Product Description

As a dense yellow fog swirls through the streets of London, a deep melancholy has descended on Sherlock Holmes, who sits in a cocaine-induced haze at 221B Baker Street. His mood is only lifted by a visit from a beautiful but distressed young woman – Mary Morstan, whose father vanished ten years before. Four years later she began to receive an exquisite gift every year: a large, lustrous pearl. Now she has had an intriguing invitation to meet her unknown benefactor and urges Holmes and Watson to accompany her. And in the ensuing investigation – which involves a wronged woman, a stolen hoard of Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian, a helpful dog and a love affair – even the jaded Holmes is moved to exclaim, ‘Isn’t it gorgeous!’

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6787 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Edinburgh where he qualified as a doctor, but it was his writing which brought him fame, with the creation of Sherlock Holmes, the first scientific detective. He was also a convert to spiritualism and a social reformer who used his investigative skills to prove the innocence of individuals. Peter Ackroyd is a writer of novels including, 'Milton in America' and 'Hawksmoor', and of biographies of Chatterton, Dickens, William Blake and Thomas More.

Customer Reviews

Another Intriguing Mystery
"The Sign of Four" is the second of Conan Doyle's four longer Sherlock Holmes stories - I wouldn't call it a novel, because it's shorter even than the other three.

The level of detection and the intrigue surrounding the mystery is as clever as ever, and possibly more complex than in its predecessor, "A Study in Scarlet". The structure of the book could be seen as a little clumsy, with the story of Small tacked onto the end as an extra thirty pages - but using the first-person viewpoint like he does, there was no other way for Conan Doyle to integrate it into the story.

This story is also worth reading for its long-term developments in the Holmes stories. We learn of Holmes' cocaine addiction and his reasoning behind it. This is also where Watson meets his wife, which - along with the treasure seeking - makes it the more romantic of the longer stories. The relationship is hardly developed realistically, but Conan Doyle always seems to sacrifice character development in favour of brilliant plots.

If you simply enjoy the mystery and try not to think about such things, the book is very good indeed. It's a very easy read; Conan Doyle's style flowing brilliantly and so offering a perfect form of escapism.

Absolutely gripping!
In this, the second Sherlock Holmes story written by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes is called upon by a young lady who needs the great detective's help with a mystery. However, when this mystery leads to murder, Holmes must seek to uncover secrets that have lain hidden for many years, and have their roots in treacheries upon treacheries in far-off India. There's a one-legged man who is at the center of this mystery, and he has a murderous friend who may just be the end of Sherlock Holmes!

As I said, this is the second ever Sherlock Holmes story, written in 1890. As with the very best of the Holmes story, this one is absolutely gripping, carrying a fascinating story with mysteries wrapped up in mysteries that only Mr. Holmes can possibly conquer. As an added bonus, in this story, we get to learn about Dr. Watson's meeting of his true love, and his eventual marriage - which should end some rumors that people spread.

Yep, this is a great story, one that is sure to please any fan of mysteries, and is certain to delight any Sherlock Holmes fan!

Another Stunning Holmes Caper
I have not long completed "A Study In Scarlet" which was Doyle's first jump into the world of Sherlock Holmes, and it was a jump I thoroughly enjoyed. Now, after just finishing "The Sign Of Four", I am now set in my convictions to make sure I read every single Holmes adventure written by Doyle. This is a longer and, indeed, more complex case than "A Study In Scarlet" yet the writing style takes a slightly different approach as it remains focused on the investigation of Holmes & Watson rather than split into two the story to try and explain the motive behind the investigated crime.

The skills of Holmes this time are called upon by a young woman of the name of Mary Morstan who tells Holmes of her father's disappearance four years ago and then a mysterious appearance of yearly gifts which started to arrive four years ago. This leads them unexpectedly to the scene of shocking murder which reaches to the depths of far off India and the investigation is engaged upon with the help of a stereotypical detective, a gang of street Arabs and the keen nose of a canine.

There are some fantastic aspects to this piece of Holmes fiction compared to his first outing. Still told from the perspective of Watson it touches upon the most interesting aspect of Holmes' personality that being his inherent drug use. This seemingly large flaw in what appears to be a man with an almost perfect skill is something that makes the character all the more human. It also gives a brief look towards the end of the story as to Holmes' perspective on emotional affairs such as love which he sees as opposite to truth and reason.

This is another fantastic Holmes investigation and just makes me anticipate the further stories that I will delve into. For those not familiar with the Holmes stories, I strongly recommend that you begin your quest with the fantastic "A Study In Scarlet" and then move swiftly onto this as it is truly a gem of class English literature.