The Boscombe Valley Mystery

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes #4

by Arthur Conan Doyle, David Timson (Narrator)

Lestrade summons Holmes to a community in Herefordshire, where a local land owner has been murdered outdoors. The deceased's estranged son is strongly implicated. Holmes quickly determines that a mysterious third man may be responsible for the crime, unraveling a thread involving a secret criminal past, thwarted love, and blackmail.

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

2 pages, Audible Audio

First published October 1, 1891

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

[Francesc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relato interesante sobre un caso de asesinato que es más complejo de lo que parece.

An interesting story of a murder case that is more complex than it seems.

[Piyush Bhatia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing. It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different.

3/5

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick Dr. Watson leave London to go to the rural Boscombe Valley in Herefordshire. Charles McCarthy has been murdered in the woods by a pool, and his adult son James--who had been arguing violently with his father minutes before--was covered with his father's blood. McCarthy was the tenant of another, more wealthy former Australian, John Turner, and the men had known each other in Australia.

To thicken the plot, McCarthy was pushing his son to marry Turner's daughter but James was refusing (that's what the argument was about), and Turner didn't want his daughter to marry James either ... though the daughter (who hired Lestrade to help exonerate James) seems to be on board with the idea.

The evidence looks damning and the son has already been convicted in the court of public opinion, but you can trust Sherlock Holmes to get to the truth of the matter.

Like most of these short stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes collection so far, I didn't found the mystery terribly mysterious. I figured out who the murderer was, but not why it happened -- though really there's no way to figure out why without certain facts that you find out only after the identity of the murderer is disclosed. Once again we see that Doyle's version of Sherlock has a bit of a soft spot.

Next up: The Five Orange Pips.

[Ali Mahfoodh · Rating 3 out of 5]

عودة مع لغز مشوق إلى مغامرات شيرلوك هولمز.
جريمة قتل تحدث في منطقة ريفية بعيدًا عن أجواء لندن وشارع بيكر، ضحيتها أحد أصحاب المزارع والمتهم هو ابنه. المفتش ليستراد يطل من جديد، والشخصيات عمومًا قليلة كما هي صفحات القصة لكنها ممتعة رغم سهولتها وحل القضية مخبأ وراء التفاصيل الصغيرة كما العادة. بعيدًا عن التفاصيل فإن دويل يكرر نفسه باستخدام نفس العناصر في الحبكة بالرجوع للماضي، لكنها تظل خلطة ممتازة لإضافة بعض العمق للقصة. رسوم سيدني باجيت مميزة وهي الأفضل للقصص.
لفتتني نزعة هولمز الروحية قرب النهاية وصدمني قراره الأخير.

[Jim Ef · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.1/10
A landowner has been murdered and it looks like his own son commited the crime. But looks can be deceiving.. for most people and Sherlock Holmes is definitely not most people.

Here, Sherlock not only showcases his brilliant abilities but also shows a bit more of his human side.

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing special in this one, excepting some pieces of reasonings, orchestrated by Holmes.
So I wonder how this short novel was chosen as the piece of resistance for the entire collection.

PS: But yet, again and again, maybe I'm too harsh on Mr. Doyle or Lady Agatha...

[Isa Cantos (Crónicas de una Merodeadora) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Este relato tampoco me pareció nada impresionante, pero lo que sí me gustó fue que por primera vez salieron de Londres para investigar un caso. Y si bien el caso en sí mismo me dio un poco igual, sí me enganchó la pequeña historia de amor que puede formarse después de todo con los hijos de los dos enemigos acérrimos y que no saben nada sobre el pasado de sus padres.

[Eman Mostafa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audiobook 🎧
17/11/2023
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[Jaksen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of an 'average' Sherlock Holmes mystery, if there is such a thing. The case of a young man who finds his father dead, and is then blamed for the murder. There are clues a'plenty leading to other suspects, but the forensic science of this time was just so poor, they're overlooked or dismissed.

