiction with a sci-fi element. 2h

dabbe @CatLass007 @Read4life @Cuilin @CogsOfEncouragement @eeclayton Perhaps because this is Doyle's 47th story (by publication), I like that it had an unconventional structure and genre-blurring elements. I'm sure he read FRANKENSTEIN and J&H as well, and perhaps wanted to pay homage to stories as well. There is a sci-fi bend (the serum‘s effects mirror real-world early-20th-century experiments) but also a Gothic one. ⬇️ 1h

dabbe The professor‘s night-crawling, feral aggression, and daughter‘s terror at his window evoke Gothic horror tropes, and the dog‘s violent rejection of its master adds an uncanny, animalistic dread. The story‘s eerie tone and ethical questions make it memorable, offering a fresh twist on Holmes‘ usual rationalism; however, the lack of a crime or resolution frustrates readers expecting a traditional mystery. I admire Doyle for trying something new. 1h

32 likes8 comments

swynn

Bluebird, Bluebird | Attica Locke

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(2017) A Black Texas Ranger investigates the murders of a young white woman and a black stranger in rural East Texas, uncovering a story of race, sex, class, love, ambition, and The Blues, wrapped in a noir aesthetic of moral ambiguity, and y'all I am here for it.

22 likes

dabbe

The Adventure of the Creeping Man (Annotated) | Arthur Conan Doyle

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin @dabbe

Thoughts, Sherlockians?

Cuilin I‘ve only read Shelley‘s Frankenstein, but as far as the ethics go, I think the adage of “just because you can, doesn‘t mean you should” applies. 8h

CogsOfEncouragement I‘ve read Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll & Well‘s The Invisible Man. I read this short story as a reprimand for ridiculous old men pursuing young women. The monkey elements made for the character to climb and peer in a window, etc but it would have been just as good to have had the elixir come from a jackass to get the point across. 6h

CogsOfEncouragement When SH says only worldly individuals would take advantage of such an elixir and it would be survival “of the least fit” while spiritual individuals would age appropriately and not avoid the call to something higher was sharp criticism of Lowenstein. SH states he holds Lowenstein criminally responsible and will write to tell him so. 6h

See All 7 Comments

eeclayton As far as I remember, in the other books/stories mentioned, the scientists all work on their projects in a sort of idealistic haze, some of them even experimenting on themselves. Here, on the other hand, Lowenstein seems to be after financial gain. 4h

dabbe @Cuilin @CogsOfEncouragement @eeclayton You've all made EXCELLENT points. I definitely think that this story shares thematic and ethical concerns with FRANKENSTEIN and J&H, particularly in its exploration of scientific hubris, the dangers of unchecked experimentation, and the moral consequences of tampering with human nature. 2h

Librarybelle I thought of this as a reprimand on old men trying to pursue young women too, @CogsOfEncouragement . I‘ve read Frankenstein and The Invisible Man, and they all seem like cautionary tales on when one takes the ability to use science to manipulate humanity a bit too far. 2h

dabbe @Librarybelle And there are so many stories pursuing an elixir to make one younger. This one made me think of Nathaniel Hawthorne's “Dr. Heidegger's Experiment“ as well. 1h

25 likes7 comments

dabbe

The Adventure of the Creeping Man (Annotated) | Arthur Conan Doyle

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin @dabbe

Thoughts, Sherlockians?

CatLass007 I wouldn‘t call it science fiction. I would call it fantasy. The answer just seems so silly to me. 14h

Read4life This one just left me disappointed. Sci-fi, fantasy call it either but it was out there. The critique was justified IMO. 13h

Cuilin I‘m not sure I would describe it as sci-fi as there are many tales told regarding the elixir of life. It‘s probably more in the fantasy genre. 8h

See All 15 Comments

CogsOfEncouragement I had to look up risible to see it means such as to provoke laughter. Huh. I thought this short story was giving a couple lessons. Old men shouldn‘t chase younger women, we should age appropriately - accept it - and be spiritual, people peddling poisons should be held accountable… 6h

eeclayton For me personally, the reason why the sci-fi element is “risible“ is that none of the earlier stories had been set up like that, and the “science gone awry“ explanation came out of the blue for me. I enjoy it much more when SH solves the mystery based on overlooked evidence and logic; but I like a good sci-fi story when I expect to read one. 4h

dabbe @CatLass007 @Read4lif @Cuilin @CogsOfEncouragement @eeclayton In preparing to present this one, I did a bit of research. The story was inspired by real 19th-century medical experiments, such as French physiologist Brown-Sequard‘s injections of animal testicular extracts to combat aging, which were widely reported (and mocked) in scientific journals. ⬇️ 2h

dabbe Doyle‘s premise, while extreme, mirrored fringe scientific trends of his era, blurring the line between fiction and contemporary pseudoscience. Modern parallels (e.g., steroid-induced “roid rage“) further validate the story‘s core idea. Thus, labeling it “risible“ ignores its roots in real-world quackery. ⬇️ 2h

dabbe Yet, “The Creeping Man“ retains Holmes‘ empirical approach: he deduces the serum‘s effects through physical clues (e.g., knuckle deformities, the dog‘s aggression) rather than accepting “magic“. The story‘s tension arises from misapplied science, not its impossibility—a theme consistent with Jekyll and Hyde or Frankenstein. ⬇️ 2h

dabbe Doyle‘s allegory about tampering with nature aligns with Victorian anxieties, making it more Gothic morality tale than pure sci-fi. 2h

Cuilin @dabbe I love the term Gothic Morality tale. Fits. 2h

Librarybelle That‘s good to know this is based on 19th-century medical experiments—not good that they experimented on animals, of course, but it just seemed so out there. Not my type of reading, for sure! It did make me wonder where Conan Doyle got the idea to write this, and a “ripped-from-the-headlines” esque story makes sense. 2h

dabbe @Cuilin 🩵🎯🩵 1h

dabbe @Librarybelle It does, doesn't it? 1h

CogsOfEncouragement @dabbe @Librarybelle @CatLass007 @Read4lif @Cuilin @eeclayton
Gothic morality tale. Yes! I typed and deleted the term fable a few times because that just wasn‘t right. lol 1h

eeclayton @dabbe Thanks for the backstory. It's interesting to see that the contemporary reader would most probably make the connection to the newspaper reports, and reading it without this knowledge may take away some of the inplied meaning. 1h

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