Synopses & Reviews
The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle's second novel about the exploits of Sherlock Holmes, first appeared in England and the U.S. in Lippincott Magazinein February 1890. The Sign of Fourbrings Mary Morstan, a beautiful young governess, to the home of consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Mary's father, an officer in the British Forces who had served as a prison guard in India, disappeared the day he returned to England six years earlier - while en route to meet his daughter. One year to the day after Captain Morstan's disappearance, Miss Morstan received a small box containing a lustrous pearl. No return address, no note, just the jewel. On each successive anniversary over the next several years another pearl arrived from her unknown benefactor. Determined to uncover the story behind the elder Morstan's disappearance, and the meaning behind the mysterious jewels, the trio set out on an exotic adventure laced with stolen treasure, secret oaths and murder, culminating in a breath-taking chase down the Thames.
Synopsis
First published in 1890, The Sign of Four is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's second book starring legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. The story is complex, involving a secret between four ex-cons from India and a hidden treasure. More complex than the first Holmes novel, The Sign of Four also introduces the detective's drug habit and leaves breadcrumbs for the reader that lead toward the final resolution.
Synopsis
Sherlock Holmes is bored and case-less, and relieving his boredom by alternating morphine and cocaine. Enter the charming Miss Mary Morstan, with whom Watson is instantly smitten. She requests the assistance of Holmes and Watson to solve the mysterious disappearance of her father, and the subsequent invitation to ?have justice? by an anonymous letter writer. Holmes and Watson happily accompany her to see the anonymous letter writer; only to become deeply embroiled in a mystery concerning treasure, murders, India, escaped convicts, and small savages with poisoned blowpipes. Meanwhile, Watson is worried that the fortune Miss Morstan is entitled to will prevent him from declaring his intentions...