The Adventure of Black Peter - a Sherlock Holmes Short Story

The Return of Sherlock Holmes #6

by Arthur Conan Doyle

How about this for an opening?

Dr. Watson narrates: "I have never known my friend to be in better form, both mental and physical, than in the year '95. His increasing fame had brought with it an immense practice, and I should be guilty of an indiscretion if I were even to hint at the identity of some of the illustrious clients who crossed our humble threshold in Baker Street. Holmes, however, like all great artists, lived for his art's sake, and, save in the case of the Duke of Holdernesse, I have seldom known him claim any large reward for his inestimable services. So unworldly was he-or so capricious-that he frequently refused his help to the powerful and wealthy where the problem made no appeal to his sympathies, while he would devote weeks of most intense application to the affairs of some humble client whose case presented those strange and dramatic qualities which appealed to his imagination and challenged his ingenuity."

And then Watson comes to the "very obscure circumstances which surrounded the death of Captain Peter Carey" - a man who abused and terrified his wife and family, and a man well deserving of the nickname, 'Black Peter.'

Genres: Mystery, Classics, Short Stories, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, Detective

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1904

About the author

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.

Reviews

[Aishu Rehman · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story is about the investigation of Peter Carley’s death. He was a former whale fisherman nicknamed as “Black Peter” by his crew, a rude man lived in Forest Row with his family, and he was a drunk and was found murdered in his shed with harpoon.

Stanley Hopkins was a junior police officer who seeks help from Holmes, he could found 2 rum glasses, pocket diary and tobacco pouch from Peter’s room.

Three investigation officers found that someone had already tried to open the door was open before they reached. So, they waited until midnight and they found John Hopley Neligan and he’s the son of a long-missing, failed banker. His father sailed to Norway with a box of securities and those of securities were sold by Carley.Neligan came for asking about this but he found Carley dead before he reahed. On realizing that he may not be the murderer. Holmes, under the name of Captain Basil, sends a telegram to recruit sailors. Three men show at his house and among them, Holmes handcuffs Patrick Cairns, a harpooner, who immediately confesses to the murder. In 1883, he saw Carey kill the banker Neligan and steal the securities. Shortly thereafter, the captain retired and Cairns started to search for him to claim his share. He met him in the shed, but the discussion turned to fight and, picking up the harpoon hanging on the wall, he impaled Carey with it.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a man is brutally killed by a harpoon Sherlock Holmes helps the police bring the murderer to justice. It's as simple as that!

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Creo que esperaba un poco más de esta historia, algo relacionado con piratas, corsarios, marineros y demás, pero en realidad es un relato de tierra firme con pequeñas menciones al mar. Me gustó que, incluso antes de que le pidieran ayuda a Holmes, él ya estaba trabajando en él.

[Jack Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. There is significant variety among the 56 short stories and 4 novels in the Sherlock Holmes collection. A few can be categorized as horror, such as "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." Many others fit into the private detective field, the one Conan Doyle popularized which continues to this day with authors like Sue Grafton, Agatha Christie and Howard Engel. Here Doyle combines it with a police procedural. With satisfying results. Dr. Watson points out that, in 1895, Holmes had been busy working on important matters including once representing the Pope. Then a nasty. Why had it attracted our hero's interest? Few victims deserve their fate, but the one in this case might have. He was run through with a whaling harpoon; indeed his own daughter blazed defiantly that she was "Glad her father was dead, and that she blessed the hand that struck him down." A sea captain, Peter Carey had a temper and abused his family and everyone else; that's what got him the name, Black Peter. But Holmes had a young friend new to the local police. Stanley Hopkins was in charge of the case. The great detective wanted to tutor young Stanley. And that he does. (March 2023)

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 4 out of 5]

SYNOPSIS: "Captain Peter Carey, a former whale fisher nicknamed "Black Peter" by his crew because of his dark moods, was living in Forest Row with the wife and daughter he often abused when he was drunk. He’s been murdered in the shed he built in his garden, where he used to sleep, his corpse pierced in the chest by a harpoon.

