The Hound of the Baskervilles

Tonight's reading suggestion is an oldie but a goodie: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The first Sherlock Holmes novel (but not story) I read and a case of first love for me. A crime fiction story that takes the guise for a moment of a supernatural one, based on old British legends of hell hounds. Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate on the death of Charles Baskerville and protect Sir Henry Baskerville, last heir of the family. The former having seemingly been victim of and the latter being seemingly threatened by an old family curse that takes the form of a devilish hound. Most of the story is set in the Devon moorland (read it in Devonshire for extra enjoyment) that could well be haunted, but the resolution is perfectly rational (if a bit far fetched). It's a detection novel, but it has plenty of atmosphere, suspense and characters that are actually pretty developed for the genre.