This short novel tells of the story of an old British soldier of the Afghan wars of the 1840s who is scared witless by a memory of something in his own past, from which he tries to hide in an old gothic mansion in a remote part of Scotland, where he and his family live as recluses. His secret turns out to be the killing of a holy man, which gave rise to a threat of spiritual vengeance by some Buddhist priests. The story is atmospheric and well told but, like other Doyle stories involving Asian cultures (the Sherlock Holmes story The Sign of Four) mixes elements of different religions and cultures (the slain Buddhist adept is called Goobal Shah, and one of the avengers Ram Singh). Doyle was an intelligent man of the world so it is disappointing he makes these ignorant mistakes though, with respect to the Afghan wars, the narrator acknowledges "in my own heart that the murderous spirit has been set on foot by the Christian before it was taken up by the Buddhists". Despite these flaws that tend to grate on the modern reader, this is a gripping piece of writing that showcases the variety of different genres of fiction that Doyle produced. ( )

This is a great mystery, told in the same sparse but eloquent style used with the Holmes stories. I could, and did as I was reading, nitpick about a few things, which is why I went with 4 stars. Don't ask me what they were though; I just finished it, and yet can't put my finger on what I found lacking.

But the book represents something far more fascinating than another solid Conan Doyle mystery; The Mystery of Cloomber is an excellent representation of the two sides of Conan Doyle: the empiricist and the spiritualist. Originally published in 1888, this story shows that ACD's embracement of the occult was a gradual process that spanned decades. WWI might have been the tipping point, but as this mystery attests, the foundations were firmly in place early in his career.

The book is also interesting for the setting: if you liked the bleak moors of England in The Hound of the Baskervilles, you'll enjoy seeing Doyle's earlier use of the moors (this time Scottish) in The Mystery of Cloomber. Like Hound of the Baskervilles, the moors play a big part in the plot, though their mysterious and heavy atmosphere are used to less effect.

i don't want to say more about the plot for fear of spoiling it, but I'll leave off with this: this mystery might not have a satisfactory ending for some readers. There's a resolution, but, well... ( )

Coincidentally started reading this book just after a visit to Wigtown and the Rhins of Galloway. Not a gripping story and not, I suspect Conan Doyle at his best.

This was a nice little mystery. It isn't that suspenseful, I don't know exactly why, I just didn't find it so. But it was an interesting story with engaging characters. ( )

This was a nice little mystery. It isn't that suspenseful, I don't know exactly why, I just didn't find it so. But it was an interesting story with engaging characters. ( )