Stanley Hopkins, a young police inspector who admires Holmes, contacts the detective because he’s at his wit’s end on this case. All he found to go on is two rum glasses, a sealskin tobacco pouch with the initials P.C. inside (although the captain rarely smoked), and a bloodstained notebook containing figures in front of the initials JHN." (https://www.arthur-conan-doyle.com/in...)

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This crisp story is an enjoyable read— since it fulfills all our 'Holmesian' expectations, while substantiating his personal views of justice, crime and punishment.
Recommended.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. This is one of the more somber Sherlock stories, where the victim cannot be bewailed and the villain seems a good man. Black Peter is definitely a dark figure in the Holmesian canon, yet makes for a very interesting plot. Stanley Hopkins is a delightful young policeman—it’s quite enjoyable to see him respectfully seek out Holmes and his advice. The two main suspects were interesting in their own right; and I feel like this is one story where we can see Sherlock’s work very clearly and marvel at how clear and clever it is.

Content: Slight language; violent murder; drinking; smoking; mention that a man beats his wife + daughter.

A Favourite Quote: “One should always look for a possible alternative, and provide against it. It is the first rule of criminal investigation.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: It was a long and melancholy vigil, and yet brought with it something of the thrill which the hunter feels when he lies beside the water-pool, and waits for the coming of the thirsty beast of prey. What savage creature was it which might steal upon us out of the darkness? Was it a fierce tiger of crime, which could only be taken fighting hard with flashing fang and claw, or would it prove to be some skulking jackal, dangerous only to the weak and unguarded?
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “There were no footmarks.”
“Meaning that you saw none?”
“I assure you, sir, that there were none.”
“My good Hopkins, I have investigated many crimes, but I have never yet seen one which was committed by a flying creature. As long as the criminal remains upon two legs so long must there be some indentation, some abrasion, some trifling displacement which can be detected by the scientific searcher. It is incredible that this blood-bespattered room contained no trace which could have aided us. I understand, however, from the inquest that there were some objects which you failed to overlook?”

[Sohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

এই গল্পে আমি প্রধানত যেইটা শিখলামঃ One should always look for a possible alternative, and provide against it. It is the first rule of the criminal investigation - শার্লক হোমস

১৮৯৫ সাল। শার্লক হোমস তখন রীতিমত সেলিব্রেটি! Sea Unicorn নামক জাহাজের সাবেক ক্যাপ্টেন পিটার কেরি 'জঘন্যভাবে' খুন(নাকি বধ?) হন। তরুণ গোয়েন্দা ষ্টানলি হপকিন্স যিনি মিস্টার হোমসের অনেক বড় ফ্যান এবং এই কেসের অনুসন্ধানে জড়িত, সে তদন্তের ক্ষেত্রে কোনরকম possible alternative এর তোয়াক্কা না করে ভুল সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়ে নেন (প্রায় সব ডিটেকটিভ গল্পের সব ইন্সপেক্টররাই বোধহয় এইরকম অস্থির)

কেস সল্ভ করবার পর শার্লক এই উক্তি ঝারে। গল্প ভালই তো।

[فاطِمة طه · Rating 3 out of 5]

شيقة

[Mary Pagones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reread (of course) of a story I hadn't read in quite some time. The mystery itself is a bit of a snooze, but it contains some wonderful passages by Doyle, particularly the opening of Holmes harpooning a pig at an obliging butcher's (to understand the forensics of the murder); the description of the drunken, dead man's horrific treatment of his family (the young daughter is happy to see him gone); and Holmes and Watson taking an uncharacteristic moment to appreciate the beauty of the countryside, despite the violent killing.

[Amanda Artist Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, here is the time where Sherlock strolls home with a harpoon in hand! Loved that scene in the TV series!!!

But this doesn't deserve more than two stars because it doesn't give you a chance to solve it by yourself. It just haphazardly drop useless clues and get to the ending in a jiffy.

[نورهان | El-Badawy · Rating 3 out of 5]

دائما لا تغفل البحث عن البديل!

[Saumen · Rating 3 out of 5]

একটা সম্ভাব্য বিকল্পের সন্ধানে থাকতে হয় এবং তা খন্ডন করতে হয়, ফৌজদারি মামলায় এইই নিয়ম। সুন্দর একটা টেকনিক।

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5
I liked the premise of the mystery but wished for more deduction. This was a fairly easy case to solve.

