The Sign of Four (1890)
Blurb:
My review:
One of the best and most exciting of the Holmes novels. From the very beginning, the reader knows that he is safely in the hands of a master: the Master is himself—he has evolved since A Study in Scarlet, and with him Doyle's style. There is more humour than before; the story is more excitingn and more complex; and Doyle is able to draw convincing characters, from the Sholto brothers in their curious homes to the wooden-legged villain and his savage companion, from the queer old naturalist Old Sherman to Mary Morstan, whom Watson marries. The story culminates in "a mad, flying man-hunt down the Thames," swiftly followed by a flashback to India, which is genuinely interesting.