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    The Sign of Four
    The Sign of Four
    The Sign of Four
    Audiobook4 hours

    The Sign of Four

    Written by Arthur Conan Doyle

    Narrated by David Timson

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    About this audiobook

    The Sign of Four is the second story by Conan Doyle about the exploits of Sherlock Holmes. From the moment Mary Morstan tells Holmes about the mysterious disappearance of her father and the yearly gift of a pearl from an unknown benefactor, Holmes and his companion Watson are involved in an exotic tale of stolen treasure, secret oaths and murder, culminating in a breath-taking chase down the Thames. Holmes is on top form, and Watson falls in love. David Timson won the ‘Audiobook of the Year Award’ for his reading of this, the first Sherlock Holmes novel.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateNov 1, 2004
    ISBN9789629545208
    Author

    Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born on May 22, 1859. He became a doctor in 1882. When this career did not prove successful, Doyle started writing stories. In addition to the popular Sherlock Holmes short stories and novels, Doyle also wrote historical novels, romances, and plays.

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    Reviews for The Sign of Four

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    159 ratings71 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I really like the stories of Sherlock Holmes but this one was awful for me and great at the same time. The racism here is explicit and ruins the story.
    • 2/5
      I’m sorry, I have tried to like Sherlock Holmes, I really have. But I just can’t get on with the superior attitude, and the casual racism and sexism scattered throughout the stories.As other reviewers have said, this isn’t one of Conan Doyle’s best. The story is incredibly slow, and doesn’t seem to know when it’s finished. The whole of the last CD (a quarter of the book!) is unnecessary and feels very unrealistic – why would the criminal feel the need to tell his tale quite so thoroughly?. Also, Watson’s “love interest” seems contrived and isn’t followed through anyway, so why is it there?And I’m really sorry (and I know I’m in a minority here!), but I didn’t like Derek Jacobi’s reading either. I would have liked more differentiation between Watson’s and Holmes’ voices – often, picking up the story after a few hours gap I had to work out who was speaking from the content (when I think it should be immediately obvious from the voice). His regional / international accents are wobbly to say the least and he struggles to do women effectively.All in all, listening to this in the car on the school run with my daughter felt far too much like hard work!
    • 4/5
      This is my least favorite of all the Sherlock Holmes novels. I’d probably give it 3.5 stars, if we had half-star ratings. What I liked: Even though its tone is very dark, it fits the story, since this novel is all about the evils of colonialism. Its villain is well fleshed out, as are the supporting characters. It’s got a strong female character, whom Sherlock even praises for her “genius” (his word). There is some good humor here, too, as when Watson, overcome by Mary’s beauty, gets tongue-tied and says some really goofy things. There is subtlety here, too, with Sherlock’s character. He seems vulnerable here in a way that he generally doesn’t, and I get the strong impression that he is lying to Watson when he mentions how little notice he (Holmes) takes of the opposite sex. He seems very much affected by women, both here and in later stories, and his denial seems forced, almost desperate. There’s definitely some room for interepretation here. My impression is that Holmes likes being in control of everything, and women, who can prompt strong emotional reactions in men, are a threat to that control. And I really love that Doyle went out of his way on a couple different occasions to mention Watson’s limp. His army backstory is a constant presence here, and it adds still more depth to an already interesting character. And romance! Watson does not talk about himself enough in these stories, so it was nice seeing him get a love story here.What I didn’t like: Okay, I’m gonna come right out and say it. Sherlock is mean to Watson! This is the story where he crosses the line from lovably egotistical to just plain rude, and Watson must really love this man to keep on forgiving him like that. I do like that Holmes’ behavior isn’t excused; Watson really IS hurt by the comments, and Holmes even apologizes in one place. But Holmes’ egotism and self-centeredness reach their peak in this story, and that can be difficult. I also didn’t like how bleak everything turned out. So many characters are corrupt, and even the decent ones aren’t always great, and most elements of the story don’t really end well (although some do). There is a fairly long flashback scene near the end, but it doesn’t really add much. It doesn’t really make the villain more sympathetic; neither does it flesh out the victim in any meaningful way. The flashback in “Scarlet” did both of these things. Although this book has some beautiful moments, it’s just not my cup of tea.
    • 5/5
      Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to teach this one since Sherlock Holmes does cocaine and heroin and John Watson doesn't stop him, but it's still a wonderful story. The many layers of mysteries SH keeps track of and finds is impressive. To SH, there are no red herring clues, though some may seem that way to JW and the reader. I can't help but wonder what a novel by SH would look like. Of course, he would never waste his time on something so trivial.
    • 4/5
      Opens with Sherlock self-administering class-A drugs intravenously... because he's bored. How very Trainspotting. Another romp through the streets of London or rather down the Thames in this instance. A locked-room mystery instantly solved and love at first sight for Dr. Watson. Charming and fun.
    • 5/5
      Excellent for what it is, of course. This is the second Holmes novella, fits the formula perfectly, and is enjoyable from beginning to end. It features a locked room mystery (sort of), the usual mysteries that had their origin overseas, and even a little romantic interest for Watson. It is not quite as confounding and mysterious, nor is the solution quite as satisfying, as many of the later Holmes stories. But still excellent.
    • 3/5
      I listened to this book for a few days on my way to/from work, which was easy to do. I hadn't heard of this story before and I'm not really surprised. It was okay, and i liked it, but I don't think I'd bother to listen to it again, or to read it.
    • 2/5
      Meh. Dr. Watson's romance was pretty much the only interesting thing about this particular book. At least it was short.
    • 4/5
      Drug use pretty daring, funny, original.
    • 4/5
      This one had a lot of the dated language and imagery I'd expect from a Victorian novel unfortunately, so be aware of that going in. Colonialism was strong here. Besides that it had something that I think a lot of the short stories lack, and I really found that fun. The 'high speed boat chase' was absolutely hilarious to me, though I enjoyed it. After reading Lindsey Faye's Sherlock shorts now I'm seeing the constant romanticized descriptions of women and it's just so over the top and ridiculous. I did like seeing Watson and Mary's relationship though, that was very cute. Sadly the mystery in this one was not very mysterious, I was a bit bummed on how simple it worked out to be. Ah well!
    • 5/5
      If the first paragraph doesn't hook you, I don't know what will: "Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantlepiece, and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. With his long, white, nervous fingers he adjusted the delicate needle and rolled back his left shirtcuff. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist, all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks. Finally, he thrust the sharp point home, pressed down the tiny piston, and sank back into the velvet-lined armchair with a long sigh of satisfaction." (p. 1)That's right, The Sign of the Four opens with Sherlock Holmes injecting cocaine out of boredom. And things just rocket on ahead from there - the story is fast paced, tightly plotted, and infinitely interesting. A young woman arrives at 221B Baker Street seeking Holmes' help. For the past six years she has received expensive pearls from an anonymous patron, but suddenly her benefactor wants to meet in person. This leads to the discovery of a grisly corpse, and Holmes and Watson are soon running down London's streets in a mad search for a peg-legged killer and his cannibalistic accomplice. Conan Doyle balances the grisly murder elements and the intricate mystery plot with the delightful eccentrics of Holmes' character - not only his well-known penchant for piecing together the most minute bits of evidence and outsmarting the official investigators - but we also see his talent for disguises. He even fools his dearest friend, Watson (and is childishly pleased with himself as a result!) And it's nice to know that our heroes don't always have to take themselves too seriously:[After realizing their dog has lead them down the wrong trail when pursuing the killers.] "Sherlock Holmes and I looked blankly at each other and then burst simultaneously into an uncontrollable fit of laughter." (p. 74)Then the climax comes in the form of an epic boat chase. Seriously. Epic. Boat. Chase. And Watson falls in love with a woman whom Sherlock Holmes thinks would have made a good detective ("I think she is one of the most charming young ladies I ever met and might have been most useful in such work as we have been doing. She had a decided genius that way." ) (p. 152) Though, in forming an emotional attachment to Watson, Holmes despairs of either of them being any use to him ever again. So he goes back to the cocaine."'For me,'" said Sherlock Holmes, "'there still remains the cocaine-bottle.'" And he stretched his long white hand up for it." (p. 153) Conan Doyle wraps everything up in a very trim 153 page novel that is still fresh and exciting, even over a hundred years since it was written. Amazing. He is truly one of the masters of the craft. Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      So being a Sherlock Holmes newb, I had no idea that Dr. Watson got married. Second book into the series, and Watson gets love struck by the female lead in the story who brings the case to Holmes, and runs off to marry her at the end of the book.

