The Final Problem

pick

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes

I loved reading the discussion thread just now. I didn‘t have anything to add. The comments and insights were great & I‘m so happy to have this group and that there‘s more Holmes to read.

Cuilin, dabbe

dabbe Yay! If we'd read this story back when it was first published, we'd be wearing those arm bands and banging down the door at the STRAND magazine (or throwing old fruit at Doyle's mansion) in order for him to continue with H & W! 🤩😂🤗 3mo

42 likes1 comment

Cuilin

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

Just taking a moment to thank you all for joining us throughout this #buddyread I look forward each week to our discussions, so I for one am glad that this is not the end for #NoPlaceLikeHolmes

Cuilin @pageshifter @AnneCecilie @indoordame @librarybelle @theAromaOfBooks @Aimeesue @kelli7990 @5feet.of.fury @Read4Life @AnnR @mom2bugnbee @pageturner1 @eeclayton @erzascarletbookgasm @aroyse @dabbe @cuilin @mollyanna @Tineke @Larkken @StayCurious @kimrenee @alldebooks @CogsOfEncouragement @catlass007 @CrystalE02 @curiouserandcurioser @Larkken @BeeCurious @Blackink_WhitePaper @Sace @Daisey @RayHallucinogen @Born.A.Reader @Chrissyreadit @Fr3NcHtOaSt 3mo

IndoorDame I loved this one! It reminded me of the final episode of a 90s tv show. Mycroft shows up cause all the semi-regular cast members have to make an appearance, someone dies but you don‘t know who, or there‘s a terrible accident and you don‘t know if your favorite character will live… But if the show unexpectedly gets canceled over the summer hiatus and they don‘t write a proper resolution it‘s the worst feeling ever!!! 👇🏼 3mo

IndoorDame I‘d have hated if this was Sherlock‘s actual ending. And I‘d probably have been devastated reading it at the time thinking that was the case. 3mo

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Librarybelle I can see why his readers were up in arms over this. Not only to “kill” Holmes but to do it in such a way that leaves more questions than answers. It‘s a good chase story, but as you pointed out @Cuilin , so many questions. 3mo

Cuilin @Librarybelle it was certainly an exciting read and perhaps we should be grateful to the unanswered questions as they lead to many interpretations and a way back for Sherlock. 3mo

Cuilin @IndoorDame 90‘s tv show!!! Exactly. I‘m looking at you “My So Called Life”. 👀 3mo

IndoorDame @Cuilin I was obsessed with that show! 🤣🤣🤣 3mo

Cuilin @IndoorDame Same 🤦‍♀️ Canceling it though was unforgivable. 3mo

IndoorDame @Cuilin I know! 😭😭 3mo

Librarybelle So true, @Cuilin ! 3mo

CogsOfEncouragement I think Moriarty is in another league and SH saw how badly he needed to be stopped. M‘s intellect, reach, and numerous offenses do not compare with other cases. Though SH wasn‘t specific, his appearance/weight-loss and actions made that clear to Watson. 3mo

dabbe Moriarty's first name is James (that will come up in “The Empty House“). His brother's first name is James. Me? 😳 Could they be the same person? If Holmes survives the fall (like we all know he does), why not Moriarty, who then might pose as his brother as another one of his fronts? 3mo

kelli7990 I‘m glad it‘s not our final story. 3mo

Cuilin @dabbe here in lies the problem or blessing, if Sherlock can come back, so can Moriarty!!! 3mo

Cuilin @kelli7990 me too!!!! 3mo

dabbe @Cuilin 🎯!!! 3mo

dabbe @kelli7990 #ditto! 🤩🤩🤩 3mo

29 likes17 comments

Cuilin

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes

I knew it was coming but it must‘ve felt out of the blue for the readers in 1893.

IndoorDame An adversary as smart as Holmes feels necessary for a “last story” so I wish we‘d actually gotten to see Moriarty directly, not just hear accounts of him, so we had a better sense of this. As for him being a crime boss pulling strings all over London, that part felt a bit lazy. 3mo

Bookwomble Moriarty was based on the criminal Adam Worth, whose sobriquet, the Napoleon of Crime, Doyle used in his story. Worth masterminded numerous thefts, usually through intermediaries, though he personally stole Gainsborough's portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, ancestor of Princess Diana. His enormous bodyguard, Jack "Junka" Phillips, seems to have inspired the henchman RDJ's Holmes fights in the shipyard, at least he put me in mind of him.

