“The Adventure of the Speckled Band" - Sterling

A detective story follows the investigation of mysterious crime, outlined clue by clue until solved. The theme of detection is seen in many series of books, movies, and TV shows, which continue to be popular for their ability to hold the audience’s attention. In “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” written by Arthur Conan Doyle, detective Sherlock Holmes is approached by a nervously frightened Helen Stoner, who mourns the mysterious death of her twin sister, Julia. This short story of Sherlock Holmes encompasses the qualities of a typical detective story, revealing clues while the plot continues but refraining from explaining how they tie together until the end. From the beginning of Helen’s recount of her sister’s death, it was apparent that the step-father, Dr. Grimesby Roylott, had motive to kill his step-daughters for money left for them by their deceased mother. Surprisingly, no other characters in the story were emphasized as suspects for the murder, placing the majority of the attention on Roylott, which made the plot less suspenseful. Detective stories discover the criminal through investigating suspects, motives, and retracing the criminal act. The biggest question in this story was exactly how the murder took place, which is not even slightly revealed until the very end. The story was not told through the perspective of Sherlock Holmes, the protagonist, but instead through his partner, Dr. Watson. This emphasized Holmes’ many good qualities, for Watson admired Sherlock for his talent as a detective and as a person.