Here’s a revelation (or epiphany, you choose): the bloke who created Sherlock Holmes knows how to write a good yarn. Even if you can see the twist coming from a mile off because these stories are more than a century old and other authors have pilfered from Doyle, he still holds your attention; he keeps you turning the pages.

Round the Fire collects 17 stories. All of them start with an inexplicable occurrence—How did the passengers on a train vanish without a trace? What’s the secret of the locked chest a ship’s crew discovered? What’s the deal with the rich relative who owns a Brazillian cat?—that’s gradually explained throughout the story. Sometimes—though not as often as I anticipated—the explanation is supernatural in provenance. But the answer is mostly more grounded in the real, albeit convoluted (“The Lost Special” is a perfect example, as is the unfortunately named “The Black Doctor.”).

I was entertained by most of the stories. I especially loved the one with the Brazillian cat. But my favourite was “The Pot of Caviare”, which takes place during the Boxer Rebellion in China. A scattered group of Europeans take shelter against an advancing battalion of Boxers. Expecting reinforcements to save them, one of the Europeans recounts the time he was nearly poisoned in Russia. Yes, the ending is foreshadowed, but it’s an ending that’s so grisly and dark that a part of me didn’t expect Conan Doyle to go there. He most definitely does.

My copy of Round The Fire also has the awkwardly named “The Jew’s Breastplate”. Like “The Lost Special”, it’s one of the more convoluted stories, involving the titular breastplate (worn by the High Priest… not just an ordinary “Jew”) and an attempt to steal the gem-stones (which form the Urim and Thummin) that adorn the breastplate. Any story that dives, even if it’s just a pinkie toe, into Jewish mythology is something I’m gonna love. All the moreso here because I’ve always been fascinated by the U&T, shooting out rays of light to project God’s word. 

Well played, Conan Doyle. You’ve got potential!