The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, Master Thief

3mo

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Librarybelle Thanks for sharing that info, @Bookwomble ! I did not know that. At this point in the Holmes canon, we know that Conan Doyle wanted rid of Holmes. It‘s interesting that he wrote this with vague info about an arch nemesis, but I noticed that the ending could be up for interpretation, which paves the way for Holmes to come back. 3mo

Cuilin @IndoorDame I think he should have used Moriarty in a few unsolved stories before this one. 3mo

Cuilin @Bookwomble great information. Thank you. 🙏 3mo

IndoorDame @Bookwomble I love that he was based on a real person! It would change everything if he was recognizable to readers of his time. Thanks for sharing! 3mo

Bookwomble @IndoorDame I think he may've been known publicly, probably to those with Holmes's penchant for reading the crime notices. Worth was certainly known to both the Pinkertons in USA for multiple crimes, & to Scotland Yard when he moved to London. He was not so respectable in class-conscious Victorian England as the learned Professor is in Doyle, but he managed to mostly evade the law, escaping from Sing Sing & serving a few years in a Dutch prison. (edited) 3mo

Bookwomble The book I previously tagged is really good, and a summary of his life and exploits is on this Wiki: https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Adam_Worth (edited) 3mo

CogsOfEncouragement @Bookeomble That‘s awesome, thanks for the insight. 3mo

Cuilin @Bookwomble do you think many people reading the story for the first time made that connection? 3mo

Bookwomble @Cuilin I'm not sure - it's been a long time since I read Ben Macintyre's book! His theft of the Gainsborough in 1876 was certainly a sensation, and he was suspected of the theft by Scotland Yard, and the Pinkertons were involved in the case, I think at the behest of the insurance company - the painting had been auctioned at £10,000, so it was a big deal. I think it's intriguing that Worth held onto it for 25 years, partly because it was so hot ⬇️ 3mo

Bookwomble ... but also because he was so bewitched by the subject. 3mo

Cuilin @Bookwomble I‘ll have to look into it. I do love an art heist mystery. 3mo

Bookwomble @CogsOfEncouragement You're welcome 😊 Litsy is one of the few places my trivia-laden brain is accepted! 😄 3mo

CogsOfEncouragement @Bookwomble When people ask me what Litsy is I explain that when I post about a book I‘m reading on facebook no one cares but on Litsy people actually care. lol 3mo

Bookwomble @CogsOfEncouragement Exactly! 😄 3mo

dabbe To me, this is Doyle's best doppelganger story. Moriarty is Hyde to Holme's Jekyll. He's the corrupt painting to Dorian Gray, the evil mirror image to Holmes. Yet, Holmes never once tells Watson of this mastermind of crime? Time to really suspend the disbelief. And, exciting as this mystery-that's-not-really-a-mystery is, there is a lot of TELLING and not SHOWING. Where's the proof that Moriarty is as intelligent as Holmes? 3mo

dabbe @Bookwomble Thanks so much for extra info! 🤩🤩🤩 3mo

kelli7990 Since Holmes died, Watson isn‘t going to have anyone to solve mysteries with. What will he do then? Watson can solve mysteries by himself but I don‘t think it will be the same without the dynamic that they have together. They worked so well together. 3mo

27 likes20 comments

Read4life

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes

dabbe Sure, Conan Doyle, sure! 🤩🤩🤩 Can't wait to discuss tomorrow! 3mo

Bookwomble @dabbe Well, when he wrote it it was true 😄 3mo

dabbe @Bookwomble 🎯. Until he realized how much SH and Watson were adored. 🤩 3mo

Bookwomble @dabbe Until he was offered an irrefusable (unrefusable? 🤔) amount of money by his USA publisher! 🤑 3mo

dabbe @Bookwomble Yep. And suddenly he didn't mind writing about good ol' Sherlock anymore. 😂 3mo

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LitsyEvents

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

Repost for @dabbe and @cuilin #theresnoplacelikeholmes next read along.
original post: https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2766260

dabbe Thanks you! 🩶🖤🩶 3mo

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dabbe

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

#NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Cuilin @LitsyEvents
#TheFinalProblem

Hi, Sherlockians~
Lively discussion yesterday! Next up: “TAO (The Adventure of) The Final Problem“, the last story in THE MEMOIRS OF SH (and the last Doyle had hoped to write--little did he know)! The link for more information re: the story is below (with a summary--spoiler alert!). Next discussion will be on 8/24 and will be led by @Cuilin. Have a good week! 🤩
Link: https://bit.ly/3AEPCsn

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

Librarybelle Thank you! 3mo

kelli7990 Yay! These stories have been so fun to read in between other books and they‘re not a big time commitment which I like because they‘re one and done. 3mo

Cuilin 👍🫶 3mo

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dabbe @Librarybelle 😘 3mo

dabbe @Cuilin 😘 3mo

dabbe @kelli7990 😘 3mo

55 likes6 comments

Bookwomble

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

"It is with a heavy heart that I take up my pen to write these last words in which I shall ever record the singular gifts by which my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes was distinguished."

