Most murder mysteries have the typical victims, murderers, and detectives; this is especially true in the older murder mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Speckled Band has a typical detective, the famous detective being Sherlock Holmes with his deer stalker hat and pipe always deep in thought about the investigation "his arms folded, his hat pulled down over his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the deepest thought". But in the Lamb to the Slaughter the detectives are so foolish and naives, a complete contrast to Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes comes across as a typical fictional detective.
In addition Miss Stoner, in The Speckled Band is a typical victim, vulnerable, anxious, weak and scared. She say's " It is not cold which makes me shiver"; she was worried for her life. This line grips the reader and we can sense that something sinister is about to happen. Also in The Speckled Band, Dr Roylott, is the evil, plotting, devious, fictional murderer; this character was portrayed in most murder mysteries stories written in the late 19 century. The Speckled Band was written in 1892.
In the Lamb to the Slaughter we had no idea who the murderer and victim were going to be until the murder had been committed, in fact you might of thought the roles would have been reversed once reading the first few pages. The detectives in the story are portrayed as acting as typical modern police detectives, they eat the evidence! The detectives appear so stupid and useless compared to the marvellous and calculating Sherlock Holmes.
The points of high tension are different in the two stories. In The Speckled Band the main point of high tension is right at the end when they find out who the murderer is and when the snake comes at Holmes "Holmes sprang from the bed, struck a match, and lashed furiously with his cane at the bell-pull.”
Other points of tension were Helen Stoner talking to Holmes, " Frightened eyes like those of some hunted animal", the night of the murder, "A wild wind. The wind was howling outside… suddenly there burst forth the wild scream of a woman,” and the sister's hot words, "She suddenly shrieked out in a voice which I shall never forget, " O, my God! Helen! It was the band! The Speckled band!” In the Lamb to the Slaughter the point of high tension is whether the detectives would find out that it was Mrs Maloney who killed her husband, "Probably right under our very noses. What do you think, Jack?' And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.”
The differences in the settings in the two stories is that the Roald Dahl story is set in the present time, whereas the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story is set in a period of over 100 years ago. Both of the murders are set in the family home. In the Lamb to the Slaughter, "The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight.” "The bedrooms in this wing are on the ground floor, the sitting-rooms being in the central block of the building,” describes the house of Dr Roylott in The Speckled Band.
From my perspective I think that the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle story, The Speckled Band is the most successful out of the two, as the author made the main character, Sherlock Holmes such an intriguing and interesting character, which draws the audience in. He leaves the reader in suspense until the end of the story until the murderer is revealed. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories are so well-know due to the stories being turned into films and shown on the television.
