The case, it seems, concludes long before the novel does. What this means in practice is that only the first half of each book is a mystery – the remainder is explanation. For those unfamiliar with those books, at the midpoint of each Holmes identifies a crucial figure and the remainder of the books becomes a historical tale explaining the background to the events we have witnessed. Both A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four have points of interest but I feel each has a structural problem. I have previously shared my opinion that Holmes is a character that really doesn’t suit long form fiction as well as the short story. The only comparable titles I can think of in the genre would be Murder on the Orient Express or And Then There Were None. It is a work that has enjoyed a tremendous reach thanks to countless adaptations and the clear influence it has had over many subsequent works in the genre. If Sherlock Holmes is, for many people, The Detective then The Hound of the Baskervilles must surely be The Detective Novel. Holmes agrees to meet with him and, upon learning of some strange occurrences surrounding him, he decides he will send Watson with Sir Henry to Dartmoor to protect him and to try and uncover the truth of what is going on. Sir Charles’ heir has recently arrived in London and intends to take up the property but has received a warning urging him not to visit the moors. Near the body the enormous footprint of a hound was found, leading some to speculate that he may have been killed by the demonic beast said to have been responsible for the premature death of many of Sir Charles’ ancestors. The direct cause of death was a heart attack but Mortimer notes that his friend’s face seemed to be frozen in an expression of terror. He has come to consult him on the strange circumstances surrounding the death of his friend Sir Charles Baskerville who had been found dead on the grounds surrounding his home on Dartmoor. The Hound of the Baskervilles begins with Holmes receiving a visit from Dr. Watson, are faced with their most terrifying case in this wonderful classic of masterful detection and bone-chilling suspense. Sherlock Holmes and his faithful friend, Dr. Would the new heir of the Baskervilles meet the same dreadful fate? But Sir Charles Baskerville was now dead-and the footprints of a giant hound have been found near his body. The tale warned the descendants of that ancient family never to venture out on the moor. The country doctor had come to 221B Baker Street, the famous lodgings of Sherlock Holmes, with an eerie tale-the legend of the Hound of the Baskervilles, the devil-beast that haunted the lonely moors around the Baskervilles’ ancestral home. Preceded by The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmesįollowed by The Return of Sherlock Holmes

Book the hound of baskervilles