Tales of Terror and Mystery

4 out of 5

By Nathalie Brossard on Nov 15, 2010

This is a collection of stories that Doyle believes fall into the horror category. None of these are very scary unless you have a vivid imagination. The mystery stories are a pleasant diversion. The first story, the Horror of the Heights recounts the adventures of a pilot Joyce Armstrong. He battles several creatures of the air. He succeeds once but is killed later. There are other stories dealing with a monster that terrorizes a local farmer, the mystery of the beetle hunter that have unexpected but gratifying endings. For example in the beetle hunter, a newly qualified medical doctor sees an advertisement for a strong man who is also fond of beetles. The people answering the advertisement are influential members of the British aristocracy. He is taken to one of their houses where he is successful in putting an end to the danger that threatens them. The danger is not a monster and there is no reference to the occult here. A lot of the stories are quite believable. Again, their context needs to be taken into account. Most of them are based in the early 19th century. They are still an excellent read especially the mystery section. Written by Pranav Lal.