I did find it interesting that Holmes is conducting his own, somewhat modern forensic investigation. Lying on the ground. Searching the whole area for minute clues. Finding bits of things here and there that the local authorities had already trampled over. (He expresses very modern disgust at the disrespect shown the crime scene, something I've heard in many a modern, fictional book, and in film, and in real life, too.) Quite quickly Holmes figures out who did what to whom and why, but it's an altogether slow-moving story.

Not one to be missed, though, by the true Holmesian fan.

[Huda Aweys · Rating 3 out of 5]

ماذا تنوى أن تفعل الآن ؟

هولمز : لاشئ فلا اخفى عنك انك ستمثل قريبا امام محكمة اعلى من المحاكم العليا الدنيوية

تظهر بهذه اللمحة البسيطة من القصة تلك النزعة الروحانية المشهورة لآرثر كونان دويل و التى اسقطها على هولمز ايضا من خلال كتاباته
و ما قاله للوالد المجرم ابو الفتاة التى استأجرته لحل القضية
بانه يعمل لصالح الفتاة و بالتالى لن يضرها بالابلاغ عن والدها الا لو حكم بالاعدام على الولد البرئ المتهم هو ماجعلنى اعيب على آرثر ما انتهى اليه فى قصة (مسألة هوية) و التى اطلع فيها على سر اللغز الذي دبر ضد زبونته المسكينة و لم يحاول مساعدتها او افادتها بالرغم من ذلك ، و كأن مخزونه الابداعي قد نفد فلم يجد ما يكتبه بعد ، رغم ادعائه الدائم على لسان هولمز بأنه يعمل لمصلحة عملائه اولا و آخرا ! و لكنه تعامل مع هذا اللغز بمراهقة و حب استعراض ، فأنهاه و حله فقط .. دون ان ينهي قصته او يحل حبكتها

[Katja Labonté · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars & 4/10 hearts. This story is so sad… yet fascinating. The plot is so twisted yet so simple, and Sherlock + Lestrade are just as amusing as always. The deductions are brilliant, and there is an interesting glimpse of Sherlock’s heart again at the end… It really all makes you think.

Content: Swearing; smoking. A man is married to a woman later revealed to be already married… which is more or less important to the plot.

A Favourite Quote: “God help us!” said Holmes after a long silence. “I never hear of such a case as this that I do not think of Baxter’s words, and say, ‘There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes.’”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Besides, we may chance to hit upon some other obvious facts which may have been by no means obvious to Mr. Lestrade.”

[Samia chellat · Rating 3 out of 5]

"إن الأدلّة الظرفية أمر خادع، فقد يبدو أنها تشير إلى جهة ما، ولكن إذا قمت بتغيير وجهة نظرك قليلا فقد تجد أنها تشير بنفس القوة إلى جهة مغايرة تماما".

إحدى مغامرات شارلوك الصغيرة الشيقة .. كم أعشق استنتاجاته حتى الصغيرة منها 💕
الترجمة ممتازة 👍

[Jack Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars. A good one but not great. One of the problems with mystery short stories is that there are not enough pages to introduce the possibility of several alternative solutions. No space to tease the reader about a cousin from away or a disgruntled business associate. As evidence I point to "Boscombe Valley." The story first ran in "The Strand" in October 1891; my reading is from a two volume collection, "Sherlock Holmes The Complete Novels and Stories" of 2020 - my favourite way to follow the eccentric genius, all in one place. Holmes sends a telegram to Dr. Watson with a summons to join him on a puzzling case in the west of England. Inspector Lestrade is involved as well. The son of a tenant farmer, James McCarthy, has been arrested for the brutal death of his father, Charles, near Boscombe Pool. Scotland Yard had been contacted by Miss Turner, the daughter of the neighbouring landowner, John Turner. That's not the man of the same name who was Prime Minister of Canada in the 1980s! As Watson remarks, "If ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal, it does so here." Don't forget he was speaking to Sherlock Holmes at the time. (February 2021)

[Mohammed Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

مغامرات شارلوك هولمز، تأليف السيد آرثر كونان دويل

قضية "لغز وادي بوسكومب" هي القضية الرابعة من مغامرات شارلوك هولمز
فتى يتهم بقتل والده بعد رؤيته يتشاجر معه بعنف عند ضفاف إحدى البحيرات، حيث كانت الدلائل وتعنّت الإبن في الإفصاح عن سبب الشجار مع الوالد توحي إلى أن هذا الإبن قد أجرم في حق نفسه وحق والده. فيتدخل شارلوك والمغبون معه دائما الدكتور طومسون لفك طلاسم هذه الواقعة الأليمة.
دقة الملاحظة والاستنتاج واعتبار النقاط الثانوية التّي يغفلها الآخرون نقاطا حاسمة وهامة تعتبر ديدن شارلوك في حل قضاياه.

