Sherlock Holmes

This collection of 13 short mystery stories features everyone's favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his assistant, Dr. Watson. Three years after Holmes disappears and is presumed dead, he reappears and picks up right where he left off with Watson.

The 13 mysteries in this collection were originally published in The Strand Magazine and Collier's in Great Britain and the United States. Published in 1905, this book was the first Holmes collection since 1893, when Holmes died in a confrontation with his arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty in "The Final Problem". The success of The Hound of the Baskervilles, which was published in 1901-1902 and is set before Holmes's death, created great pressure on Doyle to revive his famous character.

Missing, presumed dead, for three years, Sherlock Holmes returns triumphantly to his dear companion Dr Watson. And not before time! London has never been in more need of his extraordinary services: a murderous individual with an air gun stalks the city. Among thirteen further brilliant tales of mystery, detection and deduction, Sherlock Holmes investigates the problem of the Norwood Builder, deciphers the message of the Dancing Men, and cracks the case of the Six Napoleons.

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes" heralded the triumphant resurrection of the world's greatest consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, after his apparent (and untimely) demise in the story "The Final Problem." Under intense pressure from his fans to bring him back after having killed off Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle finally relented and, in "The Adventure of the Empty House," explains how Holmes escaped the same, dismal fate as his nemesis, Professor Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes, a fictional character of the late 19th and early 20th century created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is a brilliant London-based "consulting detective" famous for his intellectual prowess and renowned for his enormous scope of observation, his astute logical reasoning and forensic science skills in solving difficult crimes.

Nor has three years of absence taken away his power to startle the faithful Dr. Watson. But it is the Park Lane mystery---the murder of the Honorable Ronald Adair---that brings Holmes back to life and the search for the second most dangerous man in London. And when that case is satisfactorily concluded, Holmes is once again free to devote himself to examining 12 more of those interesting little problems that the complex life of London so plentifully presents.

In The Valley of Fear, the great detective Sherlock Holmes has been summoned by a coded message to the house of a man called Douglas. But he and his faithful friend Dr. Watson arrive to find they are too late---Douglas has been murdered, with a mysterious calling card left by his side. Scotland Yard is stumped, but Holmes, detecting the diabolical workings of his arch-enemy Professor Moriarty, has some ideas of his own.

When a strange coded message arrives at 221B Baker Street, sent by a member of Professor Moriarty's criminal organization, Sherlock Holmes soon deciphers it and finds a warning: someone is about to be murdered. A visit from a Scotland Yard inspector confirms that one John Douglas has been mysteriously killed in Sussex. Even Sherlock Holmes, well accustomed to the bizarre, finds the elements of this case unusual.

The masterful detective Sherlock Holmes employs his uncanny talent for deduction when faced with a brutal murder in England. The trail of clues leads to a connection with a violent organization in the United States.

The mystery begins with a coded warning of imminent danger, drawing the illustrious Sherlock Holmes and the faithful Dr Watson to a secluded country home. A trail of bewildering clues, including raincoats, dumbbells, and a missing wedding ring, leads to sleuthing in the finest Holmesian tradition - with a gripping back story of a cult that terrorized a valley in the American West.

The Sherlock Holmes series read in unabridged form, by David Timson for Naxos AudioBooks, is widely regarded as one of the finest. Here, Timson brings his remarkable performance skills to one of Doyle’s full-length novels. Holmes and his faithful Dr Watson are summoned to a country house by a coded message. They arrive too late to save a life and then pursue the trail which leads to the unmasking of the murderer.

"The Valley of Fear" is the fourth and final full novel written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that featured his greatest creation: the world's first consulting detective, the brilliant and legendary Sherlock Holmes.

An English gentleman is murdered with a uniquely American weapon: a sawed-off shotgun. Since the police are baffled, Sherlock Holmes is asked to solve the murder.

The story is similar in structure to "A Study in Scarlet", with the second half taking place in the United States and filling in the history of what led up to the first half. Toward the end, the story comes back to Holmes and Watson.

The Valley of Fear is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Arthur Conan Doyle. This dark tale details an early encounter between Holmes and Professor Moriarty. When Watson and Holmes receive a cipher warning them of evildoing, they're prompted to travel to Sussex, where they discover a corpse with its head blown to pieces.

Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard arrives to 221B Baker Street with a case: a Mr. John Douglas has been found murdered at a remote English manor. As Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate, they uncover strange clues pointing to a shadowy secret society and a dark history that stretches across the Atlantic—all the way to a mining town in America. As the case deepens, so does the danger, testing the limits of both their wit and mettle.

The deadly hand of Professor Moriarty once more reaches out to commit a vile and ingenious crime, but a mole in Moriarty's criminal organization alerts Sherlock Holmes of the evil deed by means of a cipher. When Holmes and Watson arrive at a Sussex manor house they appear to be too late. The discovery of a body suggests that Moriarty's henchmen have been at work. But there is much more to this tale of murder than meets the eye.

Sherlock Holmes receives a mysterious ciphered message from a man using an alias sent to Professor Moriarty. After deciphering the code, more than once, they uncover that a man named John Douglas is in imminent danger, and Holmes believes that Professor Moriarty might be involved. Holmes and Dr. Watson enlist the help of Inspector Alec MacDonald of Scotland Yard. The inspector and Holmes have different theories on who killed John Douglas, who was shot at close range inside his own home, and they go on the hunt for clues.

Altogether, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories about Sherlock Holmes. Throughout, Dr. Watson (or just Watson) was included as a catalyst for Holmes’s massive ego and mental processes. Eventually, Doyle felt the stories were distracting him from more serious literary work, but he did finally wind it up with the seven stories you’re about to hear. In the words of Watson (Dr. John H. Watson, MD), we have the pleasure of knowing about the declining years, beginning now.

There is no better description of this book than that of Dr. Watson himself: "The friends of Mr. Sherlock Holmes will be glad to learn that he is still alive and well, though somewhat crippled by occasional attacks of rheumatism. He has, for many years, lived in a small farm upon the downs five miles from Eastbourne, where his time is divided between philosophy and agriculture. During this period of rest he has refused the most princely offers to take up various cases....

This collection of eight world-famous cases from Doctor Watson's portfolio illustrates the singular mental faculties of Sherlock Holmes: a body on the London Underground; the strange disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax; a parcel containing some coarse salt and two freshly severed human ears.