[Ray Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was already familiar with this case from the Frogware Sherlock video games.

Liked the story. Simple but engaging. One of the better cases in this collection.

[Saghi Sharifi · Rating 3 out of 5]

اینو دوس داشتم جالب بود واقعا

[Catherine Vamianaki · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting short story

[Dr.Abdulwahab Alnaif · Rating 3 out of 5]

احقر من بيتر الاسود ما شفت 😂👌🏾 وحتى جريمة قتله تثلج الصدور

النهاية ليست بقوة قدم الشيطان

[Federico DN · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok.

This was ok, but not going to review it.

For the moment at least.

It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.

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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1905] [30p] [Crime] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------

★★★★☆ 1. A Study in Scarlet [3.5]
★★★☆☆ 2. The Sign of Four [2.5]
★★★☆☆ 3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
★★★★☆ 4. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [3.5]
★★★★☆ 5. The Hound of the Baskervilles
★★★★☆ 6. The Return of Sherlock Holmes <--
★★★☆☆ 7. The Valley of Fear
★★★★☆ 8. His Last Bow [3.5]
★★★☆☆ 9. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes [2.5]
★★★☆☆ 10. The Complete Sherlock Holmes

-----------------------------------------------

Ok.

Esto estuvo ok, pero no voy a reseñarlo.

Al menos por ahora.

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.

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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1905] [30p] [Crimen] [No Recomendable]
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[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich bemerke, dass man mit steigender Anzahl konsumierter Sherlock Holmes Geschichten immer mehr Gefallen daran findet - und dass meine Aussprache u. Geschreibsel seltsame Formen annimmt. Gleichweder ob ich nun die Geschichte gelesen oder vorgelesen serviert bekomme. Nach nunmehr sechs oder sieben Abenteuern am Stück Bedarf es eines schon heftigen Schlages auf den Hinterkopf, um meine Sprache wieder auf normale Bahnen zu lenken. *aua*

[Janith Pathirage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the most twisted Sherlock Holmes adventure, but this story is one hell of an entertainer. And another case where Holmes had to burn lot of calories physically rather than using his genius mind. I really enjoyed the raw brutality of sailors in this story and their blind rage (not to forget their inhuman strength ). Even though it was not a very complicated case for the great detective to solve, it had lot of energy and blood than most of the SH stories.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4 Extra - The Return of Sherlock Holmes:
The Baker Street sleuth probes the grisly murder of a retired whaling skipper. Stars Clive Merrison and Michael Williams.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes has ample opportunity to put his methods into practice as he deduces rather well the type of person who could commit the murder in this case, and solves the case very neatly.

[Joop · Rating 3 out of 5]

SH leert zijn leerling een lesje. Je ziet het karakter van SH langzaam wat veranderen.

[Omar · Rating 3 out of 5]

في قصة “مغامرة بيتر الأسود” نجد أنفسنا أمام واحدة من الحكايات التي تكشف جانبًا مختلفًا من عالم شيرلوك هولمز، حيث لا يقتصر الأمر على التحليل البارد للوقائع، بل يمتد إلى ماضي الشخصية الضحية نفسه وما يحمله من قسوة وأثر لا يمحى. تبدأ القصة بالعثور على جثة بيتر كاري، البحّار العجوز الذي عُرف في حياته بالقسوة والعنف حتى لُقّب بـ “بيتر الأسود”. وُجد مقتولًا في كوخه المعزول، والدماء تحيط به في مشهد مروّع. بجانبه أداة صيد ضخمة مغروسة في جسده، ما يجعل الجريمة أقرب إلى انتقام عنيف منها إلى قتل عابر.

الشرطة تضع شكوكها سريعًا نحو شاب متدرب في البحرية كان على صلة بالضحية، خاصة مع العثور على دفتر ملاحظات في مسرح الجريمة يربطه بالقضية. لكن دخول هولمز يقلب مسار التحقيق رأسًا على عقب، إذ يبدأ في تحليل التفاصيل الصغيرة التي لا يلتفت إليها أحد. من طبيعة حياة بيتر الماضية، إلى خصومه الكثر الذين تركهم وراءه، ومن وجود صندوق غامض، إلى الملاحظات الدقيقة التي يربطها بالبحّارة الذين عرفهم قديمًا.