[Rofida · Rating 2 out of 5]

"ليس هناك ما هو أكثر خداعا من الحقيقه الواضحة."

[itsdanixx · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Boscombe Valley Mystery" is the fourth story in the The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes story collection, the third publication in the Sherlock Holmes series (after the first two novels, so the first story collection).

Scotland Yard's Inspector Lestrade enlists Holmes' and Watson's help in solving the murder of an old man, where all the evidence points towards his son.

Another great Sherlock story.

[Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

The one with the son being accused of murdering his father in the woods after quarrelling over the son's marriage.
The one where a highway robber gets revenge on his blackmailer.

[Candleflame23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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إستمتعت بخمس روايات بوليسية من مغامرات
المحقق " شيرلوك هولمز " مقدمة بأسلوب شيق
عبر تطبيق " كتاب صوتي " ❤️📚

🌸 #فضيحة_في_بوهيميا : وهي أولى القضايا في السلسلة
تدور حول أمير من بوهيميا ينوي الإرتباط بإحدى بنات الملوك
ولكنه يخشى من ظهور " بطلة علاقته العاطفية السابقة " بشكل
يُهدد زواجه المنتظر .


🌸 #قضية_هوية : القضية الثانية ، زوج الأم إستغلالي يسعى
للحصول على ممتلكات بنات زوجته ، مشكلة قد تبدو عائلية
ولكنها لم تُحل إلا بتدخل السيد هولمز .


🌸 #عصبة_ذوي_الشعر_الأحمر : القضية الثالثة ، وهي غريبة نوعا ما ، إذ تم نشر إعلان في إحدى الصحف عن وظيفة مخصصة فقط لذوي الشعر الأحمر ، نكتشف فيما بعد أن هذا الإعلان
ليس إلا غطاء لجريمة سرقة .


🌸 #لغز_وادي_بوسكومب :جريمة قتل كاد أن يذهب ضحيتها
فتى بريء .


🌸 #بذور_البرتقال_الخمسة :هنا الإغتيالات التي تُعتبر المصير
الحتمي لكل المنشقين !!🙃


🌸 #ذو_الشفة_الملتوية : صحفي يكتشف أن الدخل الذي يحصل عليه متشرد يفوق دخله فيقرر الخوض في هذا العالم يتخلى عن
مهنته ويتجه للعمل " كمتسول " ، في الحقيقة هذه النظرية
" المتسول الغني " في كثير من الأحيان تكون واقعية جدا .


🌸 #مغامرة_الجوهرة_الزرقاء : جوهرة ثمينة ، سرقة ، إخفاء ، إكتشاف .

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أكثر ما يُعجبني أن هولمز دقيق الملاحظة فلا شيء يمر
أمام عينيه دون أن ينظر له نظرة الفاحص المدقق 👌🏻
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#تمت #أبجدية_فرح

#كتاب_صوتي 🌸❤️
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#حي_على_القراءة . . .
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#غرد_بإقتباس 📚.
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[Wissal H · Rating 4 out of 5]

لغز وادي بوسكومب هي القصة الرابعة ضمن سلسلة مغامرات شيرلوك هولمز الشهيرة للكاتب آرثر كونان دويل. تدور أحداث القصة في إنجلترا، حيث يتم العثور على جثة رجل مقتول في وادي بوسكومب، وتشير الأدلة الأولية إلى أن ابنه هو القاتل.
تبدأ القصة عندما يتلقى شيرلوك هولمز ودكتور واتسون طلبًا للمساعدة من فتاة شابة تدعى أليس تيرنر، والتي تحاول إنقاذ حبيبها جيمس مكارثي من الاتهام بقتل والده. يواجه جيمس اتهامات قوية، حيث عثر على جثة والده بالقرب من أرضه، كما أن هناك أدلة مادية تربطه بالجريمة.