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Bookwomble The other 500 pages I have left to read in this Holmes collection does, fortunately, blunt the edge of Watson's cutting words. I can imagine feeling bereft when this story was first published, and would surely have been one of those wearing a black armband in token of mourning The Great Detective. (edited) 1y

dabbe I'd be the one standing in front of The Strand and throwing eggs at the window. 😃 1y

Bookwomble @dabbe OMG! Did somebody actually do that! Either way, I can absolutely imagine you doing it 😄 1y

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dabbe @Bookwomble Not that I heard of; that's just me. 🤣🤣🤣 However, according to Reddit: “Twenty thousand people canceled their subscriptions to the Strand. Hate mail arrived at the magazine‘s editorial offices by the sack load. Thousands of people wrote Doyle directly, begging him to reverse Holmes‘s death. Many people took to wearing black armbands in the street [you nailed that one], in mourning for Sherlock Holmes... ⬇️ 1y

dabbe ... “The death of the world‘s first consulting detective was taken up by the wire services and reported all over the world as front-page news. Obituaries for Holmes appeared everywhere. Petitions were signed and “Keep Holmes Alive” clubs were formed ... not since then had a fandom made itself so obvious in its grief. The like would not be seen again until the deaths of Spock and Dumbledore.“ Amazing, isn't it? 1y

Bookwomble @dabbe I knew about the other expressions of literary grief for Holmes, but you got me with the egg-throwing thing! I'd definitely have held the egg box for you while you threw them at the Strand! 🥚😄 1y

dabbe @Bookwomble I wish we could go back in time and do it! 🤩🤣🤗 1y

Bookwomble @dabbe If wishes were time machine... 😄 TBF to The Strand, they offered Doyle silly amounts of money for him to bring back Holmes, so we should really have been egging ACD's house. 1y

dabbe @Bookwomble Excellent point. Let's go there instead. 😃 1y

Bookwomble @dabbe We could sit him down and have a sensible talk about the fairies at the bottom of his garden 🧚🧚‍♀️🧚‍♂️ 1y

dabbe @Bookwomble Oh, lordy be! Those damn fairies! WTH happened to you, Doyle? 🤣🤣🤣 1y

Bookwomble @dabbe In one way it's difficult to understand how the creator of Sherlock Holmes could display such poor critical thinking when it came to spiritualism, but the trauma of personal bereavement, and cultural bereavement following WWI, explains much, I think. 1y

dabbe @Bookwomble Too true. It was a zeitgeist of the times for some of the elites. 1y

The_Book_Ninja Another superbly curated picture 1y

Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Well, you know, artist Sidney Paget set it up for me 😏 1y

36 likes15 comments

Eggs

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

Professor James Moriarty!!

#mathematical #maycharacters @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 4y

julesG 👏🏻👏🏻 4y

Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @julesG 🥰 🧮 📚 4y

45 likes3 comments

Therewillbebooks

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

We talk Sherlock Holmes in the newest episode. His enduring popularity, why Doyle tried to kill him off, why he was brought back, and the various T.V. and movie iterations of the character. Did you know Moriarty was only in two of the Holmes stories? Seems that the Professor has had a larger life in pop culture than in the original stories. Anyway, it's fun to discuss.

https://open.spotify.com/show/6A6hXZ7eaOG7BtHOSJpCTI

Ruthiella I think even Holmes and Watson have a bigger life away from the original books too. There is something about this property that creators enjoy recreating. 😀 4y

Moonprismpower There‘s a new youngish show streaming called The Irregulars, it‘s a play off Sherlock Holmes but includes supernatural elements. 4y

Therewillbebooks @Ruthiella True. They are very fun and I imagine it would be a good challenge to put your own stamp on the legend. 4y

Therewillbebooks @Moonprismpower Hmmm. That sounds interesting. Will definitely check it out. 4y

