The Sign of Four / The Valley of Fear

"The Sign of the Four" is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's follow-up to his immensely successful "A Study in Scarlet", where we first meet one of the most famous literary detectives of all time, Sherlock Holmes. "The Sign of the Four" is the mystery surrounding the disappearance Miss Mary Morstan's father. Every year on the anniversary of Miss Morstan's father's disappearance, Mary receives an anonymous gift of a priceless pearl. Miss Morstan solicits the help of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to unravel the identity and motive of her anonymous benefactor.In "The Valley of Fear," a coded warning sends Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to a country retreat, where they follow a perplexing trail of clues to unmask a murderer — and to break the stranglehold of a terrorist cult. In this, the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel, Doyle is at his storytelling best.