المثير في القصة أن الحل لا يقتصر على كشف القاتل فحسب، بل على إبراز كيف أن حياة مليئة بالعنف والبطش تجعل صاحبها محاطًا بالأعداء الذين قد يترصدون به في أي لحظة. هولمز يكشف الحقيقة، لكن الأجواء المظلمة التي تحيط بالجريمة تبقى طاغية حتى النهاية.

هذه القصة ليست من أكثر مغامرات هولمز براقة أو مليئة بالمفاجآت، لكنها تترك أثرًا خاصًا، لأنها تجعلنا نتأمل كيف يمكن للماضي أن يعود بقسوته ليحكم على صاحبه، وكيف أن العدالة قد تأتي أحيانًا من خارج يد القانون، في لحظة انتقامية لا تقل وحشية عن حياة الضحية نفسه


In The Adventure of Black Peter, we encounter a story that reveals a different side of Sherlock Holmes’s world, where the focus is not only on cold analysis of facts but also on the dark weight of a victim’s past. The case begins with the discovery of the body of old seaman Peter Carey, a man notorious for his cruelty and violence, so much so that he was nicknamed “Black Peter.” He is found murdered in his isolated cabin, blood surrounding him in a gruesome scene, with a massive harpoon driven through his body — a killing that feels more like an act of revenge than a random crime.

The police quickly direct suspicion toward a young naval cadet connected to the victim, especially after a notebook is found at the scene linking him to the case. But once Holmes steps in, the direction of the investigation shifts entirely. He begins piecing together overlooked details — from Carey’s brutal seafaring past and the many enemies he left behind, to the mysterious box tied to his old life, and subtle clues pointing toward former sailors.

What makes this story compelling is that the resolution is not merely about unmasking the murderer but about showing how a life steeped in violence inevitably breeds enemies who may one day strike back. Holmes uncovers the truth, but the grim and oppressive atmosphere of the crime lingers to the very end.

This tale is not one of Holmes’s most dazzling or surprising adventures, yet it leaves a distinct impression, reminding us how the past can return with merciless force to seal one’s fate, and how justice sometimes emerges in the form of revenge, just as brutal as the life that preceded it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

“One should always look for a possible alternative, and provide against it. It is the first rule of criminal investigation.” -- S. Holmes

Holmes repeatedly stabs a pig in order to prove a point about murder.

I would rate this story much higher, but the mystery is far too easily solved, given the clues presented. So, Detective Stanley Hopkins asks for help with the murder of a malicious sailor called Black Peter who was pinned to the wall of his cabin with a harpoon. The first half of the story is Hopkins recounting his work so far and attempting to convince Holmes to help.

The one clue is a notebook that appears to be dropped at the scene of the crime. Believing the burglar/killer did not succeed in entering the crime scene to retrieve it, they presume to catch him the next night while making a second attempt. So they wait in the bushes by the outhouse.

A young man, J. H. Neligan, is tracking down Black Peter in order to gain access to Peter’s logbooks and clear his father’s name when securities that he held came on the market. It appears that this young man is the killer. Hopkins arrests him.

Holmes has many aliases for his disguises in different parts of London, such as Basil.

After much thought, Holmes has Watson write two telegrams. The first invites Hopkins over for breakfast and, the next morning, Holmes proceeds to disprove the outcome of Hopkins' arrest with detailed reasoning.

Mrs. Hudson prepares breakfast for Holmes and Watson.

In answer to the other telegram, three men arrive, each to be hired for a job. Harpooners. Holmes pays the first two and sends them off. The third, he wrestles to the ground and accuses of Black Peter’s murder. This man, Patrick Cairns, admits to killing Black Peter in self-defense. Funny enough, he also forgot something at the outhouse, his tobacco pouch, to be found by Hopkins at the scene, but ignored.