57 likes4 comments

MariaW

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

For the time being my last past Sherlock Holmes post - the great detective and I. 🤗🤗🤗
#sherlockholmes #sherlocked

wanderinglynn Great photo! 4y

julesG Great picture! Sherlock's knee is so shiny, I wonder how often people sit on it for a picture. 4y

erzascarletbookgasm Awesome 👍 4y

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MariaW @julesG Actually, I saw some tourists doing that, but I don‘t think Sherlock would‘ve liked it. 😜 4y

andrew61 Love the photo ☺ 4y

Nute I like everything about this post! 4y

MariaW @andrew61 & @Nute Thanks. 🤗 4y

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MariaW

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

And the Reichenbachfall itself. I habe to say it was very impressing. I wouldn‘t want to fall down its cascades. #sherlockholmes #sherlocked

wanderinglynn So cool! 😍 4y

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MariaW

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

More pictures from the Reichenbachfall and the town of Meiringen, where Sherlock Holmes spent the night before he and Moriaty fell down the fall. #sherlockholmes #sherlocked

45 likes

MariaW

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

This is were Sherlock vanquished Moriaty and both fell into the Reichenbach Falls. Back in the days of Arthur Conan Doyle the path went till the fall itself. #sherlockholmes #sherlocked

erzascarletbookgasm So cool you get to visit ! 4y

MariaW @erzascarletbookgasm Actually my mother choose the spot without knowing of the Falls. The moment she told the literary me it was like „Mmmh, I do remember to have read something about it... 🤔🤔🤔“. 4y

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MariaW

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

Still travelling Switzerland - and of course its literary place as well. Went up the Reichenbach Falls today. I will post a lot of amazing pictures the next days. #sherlockholmes #sherlock #sherlocked #arthurconandoyle

Ruthiella Excellent literary tourism! 😀 4y

MariaW @Ruthiella There will be a lot more literary travel posts, not only Sherlock Holmes ones. 🤗 4y

AvidReader25 This is awesome! 4y

Bookwomble I'm so jealous that you've been to the Falls! My sister lived in Switzerland but each time we visited we never quite made it to Reichenbach. It looks fantastic ❤💚❤ 4y

MariaW @Bookwomble I posted some more pictures - check them out as well. 🤗 4y

40 likes5 comments

jenniferw88

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

pick

I wish the story ended up like this, instead of the way it does! 😂😭

4 1/2 ⭐ just because of the ending!

#readingeurope2020 #Switzerland @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

BarbaraBB I‘ve never heard of this one. Wow. And 24 pages? I am intrigued! 4y

rajithr Final problem is more dramatic than the rest of the memoirs. I thought it was a fitting farewell to the greatest detective and the most dangerous criminal 🤩 4y

jenniferw88 @BarbaraBB it's full title is 'the adventure of the final problem', but it's more widely known as 'the final problem'. It was a nice, quick easy read for Switzerland! 4y

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BarbaraBB Stacking! 4y

julesG 😩😩😩 Agree with you. The Sherlock-idea was a much better than ending than ACD's. 4y

Librarybelle Very intriguing, and always a good choice to find a quick read! 4y

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jenniferw88

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

#weeklyforecast @Cinfhen

Finish the top 3 (first one won't be a problem as I receive the last issue from @SerialReader today); Continue Sense and Sensibility for #PemberLittens; and if I have time start The Girl Who Played With Fire for #ReadYourSign.

@sprainedbrain @Meaw_catlady @Clwojick

Clwojick 🔥I really enjoyed the graphic novels for The Girl WIth The Dragon Tattoo series. Hope you enjoy your week of reading! 4y

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jenniferw88

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

The Duchess has a double personality and so does Moriarty! #CharacterslikeAlice @LibrarianRyan

julesG Oh, you beat me to it. 👏👏👏 6y

jenniferw88 @julesG 😂😊 I was going to use Snape first if you want to pinch an idea from me! 😂😊 6y

julesG Snape is a good idea actually. I was just thinking Umbridge though. 6y

LibrarianRyan 👍🏻😁🤓 6y

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Sarah83

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock take a look, there is Moriarty... Don't get to close... But no, this isn't the Reichenbach falls but the Rheinfall next to Schaffhausen... 😂 #sherlocked

Cathythoughts Beautiful pic 7y

julesG Hey, had I gone to the rehab center near Konstanz, we could have met at the Rheinfall. 😉 7y

