The Sign of the Four

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Sign of the Four hides a secret pact among four convicts and two corrupt prison guards. According to Mary Morstan, her father requested her to meet him at the Langham Hotel in London upon his safe return from India. When Mary arrived at the hotel, she was told her father had gone out the previous night and not returned. Despite all efforts, no trace has ever been found of him. The second puzzle is that she has received six pearls in the mail from an anonymous benefactor, one per year since 1882. With the last pearl she received a letter remarking that she has been wronged and asking for a meeting. Holmes takes the case and soon discovers that Major Sholto, a friend of Mary's father, had died in 1882 and that within a short span of time Mary began to receive the pearls, implying a connection. The only clue Mary can give Holmes is a map of a fortress found in her father's desk with four names.

• Language: English
• Publisher: e-artnow
• Release date: Apr 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9788026881964

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1859. Before starting his writing career, Doyle attended medical school, where he met the professor who would later inspire his most famous creation, Sherlock Holmes. A Study in Scarlet was Doyle's first novel; he would go on to write more than sixty stories featuring Sherlock Holmes. He died in England in 1930.

Book preview

Chapter I.

The Science of Deduction

Table of Contents

Sherlock Holmes took his bottle from the corner of the mantelpiece and his hypodermic syringe from its neat morocco case. With his long, white, nervous fingers he adjusted the delicate needle, and rolled back his left shirt- cuff. For some little time his eyes rested thoughtfully upon the sinewy forearm and wrist all dotted and scarred with innumerable puncture-marks. Finally he thrust the sharp point home, pressed down the tiny piston, and sank back into the velvet-lined arm-chair with a long sigh of satisfaction.

Three times a day for many months I had witnessed this performance, but custom had not reconciled my mind to it. On the contrary, from day to day I had become more irritable at the sight, and my conscience swelled nightly within me at the thought that I had lacked the courage to protest. Again and again I had registered a vow that I should deliver my soul upon the subject, but there was that in the cool, nonchalant air of my companion which made him the last man with whom one would care to take anything approaching to a liberty. His great powers, his masterly manner, and the experience which I had had of his many extraordinary qualities, all made me diffident and backward in crossing him.

Yet upon that afternoon, whether it was the Beaune which I had taken with my lunch, or the additional exasperation produced by the extreme deliberation of his manner, I suddenly felt that I could hold out no longer.

Which is it to-day? I asked,—morphine or cocaine?

He raised his eyes languidly from the old black-letter volume which he had opened. It is cocaine, he said,—a seven-percent. solution. Would you care to try it?

No, indeed, I answered, brusquely. My constitution has not got over the Afghan campaign yet. I cannot afford to throw any extra strain upon it.

He smiled at my vehemence. Perhaps you are right, Watson, he said. I suppose that its influence is physically a bad one. I find it, however, so transcendently stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment.

But consider! I said, earnestly. Count the cost! Your brain may, as you say, be roused and excited, but it is a pathological and morbid process, which involves increased tissue-change and may at last leave a permanent weakness. You know, too, what a black reaction comes upon you. Surely the game is hardly worth the candle. Why should you, for a mere passing pleasure, risk the loss of those great powers with which you have been endowed? Remember that I speak not only as one comrade to another, but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent answerable.

He did not seem offended. On the contrary, he put his fingertips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair, like one who has a relish for conversation.

My mind, he said, rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession,—or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world.

The only unofficial detective? I said, raising my eyebrows.

The only unofficial consulting detective, he answered. I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection. When Gregson or Lestrade or Athelney Jones are out of their depths—which, by the way, is their normal state—the matter is laid before me. I examine the data, as an expert, and pronounce a specialist’s opinion. I claim no credit in such cases. My name figures in no newspaper. The work itself, the pleasure of finding a field for my peculiar powers, is my highest reward. But you have yourself had some experience of my methods of work in the Jefferson Hope case.

Yes, indeed, said I, cordially. I was never so struck by anything in my life. I even embodied it in a small brochure with the somewhat fantastic title of ‘A Study in Scarlet.’

He shook his head sadly. I glanced over it, said he. Honestly, I cannot congratulate you upon it. Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner. You have attempted to tinge it with romanticism, which produces much the same effect as if you worked a love-story or an elopement into the fifth proposition of Euclid.

But the romance was there, I remonstrated. I could not tamper with the facts.

Some facts should be suppressed, or at least a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them. The only point in the case which deserved mention was the curious analytical reasoning from effects to causes by which I succeeded in unravelling it.

I was annoyed at this criticism of a work which had been specially designed to please him. I confess, too, that I was irritated by the egotism which seemed to demand that every line of my pamphlet should be devoted to his own special doings. More than once during the years that I had lived with him in Baker Street I had observed that a small vanity underlay my companion’s quiet and didactic manner. I made no remark, however, but sat nursing my wounded leg. I had a Jezail bullet through it some time before, and, though it did not prevent me from walking, it ached wearily at every change of the weather.