      As a story goes, I really enjoyed this one, because it had ethical dilemmas as well as logical ones. However, this really felt like a rewrite of his first book with the evil Mormon sect, just rather than a tragedy, a successful romance. Some of the plot devices were predictable, which with the feeling of retelling his first book, kept it from being 5 stars for me.

      But you can't help but really enjoy how Holmes comes to his conclusions. It's always fun to see how he logically connects each piece of the mystery, and as a reader, it gets you thinking how Doyle created the mystery, and wondering how he put the story together in such a way, that as a reader, you can't piece it together until Holmes explains it.

      Delightful.
    • 3/5
      A client walks in and Watson falls in love. At the end there is a long section with Jonathan Smalls back story leading up to the case.
    • 3/5
      I read the Sherlock Holmes series as a child, so I was very startled to re-open this book after ten years to the scene of the beloved detective injecting cocaine into his arm. Obviously, this went right over my head when I was younger."The Sign of the Four," which is the second Sherlock Holmes mystery, has Holmes and Watson investigating a case that involves a beautiful young woman, Miss Morstan. For years, she has been receiving pearls in the mail from a mysterious source. She is given the chance to uncover the benefactor's identity, but within the offer is a puzzling threat to someone who wronged her. Baffled at who this unknown individual could possibly mean, she calls upon Sherlock Holmes for help. But just as they begin to investigate, a man is murdered, and someone whom Holmes is sure is innocent gets the blame. And so the mystery unfolds as the two detectives try to recover Miss Morstan's fortune, find her mysterious pearl-sender, and clear the name of a falsely accused man.Perhaps it was because since reading Doyle as a child I have been introduced to Agatha Christie and other mysteries. Or perhaps it was just because I was expecting something entirely different. But for whatever the reason, I didn't love this book like I thought I would. It was average - and I will keep it, but I don't feel any motivation to take out any more Sherlock books now.While reading, Sherlock Holmes himself struck me as annoying, and I had to struggle to keep looking for anything likable about him. Watson on the other hand (who I used to think was very annoying as a child), was charming and seemed far more realistic of a person than Holmes.Sherlock is very precise and detail-obsessed, and having built a revered name for himself, he also comes across as quite an arrogant, self important person. He is always convinced that he is right, and seems constantly impressed with himself. The scene where he puts on a disguise that fools even Watson, then reveals himself triumphantly, reminded me of a child. He seemed delighted to have pulled off the disguise so well, and told everyone so. I half expected him to say "Ta da!" But of course, if you examine this thinking, you'll just realize that Holmes admittedly deserves to be a bit inflated. He is a brilliant detective, and I suppose that his disguise was, grudgingly, pretty good if it even fooled his longtime companion. But this just annoyed me even further: Holmes is irritating at times, but he deserves every bit of the praise he gets (and he knows it). The author seemed just as enamored with his character as the rest of the city is. Holmes never makes a mistake, or if he does, it is quickly retracted and spun into being beneficial. Holmes always has impressive plans and second-plans and friends and connections and resources at his fingertips. With this set-up, I can't see how Holmes could possibly have failed to become a successful detective.Watson does not exactly play such an important part in solving the mystery, but as a reader, I was happy to overlook this. I was relieved to recall that it is Watson who narrates the stories, not Holmes.Watson is more grounded than Holmes, more practical. Holmes often imagines impossible, exciting solutions to mysteries, while Watson is more likely to think of what is most logical. Of course, since these are, after all, impossible, exciting mystery stories, Holmes' guesses are most often right, but in the real world, it would probably have been Watson solving all the cases.Watson also seems far more, well, human than Holmes. I was very happy for him in finding a love interest with Miss Morstan. He deserves it.Besides the revolution of finding that I actually dislike Sherlock Holmes (that still doesn't sound right), I also found this book to be (surprise, again) a bit dull at times. It simply never held my attention.I am very glad that I re-read this book, even if it was a bit jarring. Some books you read as a child seem completely and totally different when you re-read them as an adult.
    • 4/5
      Sherlock Holmes, the world’s first consulting detective, is bored. And when he’s bored he injects himself with one of two types of drugs–cocaine or morphine. His housemate and biographer, Dr Watson, hates to see the genius in such a state so when Mary Morstan turns up at 221B Baker Street with a puzzling case he is relieved. Relieved, and other things. Miss Morstan is rather fetching.The young woman presents her story, which involves her long-missing father, pearls that began arriving mysteriously a few years ago and, now, a note promising to explain everything if only she meets a stranger that very evening and doesn’t bring any police. She may bring two friends, though. Holmes and Watson will do nicely and they’re certainly up for it.Off they go and are soon mired in a story involving a locked-room murder and missing treasure and a boat race on the Thames.And casual racism. Sakes alive, the casual racism. One has to be prepared for it in fiction from 100+ years ago–the Victorians in particular loved some anthropologically-based racism. They started stumbling across new races of people and immediately began ascribing all sorts of negative and offensive characteristics to them. This novel is particularly rife, though.Story-wise I’d give this one a 4/5. Holmes is doing his typical deductive thing, which is why I like reading the stories and why I assume others do, too. If you’re a completest and want to read all of them then it’s a fine read, though if casual racism puts you off stories, this one is going for gold.The Sign of Four is the second story featuring Sherlock Holmes. The first was A Study in Scarlet .[Completely off-topic editorializing: Dang, white people are awful. Just because you own the world doesn’t mean you’re the barometer against what everything else should be measured. Reading it from the point of view of a person writing from the country that had the largest empire on Earth at the time is interesting in terms of getting a sense of ego. It’s a digression, but I kept thinking about it while reading the book so it became part of the experience of the novel for me.]