Sarah83 @julesG I thought quite the same. 😉 7y

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Moray_Reads

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

Last year I visited the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland, #setting of the infamous final confrontation between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty! #maylovesclassics @Sarah83 @Bambolina_81

LeahBergen How cool! 😮 7y

charl08 Love going to bookish settings. 7y

Sarah83 Pretty cool. ☺️ 7y

Bambolina_81 That is so cool! 7y

saresmoore NEAT! 7y

58 likes5 comments

Sarah83

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

Maybe a quite obvious choice for today's #villain but it still my favourite match. 😍 @Bambolina_81

@PickwickPlockPlock I had the same idea. 😉

PickwickPlockPlock He's kind of 'the' villain, isn't he 😄 7y

LeahBergen 👏🏻👏🏻 7y

julesG Villain made me think of 'Nemesis' which made me think of this: https://youtu.be/-7jS7X-2ggA 7y

Sarah83 @julesG didn't know that one 🙂 @PickwickPlockPlock yes he is. 😉 7y

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Moray_Reads

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

I'm just back from my holiday in Switzerland (with detours into France, Liechtenstein and Austria). What an astonishing beautiful beautiful country. Of course I couldn't visit without making the trip to the Reichenbach Falls to pay tribute to the Great Detective 😊

Texreader Yay!!! I went to Switzerland in 2001 with my mom to find where her family emigrated from. Then we traveled much of the country. It is beatiful! And my Swiss cousins we found were marvelous. So glad you had a wonderful time! 7y

Moray_Reads @Texreader it's so beautiful! I'm on my way to see my parents in Yorkshire and I'm finding the British countryside terribly tame and dull 😂 The Swiss are such a friendly and welcoming nation too, very patient and encouraging with our stereotypically British terror of using other languages 😣 7y

Texreader @Moray_Reads 😂😂😂 I guess that's true since we just went to the U.K. this summer. But then I go to western Norway (in the summer) with its fjords and very colorful villages and it makes much of Switzerland look dull! And all of them put hot and dry south Texas to shame. 7y

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TobeyTheScavengerMonk Neat! 7y

Centique Wow! That waterfall! Looks as treacherous as I imagined 😳😳 7y

vivastory Looks like a great vacation! 7y

LeahBergen Awesome! 7y

LauraBrook Amazing! I like the way you travel! 7y

saresmoore How wonderful! 7y

saresmoore Whereabouts in Switzerland did you stay? 7y

Moray_Reads @saresmoore we hired a car so we went all over, Basel, Lucerne, Thun, Bern, Geneva and any number of stunning little towns that we happened to be passing. Also spent time in Liechtenstein and a town just over the Austrian border 7y

saresmoore @Moray_Reads That sounds fabulous. It has been too long since I visited, but Switzerland is one of my favorite places. I'm so glad you were able to take a well-deserved holiday! 7y

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Dragon

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

I couldn't find a book cover with #waterfalls then I remembered Sherlock Holmes fell off a waterfall. ( in the short story) Who doesn't like a bit of Sherlock and Moriarty photo credit Google

Cinfhen

Cinfhen Good memory 😊 7y

Dragon Thanks 🙏 @Cinfhen 7y

63 likes2 comments

InLibrisVeritas

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

so-so

Annnd done! It took me longer than I'd have liked to finish up the Memoirs short stories but this got around to them all finally. This one was pretty good, but it's not a typical mystery and we don't get s lot of info on the nemesis. I was expecting more from Moriarty, so that as aspect came as a disappointment
#sherlocked

Daisey I felt much the same way about this story. 7y

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Read4life

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

pick

Definitely had to read this one in one day. My favorite of the group we read.

#Sherlocked #serialreader #Holmes #Moriarty

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Read4life

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

Holmes & Moriarty! Enough said.

#Sherlocked #serialreader

Daisey, tjwill

tjwill I read this story but I think I went through too fast and missed things. I plan to re-read! Did you enjoy it? 7y

Read4life @tjwill You probably didn't read too fast. I think it left a lot of the story we were expecting to hear out. The story at the Falls was not the focus. It was more about eluding Moriarty. 7y

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Read4life

The Final Problem | Arthur Conan Doyle

I really don't think I'm going to read just 1 installment a day.
This is most likely going to be finished tonight. I know when I turn the page (or two) I'll see that name...Moriarty!

#Sherlock #serialreader

Daisey, tjwill

Daisey Yeah, I plan to read this one all at once, hopefully later today! 7y

tjwill I'm excited for this one too! 7y

40 likes2 comments

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