History Literature / TheValleyOfFear

* YourHeadAsplode: The victim: "Lying across his chest was a curious weapon, a shotgun with the barrel sawed off a foot in front of the triggers. It was clear that this had been fired at close range and that he had received the whole charge in the face, blowing his head almost to pieces. The triggers had been wired together..."

* XanatosSpeedChess: [[spoiler: Douglas has to accelerate his endgame against the Lodge once his cover is partially blown. To his credit, he manages to turn it to his advantage and use this to round up the gang.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Holmes is arguably indirectly responsible for [[spoiler: Douglas' death at the hands of Moriarty. If he hadn't gone down to Birlstone or if he had heeded Mrs. Douglas' cryptic plea for assistance, then Douglas might have been able to fake his death.]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Douglas' plan was to spend several more months gathering evidence and intel on the Lodge's activities before arresting the gang. Morris' tipoff about the Pinkerton's undercover operative blows these plans out of the water and Douglas has to accelerate his endgame.]]

* SeriesContinuityError: Here Holmes has already told Watson about Moriarty, but in "The Final Problem", Watson claims to have never heard of him. Justified, when you remember this novel was written well after "The Final Problem".

* {{Hypocrite}}:The Scowrer criminal gang, and particularly their leader Bodymaster [=McGinty=], justify their crimes as part of class warfare: They extort money from the corporations that are exploiting the workers and strike against the wealthy capitalists. Doyle, however, spends several paragraphs explaining just how well-attired [=McGinty=] is, and as the story progresses he dresses more and more extravagantly, adding layers of gold and diamonds, while still claiming that he is fighting for the worker against the wealthy capitalists.

* BiggerBad: Although Baldwin and the Scowers do most of the main action, it's Moriarty who finally gets the job done

* ContinuitySnarl: Here Holmes has already told Watson about Moriarty, but in "The Final Problem", Watson claims to have never heard of him. Justified, when you remember this novel was written well after "The Final Problem."

* DownerEnding; Moriarty's killers finally get to Douglas.

* GenreShift: The first half is a bona fide mystery story. The second half is much more like a western.

* {{Hypocrite}}:The Scowrer criminal gang, and particularly their leader Bodymaster [=McGinty=], justify their crimes as part of class warfare: They extort money from the corporations that are exploiting the workers and strike against the wealthy capitalists. Doyle, however, spends several paragraphs explaining just how well-attired [=McGinty=] is, and as the story progreses he dresses more and more extravagantly, adding layers of gold and diamonds, while still claiming that he is fighting for the worker against the wealthy capitalists.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Holmes is arguably indirectly responsible for [[spoiler: Douglas' death at the hands of Moriarty. If he hadn't gone down to Birlstone or if he had eeded Mrs. Douglas' cryptic plea for assistance, then Douglas might have been able to fake his death.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Holmes is arguably indirectly responsible for [[spoiler: Douglas' death at the hands of Moriarty. If he hadn't accepted MacDonald's offer to come down to Birlstone or heeded Mrs. Douglas' cryptic plea for assistance, then Douglas might have been able to fake his death and escape both the remnants of the Lodge and Moriarty.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Holmes is arguably indirectly responsible for [[Douglas' death at the hands of Moriarty. If he hadn't accepted MacDonald's offer to come down to Birlstone or heeded Mrs. Douglas' cryptic plea for assistance, then Douglas might have been able to fake his death and escape both the remnants of the Lodge and Moriarty.]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: McMurdo's plan was to spend several more months gathering evidence and intel on the Lodge's activities before arresting the gang. Morris' tipoff about the Pinkerton's undercover operative blows these plans out of the water and McMurdo has to accelerate his endgame.]]

* XanatosSpeedChess: [[spoiler: McCurdo has to accelerate his endgame against the Lodge once his cover is partially blown. To his credit, he manages to turn it to his advantage and use this to round up the gang.]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Douglas' plan was to spend several more months gathering evidence and intel on the Lodge's activities before arresting the gang. Morris' tipoff about the Pinkerton's undercover operative blows these plans out of the water and Douglas has to accelerate his endgame.]]

* XanatosSpeedChess: [[spoiler: Douglas has accelerate his endgame against the Lodge once his cover is partially blown. He still manages to get all of them arrested.]]

* XanatosSpeedChees: [[spoiler: Douglas has accelerate his endgame against the Lodge once his cover is partially blown. He still manages to get all of them arrested.]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Douglas' plan was to spend several more months gathering evidence and intel on McGinty's activities before arresting the gang. Morris' tipoff about the Pinkerton's undercover operative blows these plans out of the water and Douglas has to accelerate his endgame.]]

* ContiuitySnarl: Here Holmes has already told Watson about Moriarty, but in "The Final Problem", Watson claims to have never heard of him. Justified, when you remember this novel was written well after "The Final Problem."

* AmbiguousSyntax: The final chapter title, "The Trapping of Birdy Edwards; the apparent object is really the subject. Really, it stretches the boundaries of idiomatic English so far that it's not really so much "ambiguous" as [[FalseReassurance "just this side of lying"]].

* AmbiguousSyntax: The final chapter title, "The Trapping of Birdy Edwards]]; the apparent object is really the subject. Really, it stretches the boundaries of idiomatic English so far that it's not really so much "ambiguous" as [[FalseReassurance "just this side of lying".

* AmbiguousSyntax: [[spoiler: The final chapter title, "The Trapping of Birdy Edwards]]; the apparent object is really the subject. Really, it stretches the boundaries of idiomatic English so far that it's not really so much "ambiguous" as [[FalseReassurance "just this side of lying"]].

* GunStruggle: [[spoiler: Baldwin and Douglas have one of these; Douglas wins.]]
* [[spoiler: HeroKiller]]: Moriarty. He has a rep to maintain.

* ReverseMole: Perhaps the earliest use of the trope:  [[spoiler: the protagonist is revealed to be an undercover Pinkerton agent.]]

* [[spoiler: UndercoverCopReveal: [=McMurdo=] was actually a Pinkerton.]]

* GunStruggle: Baldwin and Douglas have one of these; Douglas wins.

* ReverseMole: Perhaps the earliest use of the trope.  The protagonist is revealed to be an undercover Pinkerton agent.

* UndercoverCopReveal: [=McMurdo=] was actually a Pinkerton.