الأدلة الظاهرة:
السلاح: عثر على علكة من شجرة بالقرب من الجثة، وعندما فحصها هولمز وجد عليها بقايا من الطلاء مطابق للطلاء على عصا كان يملكها جيمس.
الشاهد: هناك شاهد يدعي أنه رأى جيمس بالقرب من مكان الجريمة في وقت وقوع الحادث.
تحقيق هولمز:
على الرغم من الأدلة القوية ضد جيمس، فإن هولمز يشك في صحتها. يبدأ التحقيق في القضية، ويقوم بفحص كل دليل بعناية. يستخدم هولمز مهاراته الملاحظة الفائقة وقدرته على ربط الحقائق الصغيرة لبناء صورة كاملة للجريمة.

بعد تحقيق معمق، يصل هولمز إلى نتيجة مفاجئة ومختلفة تمامًا عن النتيجة التي توصل إليها المحققون الآخرون. يتضح أن القاتل الحقيقي هو شخص آخر تمامًا، وكان لجيمس دور مختلف تمامًا في القصة.

[Aicha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Tasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just ok.
3.5⭐

[Amira Mahmoud · Rating 4 out of 5]

بالرغم أن القاتل كان شبه معروف والسبب كمان , الا أنى أستمتع جداً بيها وسر الأستمتاع فى طريقة "شيرلوك هولمز" لتحليل الحقائق والبحث عن الفاعل ;)

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting as usual, but there's that one thing that made it different, Mr. Holmes let the man go because he was a dying one? So he has some kinda touchy-feely side after all :p

[Shaimaa أحمد · Rating 4 out of 5]

دائماً ما تقود التفاصيل الصغيرة إلى نتائج كبيرة
حلوة

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be considered as one of the few stories where ACD had tried to infuse some of his Biblical thoughts regarding crime and punishment into the canon. The denouement was anticlimactic. But the writing was, as ever, of absolutely top-order.
Recommended.

[Crime Addict Sifat · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 1891, the overall population was beginning to uproar for the following Sherlock Holmes story, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle kept on conveying. The short stories were an ideal length for month to month production in the Strand Magazine, and the limitations on length makes The Boscombe Valley Mystery nitty gritty and immediate, ideal for a murder riddle.

The instance of The Boscombe Valley Mystery sees the predominance of Holmes additionally settled, for it is Scotland Yard, as Lestrade, who brings Holmes onto the case, yet Holmes has just a little measure of regard for the official police compel. In this story Holmes even offers the answer for Lestrade, however the policeman disregards it, his own particular eyes not seeing the proof as Holmes does.

In The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gives assist understanding in to the normal for Sherlock Holmes. In A Scandal in Bohemia Holmes had been willing to infringe upon the law, through thievery, in The Boscombe Valley Mystery Holmes goes maybe one stop further, enabling a blameworthy individual to escape criminal equity.

[Yousra · Rating 4 out of 5]

لا أعلم ماذا سأفعل حينما تنتهي الأعداد المتواجدة في مكتبتي من ألغاز شيرلوك هولمز!!!

مغامرة جديدة وأسلوب هولمز المعتاد في استنباط الكثير من القليل ... وقدر من الغرور الذي لا يضايق :)) وأخيرا نهاية مبهجة
:))

أحب هذه الألغاز ... أعتبر قرائتها كالنزهة القصيرة أو كقطعة حلوى أو شوكولاتة آكلها وأستمتع بها .... قراءات قصيرة خاطفة لكنها تترك في النفس أثرا محببا كما النزهة أو كما طعم الحلوى في الفم
:)))

[Yassmeen Altaif · Rating 4 out of 5]

قصة حلوة عجبتني جداً، بسيطة من القصص التي تقرأ بسرعة.

هي قصة جريمة قتل والتحقيق فيها، والتي فيها نعرف القاتل وغايته من القتل.

مرت القصة بسرعة كبيرة، شخصيات قليلة مما جعلها خفيفة جداً.