    • 4/5
      It seems that Holmes is an early discoverer ("I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it...") of a new didactic method of working out crimes: "Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner." Three qualities are necessary to make the ideal detective -- power of observation, deduction, and technical subjects; it is all a work of precision: "No, no: I never guess. It is a shocking habit, destructive to the logical faculty."Holmes uses cocaine as a substitute of craved mental stimulant which detective's work provides to him: "My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere." When confronted by Watson he is not irritated, "On the contrary, he put his finger-tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of this chair, like one who has a relish for conversation."And that morning, to Watson's astonishment, Holmes demonstrates that "For example, observation shows me that you have been to Wigmore Street Post-Office, but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram."The plot arch is uncovered in a straight forward story which Dr. Watson recounts in first person: A young lady, Mary Mortan, seeks the assistance of able men to accompany her to a meeting with a mysterious someone who promises to reveal to her how her father died and a commitment to relinquish her fair share of a supposed treasure she inherited. Then, the entire action is compressed into the following 3 days.Reading Conan Doyle is also a bit of an archeological window into the language of the 19th century. For me, the smattering of quaint phraseology only adds an element of authenticity to the book.The book excels in unfolding the detective story (the "what"). Tightly paced and compact. One mildly unsatisfactory element is the choice of a deus-ex-machina plot device in explaining the "why". An entire chapter of the book is filled by a guy who sits in a chair and tells a story that puts put the motives behind the crime that was investigated by Holmes and Watson. One defense to this decision could be that this way Conan Doyle preserves the consistency of the book of being entirely told from the point of view of Dr. Watson and written in the first person.
    • 4/5
      This is the second Sherlock Holmes novel. I was surprised to find that Holmes was already using cocaine this early in the series. I had been told in class that Conan Doyle had introduced Holmes' drug use in order to make him less likable, because he didn't wish to continue writing about him. That seems an unlikely motive for the second published work, so I guess I can throw that theory out the window.The client in this story is Mary Morstan, whose father disappeared under mysterious circumstances and who is now receiving very strange letters from an anonymous benefactor. This is learned to be Thaddeus Sholto, whose father had hidden a treasure that Miss Morstan's father also had a claim to. The treasure is located by Thaddeus Shoto's brother Benjamin, and when Holmes, Watson and Miss Morstan go with Thaddeus to his brother's home, they find Benjamin dead inside a locked bedroom with the windows all locked shut. Homes deduces the means of the killers' entry and exit and uses a dog to follow the trail, as well as his Baker Street Irregulars. He even uses a disguise to do a bit of snooping himself. This, of course, is what pays off. Once the killer is caught, he relates his whole tale to Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Athelny Jones.There is a bit of a love story in this one too: Watson and Mary fall in love and are engaged by the end of the book. Holmes sighs at Watson's decision to marry since love is so illogical, but he pays Mary the compliment in saying that she "had a decided genius in that way," meaning in investigative work. Quite high praise coming from him.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      I don't know why, but up until now, I've never read any of the books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the celebrated character Sherlock Holmes. When considering my reading goals for 2010, Sherlock Holmes didn't rate a mention and I guess it was only that someone else brought one into the house that I became interested at all.And so it was that I came to read 'The Sign of Four.' I warmed to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson much quicker than I ever thought possible. This is probably a result of my ignorance and assumptions I'd made over the years as to the dynamic between them and just what type of character Holmes was. I didn't find Dr Watson to be dumb or dopey in any way, although he is readily portrayed as such in many circles. I didn't realise that Holmes was such a genius when it came to observing the detail in a fashion that even Simon Baker's character from 'The Mentalist' tv show would be proud. Holmes was in no way stuffy or old-fashioned, and I was shocked to learn of this character's involvement with drugs that are now illegal.I did find the romance between Dr Watson and the leading female character to be totally unrealistic for the modern reader, but who knows, perhaps it was completely believable at the time of publication.I thoroughly enjoyed reading the explanations of logic Holmes provides Watson and the setting in London in the 1880s is immediately appealing. In fact, it's hard to believe the author was writing these mystery novels more than 130 years ago, and I can now understand how the Sherlock Holmes series of books can endure all this time, and why they're a treasured classic!If you haven't read any Sherlock Holmes, I encourage you to get onboard, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!
    • 4/5
      The Sign of Four means murder! Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson accompany a beautiful young woman to a sinister assignation. Mary Morstan receives a mystery letter telling her she is a wronged woman. In order to seek justice she's to meet her unknown benefactor, bringing with her two companions. But surprise, surprise, there are others stalking in the fog of London! A one-legged ruffian has revenge on his mind - and his companions, who place no value on human life!
      This story has non-stop action and it's certainly believable (bearing in mind when it was written)- It has a really surprising ending - jewel-thieves at its best. With greed another factor, there is plenty of adventure and mystery to get you turning-over the page. There's also a destination of love for Dr Watson with Mary Morstan!
      Yes, at times it's certainly curious and intriguing.. along with its whodunit theme.
      A well written story with lots of very good description and detail. Some really great characters.