Not a bad story but I also believe that Hopkins isn’t looking at the obvious clues and allows his eagerness for an arrest to carry him off track.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

#Binge Reviewing my previous Reads #Holmes

The Adventure of Black Peter is one of those stories that reminds you Doyle didn’t just write mysteries—he built entire atmospheres. The case opens not in the bustle of Baker Street but in the eerie isolation of the countryside, with the shadow of a grim, violent past hanging over everything. Holmes and Watson step into a world thick with menace, where every creak of a tree and every hush of the wind seems to carry secrets.

What makes this tale pop isn’t some elaborate puzzle-box of deduction but the mood—dark, brooding, and almost primal.

The characters they meet feel rough-hewn, shaped by hard lives, and the mystery itself has a raw, physical edge to it that sets it apart from the usual polished drawing-room intrigues. Doyle taps into something elemental here, a sense of danger that feels both immediate and ancient.

And yet, amid all this bleakness, Holmes shines. His method is steady, precise, and almost surgical against the backdrop of brutality. Watching him piece together truth from fragments feels like watching light carve through fog. Watson, as ever, balances the story — his steady companionship is a quiet anchor in the storm.

It’s not the flashiest or most intricate of the Holmes canon, but Black Peter has its own weight, a kind of heavy resonance that lingers after you’ve closed the book.

It’s a reminder that not all mysteries are about clever tricks; some are about facing the darker sides of human nature head-on.

[Shuggy L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A whaler (Black Peter) steals some securities from a banker (Neligan) who is himself under suspicion of theft.

Black Peter (in a whaler "Sea Unicorn" out of Dundee) and Neligan (in a yacht) are on the high seas and in stormy weather at the time of the theft, and an act of treachery leads to blackmail and the usual mayhem (Patrick Cairns).

Stanley Hopkins seems more interested in getting a jury conviction rather than finding out the truth from (John Hopley Neligan). Holmes and Watson put him right:

The interests of the West Country gentry (Cornwall) are at the backbone of the story. But the working classes, propping up the wealthy, and the effects of the industrial revolution, are also depicted in the story.

There are the whalers with their seafaring lifestyle, Slater, a stonemason and Allardyce's butcher shop. As if enacting their revenge, The Weald has been cleared of the trees, that held back Saxon invaders, to smelt the ore for nearby iron works.

At the time of the story Black Peter has retired to Woodman Lee, Forest Row, in Sussex. He is depicted as a Puritan, with its rather start connotation. At odds with the gentry, he once made a savage assault on the vicar.

Class interests, at the expense of more vulnerable entities, take precedence in this story. Are the authorities fair?

[David Aynat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relatively simple case. Holmes is contracted in the affair of a murdered seaman, who has been found with a massive gaping hole in his body. Through some relatively clever deduction, Holmes finds out that the culprit Scotland Yard is pursuing (a weakly man who had been tampering at the luck of black Peter’s cabin past his death) cannot have committed the crime because he is too weak to kill somebody with a harpoon. Holmes then posts an advertisement asking for strong whalers, with the promise of high wages. That brings the actual killer (not murderer) who says he killed black peter in self defense while trying to rob him. The robbery was intended to be of a chest they had picked up from a lone sailor many years ago, who black peter had killed. We find throughout the story that this lone sailor was the father of the weakly man, and was full of securities he was taking to Norway to make back his family’s fortune. The weakly man went to the cabin to see if he could get these securities back and clear his father’s creditors and name.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hasta ahora creo que es una de las historias más ordinarias que he leído de Sherlock.
El caso trata de un asesinato de un señor ex marinero/capitán (algo así) con muy mal humor que un día aparece muerto.

Dentro de los sospechosos está el hijo de un banquero cuyas algunas pertenencias del mundo banquero lol (seguros y cosas así) fueron vendidas por el ya mencionado asesinado, el chico va a buscarlo y casualmente lo encuentra muerto.
Pero a Sherlock evidentemente algo no le cuadra y decide continuar con la investigación por su parte.

El caso termina con el arresto del responsable y con el relatoría de su versione de la historia.



Spoiler:
Resulta que el señor asesinado mató al papá del chico aventándolo cuando éste iba a bordo de su barco, y uno de sus tripulantes lo vio y, tiempo después, al saber que no podía sacarle ningún provecho a la situación decidió asesinarlo en venganza, así fue como se desarrolló el crimen.