هذه القصة للمبتدأين وحتى الصغار اليافعين.

[Alondra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exijo el libro de James y Alice.

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Boscombe Valley Mystery is about the negative effects living a life of lies and secrecy has on not only the liar and secret-keeper, but everybody around them too.

The book begins with John Watson receiving a telegram from Sherlock Holmes, inviting him to come investigate a new mystery.

Watson talks with his wife and they decide that he should go.

Watson leaves at once and meets Sherlock at a train station. While they ride the train, Sherlock explains what he knows to Watson.

A man has been murdered and his son was arrested in connection to the murder. Much of the evidence points toward the son as guilty, but Sherlock has suspicions and wishes to investigate the crime for himself.

The men go to a small restaurant where they meet a detective from Scotland Yard. The detective explains that he is certain that the son killed his father.

Sherlock asks the detective if he can question the son and the detective says that he can.
Watson stays behind while Sherlock and the detective interview the suspect.

When Sherlock returns he tells Watson that the son didn’t provide any real information. Sherlock does not believe the son is guilty, but he must do more investigating first.

The next day, Sherlock and Watson visit the crime scene. The detective goes with them to show them where the murder occurred and to answer any questions they might have.

Watson watches as Sherlock moves around, studying the ground, footprints, and surroundings. Sherlock complains about how many footprints have been made over the crime scene. He is able to tell them apart, but they hinder his speed.

Sherlock finishes his observations and leaves the scene with Watson and the detective.

While the men travel back to their hotel, Holmes gives the detective a description of the murderer. Sherlock says the man is left-handed, has a limp, is tall, smokes Indian cigars with a cigar holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife.

The detective says that he doesn’t want to go around town looking at every man until he finds one that matches the description. Sherlock understands and he sends the detective on his way to try to prevent the son from being found guilty.

After the detective leaves, Sherlock explains the case to Watson. He says that the man is Australian and the murdered man knew who he was. Sherlock tells Watson many details, and then Watson realizes that the murderer is the neighbor of the murdered man.

Right as Watson realizes this, the neighbor, John Turner, walks in.

Turner begins talking with Sherlock and he admits to the murder. He tells Sherlock and Watson that he doesn’t have very long to live, and he doesn’t want to die in prison.

Turner tells Sherlock and Watson what led to the murder.

As a young man, Turner became mixed in with a bad group of people. He became a highway robber and he started going under the name “Black Jack of Ballarat.”

One day, his gang robbed a gold convoy. There were six people guarding it, and there were six of Turner’s gang.

The gang managed to steal the gold. In the process of stealing the gold,Turner put a pistol to the head of the wagon-driver, but did not kill him.

The gang stole the gold and then they dispersed throughout Europe.

The wagon-driver later followed Turner to Europe. The wagon-driver found Turner and threatened to reveal the truth about Turner’s wealth unless Turner followed his demands.

Turner ended up having to give the wagon-driver a free house, money and land.

The wagon-driver asked for one more thing that pushed Turner over the edge. He asked for Turner’s daughter to marry the wagon-driver’s son.

Turner refused and met with the wagon-driver the day of the murder.

Right before Turner could meet with the wagon-driver the son arrived and met with his father. The son and father got into a large argument over the proposed marriage, and the son left.

After the son was gone, Turner killed the wagon-driver.

Sherlock wrote the whole confession down just in case it was needed in the trial.

The son was acquitted in the trial, so Turner’s confession was never used.


Once again, I enjoyed reading this Sherlock Holmes story.

As I read these stories, I feel like not only do I become more observant of the world around me, but I also learn how I could confuse Sherlock Holmes.

Of course, I don’t know for certain if the tactics would work now, but if I were to commit a crime and try to evade Sherlock in the past, I think I could do it.

I do not have a good way to test my hypothesis because:
(1) nowadays there is DNA testing which is very effective when it comes to IDing a suspect,
(2) I do not have a time-machine that could bring me back to the 1880s,
(3) I do not have any intentions of committing a crime in the future, and
(4) Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character.

I will be back next week with The Five Orange Pips!
-Jocelyn Kuntz Age 15