THE CHESS MYSTERIES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Raymond M. Smullyan was predictable from beginning to end. Immediately Dr. Smullyan admits he doesn't like or play chess yet proceeds to use chess as a vehicle to demonstrate 'retrograde analysis' as though it were unique to chess. Any human being who has mastered his trade, craft, or profession has probably routinely reconfigured his work to identify a prior characteristic. Retrograde analysis is common to anyone skilled at their occupation and the adroit have no need to read this book to learn a commonly acquired skill. (The unadroit will simply continue as they are.) I further think this book will disappoint both chess players and Sherlock Holmes fans, and contribute nothing for students of logic.

I think the 2-star reviewer misses the point of this book: it's supposed to be fun. And it is. The puzzles are pretty challenging, and it definitely helps if you play chess. You tend to notice positional abnormalities that are the bases of the problems. From there, it's just detective work.

But the real treat to this book is the world the author creates. Smullyan's characters can't play chess for nuts. You should see the bizarre positions they come up with - it's as though they're making random moves. Yet this doesn't diminish their love of the game one bit. They're such gentlemen too. No one minds when Dr. Holmes interrupts to ask questions. His new friends are always polite and like nothing more than a good demostration of deductive reasoning. I wish I lived in their world.

The other reviews given below cover the contents comprehensively - I wholeheartedly agree that it is a wonderful book for those that enjoy puzzles and have a knowledge of chess. However, lest anyone believe otherwise - this book will in no way improve your chess playing skills. The puzzles are all about what happened (ie the history of moves) to bring about the current chess position (given in a diagram) on the assumption that the laws of chess have been strictly observed. There is no assumption that either side played plausibly or well to bring about the current position. Thus, the puzzles do not concern a future sequence(s) of moves that would, for example, lead to mate for black/white. This is what sets it apart from most chess puzzle books.