    • 3/5
      A good old comfortable read
    • 2/5
      mostly of interest to me for the wildly extravagant racism and the portrayal of drug use.
    • 4/5
      This was the second Sherlock Holmes story, written following the famous arranged literary encounter between Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde (which resulted in the latter's Picture of Dorian Grey). The structure is quite similar to A Study in Scarlet, though Sign has probably more typical Sherlockian features. Again, there is a (rather overly long) backstory to the villain Jonathan Small's actions, dating back to his time in India and as a prisoner on the Andaman islands in the Indian Ocean, though it doesn't dominate the story quite as much as the Utah desert part of A Study in Scarlet. Great, swashbuckling and exciting stuff, despite the now cringingly dated racial and religious stereotypes and the poor research (a character named Mahomet Singh, a Muslim/Sikh hybrid, makes no sense). The story is also famous of course for Watson's marriage to Mary Morstan at the end of the story, a decision the author clearly regretted as she scarcely appears ever again and is killed off to give a reason for Watson to move back into Holmes's rooms.
    • 3/5
      _The Sign of the Four_ isn't a bad mystery, but I didn't quite like it as much as _A Study in Scarlet_ or most of the stories in _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_. I'm starting to think, however, that these stories aren't always of interest because of the mystery itself (though sometimes they certainly are), but more because of the revelations they disclose about the character of Sherlock Holmes himself. Did you know that he had fought a prize fighter and won? I didn't before, but now I do. We also get to see first hand what happens to Holmes when he has no work of sufficient interest to tax his incredible mind and he slumps into malaise and cocaine use to take the edge off.

