Headline The Sign of Four Doyle Arthur Conan

'It is the Valley of Fear, the Valley of Death. The terror is in the hearts of the people from the dusk to the dawn. Wait, young man, and you will learn for yourself' • Sherlock Holmes is intrigued and disturbed when he receives an ominous coded message: a Mr Douglas of Birlstone House is in terrible danger. Before Holmes can act, shocking news arrives. Douglas has been founded dead - his face blown off by a shotgun. Scotland Yard is stumped. Was this suicide or murder? But Holmes is in no doubt. For he recognises the calling card of his nemesis. Professor James Moriarty

Miss Mary Morstan has a strange story to tell • Since her father disappeared, she has received a large pearl through the post on the same day, every year, for six years. Who is sending them? And what about her father's paper with the words 'The Sign of Four' written on it? • Sherlock Holmes alone can solve these mysteries • Text adaptation by Jeremy Page

The hit BBC series Sherlock offers a fresh, contemporary take on the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories, and has helped introduce a whole new generation of fans to the legendary detective. In this TV tie-in edition to the classic novel, Sherlock and Dr Watson receive a visit from Mary Morsten, who offers up a particularly cryptic puzzle for them to solve. Her father went missing six years ago and since then she has received a pearl for every year he has not re-appeared. Now, the treasure's sender has requested a meeting and she would like Sherlock and Watson to accompany her. Finding the mystery benefactor is only the start of this adventure that puts Sherlock and Watson hot on the trail of cold-blooded killers and thieves, and a lost Indian fortune

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!'

'You are a wronged woman and shall have justice. Do not bring police. If you do, all will be in vain. Your unknown friend.' • When a beautiful young woman is sent a letter inviting her to a sinister assignation, she immediately seeks the advice of the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes • For this is not the first mysterious item Mary Marston has received in the post. Every year for the last six years an anonymous benefactor has sent her a large lustrous pearl. Now it appears the sender of the pearls would like to meet her to right a wrong • But when Sherlock Holmes and his faithful sidekick Watson, aiding Miss Marston, attend the assignation, they embark on a dark and mysterious adventure involving a one-legged ruffian, some hidden treasure, deadly poison darts and a thrilling race along the River Thames

В плотном жёлтом тумане, укрывающем лондонские улицы, виднеются три фигуры. Это Шерлок Холмс и доктор Ватсон, сопровождающие красивую молодую девушку к месту зловещей встречи • Её имя – Мэри Морстен. Последние шесть лет неизвестный отправитель присылал ей крупные драгоценные жемчужины, по одной в год. С последней жемчужиной Мэри нашла письмо, в котором говорилось, что она – обманутая женщина, и что ей срочно нужно встретиться с таинственным отправителем • Теперь они движутся по мостовой к театру «Лицеум», не подозревая, что за туманными улицами в это время наблюдают некий одноногий головорез, жаждущий мести, и его товарищ, готовый в любой момент отнять чью-то жизнь • Классическая детективная повесть сэра Артура Конана Дойла в оригинале • Книга на английском языке

Arthur Conan Doyle was a British writer best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. His works also include fantasy and science fiction, as well as plays, romances, non-fiction and historical novels. "The Sign of the Four" is the second novel featuring Sherlock Holmes. The novel has a complex plot involving service in India, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a stolen treasure, and a secret pact among four convicts

The series Sherlock offers a fresh, contemporary take on the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories and has helped introduce a whole new generation of fans to the legendary detective—these tie-in editions feature introductions from the show's creators and actorsSherlock and Dr Watson receive a visit from Mary Morsten, who offers up a particularly cryptic puzzle for them to solve. Her father went missing six years ago, and since then, she has received a pearl for every year he has not reappeared. Now, the treasure's sender has requested a meeting, and Mary would like Sherlock and Watson to accompany her. Finding the mystery benefactor is only the start of this adventure that puts Sherlock and Watson hot on the trail of cold-blooded killers and thieves—and a lost Indian fortune

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, first published in 1892, is a collection of twelve short stories, featuring a fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, related in first-person narrative from the point of view of Holiness friend and admirer Dr. Watson

'He is the Napoleon of Crime... He is the organiser of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city' • A man like Sherlock Holmes has many enemies. Violent murderers, deviant villains, ghosts of old loves, blackmailers and poisonous scribes, to name but a few. But none are so deadly, so powerful, as Professor Moriarty. Moriarty - the only man who can compete with Holmes' genius. The only man who can, perhaps, ultimately defeat the great detective

'Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face' • The coroner may have ruled death by natural causes, but Sherlock Holmes knows there's something more sinister behind Sir Charles Baskerville's demise. The question is, could he really have fallen victim to the legendary phantom hound, the curse said to have haunted his ancestors for generations? Or is this the work of a very real and calculating murderer?

'About to spring out upon my appalled senses, lurked all that was vaguely horrible, all that was monstrous and inconceivably wicked in the universe' • A dense yellow fog descends upon London. Tricksters, thieves and murderers stalk their prey undetected. Lawlessness abounds but it is no match for the penetrating mind of Sherlock Holmes as he investigates the strangest of cases. A woman receives a gruesome package - two human ears in a box. A vital government secret is threatened with exposure. Miss Brenda Tregennis is found scared to death - could she really have died from fright alone? And when the stability of the country is threatened, Holmes' unrivalled talents are called upon once again