      This is also an important story for the genial Dr. Watson as he meets and falls in love with his future wife, Mary Morston. Good thing it turns out she was a client of Holmes' in these early days of their acquaintance since it helps to explain why she lets her husband go gallivanting around London with him all the time with nary a complaint. She owes him.

      The central mystery revolves around a lost treasure and a missing soldier (Mary's father) who disappeared mysteriously years before. A man murdered in a locked room proves to pose a problem for the police, but not for Holmes of course. Along the way Watson discovers love and Holmes once again helps the police solve a mystery for which he receives no credit. As I said, not a bad story, but not one of my favourites thus far.
    • 4/5
      Never read this one before, same as with study in scarlet... i had only read the short stories when i was younger. This had the same kind of flashback sectioin, only it was a story told by a character as opposed to a full on flashback with a different narrator...
    • 3/5
      This book confused me with all of the characters running around. The conclusions made by Holmes at times seemed to be too much of a reach, but the boat chase was thrilling. Overall a good read.
    • 5/5
      For me this second Sherlock Holmes novel is what defines a classic. By no means is Doyle the master stylist of a Thomas Hardy or Oscar Wilde, and I'm not going to claim there are profound insights into the human condition, but this novel wears its age very lightly indeed. There are books written decades later that feel far more dated, and the few times anything in it feel the slightest bit old fashioned, it lends it more the piquant flavor of the Victorian Age than anything that feels like a flaw. This is a fun, fast read--barely novel length, only 12 chapters and barely over 40 thousand words and along with its mystery and adventure even provides a soupçon of romance. I don't think this is as good as The Hound of the Baskervilles, the most famous Sherlock Holmes story and novel, but it's holds up well compared to the first, A Study in Scarlet and there's so much here that makes Holmes such an immortal character. There are his brilliant deductions such as his tour de force with Watson's watch, there's his sense of humor that ameliorates his sometimes cold ratiocination, his flare for the dramatic seen in his revelation of his disguises, and even his flaws like his addiction (or close to it) for cocaine, which is highlighted here at the beginning and end of the novel. So much here made me smile. The Holmesian aphorism: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." The Baker Street Irregulars. Toby the master tracker, a mongrel that's a mix of spaniel, collie and greyhound. The exotic mix of things from the height of the British Raj, which includes nothing less than hidden treasure to be found. I don't know that I'd recommend this as an introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I'd point someone first perhaps to the collection of short stories The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes or the best Holmes novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, or even the first novel, A Study in Scarlet. But certainly if you've already discovered you love Sherlock Holmes, you shouldn't be disappointed in The Sign of Four.
    • 4/5
      This was very weird compared to the previous Holmes book I read. Less Mormon-hating, more racism. Also, what with reading The Mad Ship and watching Muppet Treasure Island recently, I feel like everything I see is about how one-legged men are evil. :s
    • 5/5
      Outstanding narration. I listened as I followed with the book. A true page turner.
    • 5/5
      Excellent for what it is, of course. This is the second Holmes novella, fits the formula perfectly, and is enjoyable from beginning to end. It features a locked room mystery (sort of), the usual mysteries that had their origin overseas, and even a little romantic interest for Watson. It is not quite as confounding and mysterious, nor is the solution quite as satisfying, as many of the later Holmes stories. But still excellent.
    • 3/5
      A young woman appeals to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson for help. During the course of the investigation, the detective and his friend are called upon to solve a locked-room murder and discover the story of the disappearance of the Agra treasure from India over twenty years ago.I believe this novella was written at the start of Conan Doyle's career, and it shows: the pacing is quite uneven, and individual plot strands are quite preposterous. Still, some of the usual Sherlock Holmes trademarks are there: the bumbling police inspector out of his depth, the use of the Baker Street irregulars, Holmes's drug use and playing of the violin, Watson being used as a sounding board for the great detective's fanciful - yet inevitably accurate - ideas. This story introduces the character of Mary Morstan, who later becomes Watson's wife, but has otherwise little to say or do, apart from being the subject of Watson's immediate adoration. One for completists.