My practice has extended recently to the Continent, said Holmes, after a while, filling up his old brier-root pipe. I was consulted last week by Francois Le Villard, who, as you probably know, has come rather to the front lately in the French detective service. He has all the Celtic power of quick intuition, but he is deficient in the wide range of exact knowledge which is essential to the higher developments of his art. The case was concerned with a will, and possessed some features of interest. I was able to refer him to two parallel cases, the one at Riga in 1857, and the other at St. Louis in 1871, which have suggested to him the true solution. Here is the letter which I had this morning acknowledging my assistance. He tossed over, as he spoke, a crumpled sheet of foreign notepaper. I glanced my eyes down it, catching a profusion of notes of admiration, with stray magnifiques, coup-de- maîtres, and tours-de-force, all testifying to the ardent admiration of the Frenchman.

He speaks as a pupil to his master, said I.

Oh, he rates my assistance too highly, said Sherlock Holmes, lightly. He has considerable gifts himself. He possesses two out of the three qualities necessary for the ideal detective. He has the power of observation and that of deduction. He is only wanting in knowledge; and that may come in time. He is now translating my small works into French.

Your works?

Oh, didn’t you know? he cried, laughing. Yes, I have been guilty of several monographs. They are all upon technical subjects. Here, for example, is one ‘Upon the Distinction between the Ashes of the Various Tobaccoes.’ In it I enumerate a hundred and forty forms of cigar-, cigarette-, and pipe-tobacco, with coloured plates illustrating the difference in the ash. It is a point which is continually turning up in criminal trials, and which is sometimes of supreme importance as a clue. If you can say definitely, for example, that some murder has been done by a man who was smoking an Indian lunkah, it obviously narrows your field of search. To the trained eye there is as much difference between the black ash of a Trichinopoly and the white fluff of bird’s-eye as there is between a cabbage and a potato.

You have an extraordinary genius for minutiae, I remarked.

I appreciate their importance. Here is my monograph upon the tracing of footsteps, with some remarks upon the uses of plaster of Paris as a preserver of impresses. Here, too, is a curious little work upon the influence of a trade upon the form of the hand, with lithotypes of the hands of slaters, sailors, cork-cutters, compositors, weavers, and diamond-polishers. That is a matter of great practical interest to the scientific detective, — especially in cases of unclaimed bodies, or in discovering the antecedents of criminals. But I weary you with my hobby.

Not at all, I answered, earnestly. It is of the greatest interest to me, especially since I have had the opportunity of observing your practical application of it. But you spoke just now of observation and deduction. Surely the one to some extent implies the other.

Why, hardly, he answered, leaning back luxuriously in his armchair, and sending up thick blue wreaths from his pipe. For example, observation shows me that you have been to the Wigmore Street Post-Office this morning, but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram.

Right! said I. Right on both points! But I confess that I don’t see how you arrived at it. It was a sudden impulse upon my part, and I have mentioned it to no one.

It is simplicity itself, he remarked, chuckling at my surprise, — so absurdly simple that an explanation is superfluous; and yet it may serve to define the limits of observation and of deduction. Observation tells me that you have a little reddish mould adhering to your instep. Just opposite the Seymour Street Office they have taken up the pavement and thrown up some earth which lies in such a way that it is difficult to avoid treading in it in entering. The earth is of this peculiar reddish tint which is found, as far as I know, nowhere else in the neighbourhood. So much is observation. The rest is deduction.

How, then, did you deduce the telegram?

Why, of course I knew that you had not written a letter, since I sat opposite to you all morning. I see also in your open desk there that you have a sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of postcards. What could you go into the post-office for, then, but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.

In this case it certainly is so, I replied, after a little thought. The thing, however, is, as you say, of the simplest. Would you think me impertinent if I were to put your theories to a more severe test?

On the contrary, he answered, it would prevent me from taking a second dose of cocaine. I should be delighted to look into any problem which you might submit to me.

I have heard you say that it is difficult for a man to have any object in daily use without leaving the impress of his individuality upon it in such a way that a trained observer might read it. Now, I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession. Would you have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or habits of the late owner?

I handed him over the watch with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart, for the test was, as I thought, an impossible one, and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed. He balanced the watch in his hand, gazed hard at the dial, opened the back, and examined the works, first with his naked eyes and then with a powerful convex lens. I could hardly keep from smiling at his crestfallen face when he finally snapped the case to and handed it back.

There are hardly any data, he remarked. The watch has been recently cleaned, which robs me of my most suggestive facts.

You are right, I answered. It was cleaned before being sent to me. In my heart I accused my companion of putting forward a most lame and impotent excuse to cover his failure. What data could he expect from an uncleaned watch?

Though unsatisfactory, my research has not been entirely barren, he observed, staring up at the ceiling with dreamy, lack-lustre eyes. Subject to your correction, I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother, who inherited it from your father.

That you gather, no doubt, from the H.W. upon the back?

"Quite so. The ‘W’ suggests your own name. The date of the watch is nearly fifty years back, and the initials are as old as the watch: so it was made for the last generation. Jewellery usually descents to the eldest son, and

Reviews for The Sign of the Four

[therebelprince · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

After being disappointed with "A Study in Scarlet", I decided to tackle a second Holmes novel in the hopes that things would improve. Sadly, they didn't. I'm not beaten yet - I'll be attempting "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" as my next train-to-work novel - but so far, this doesn't do anything for me.

There are some good elements here: Holmes of course is an enjoyable response to the crime fiction that existed at the time. His methods of deduction, while sometimes ponderous, are always clever. Unfortunately, there's very little else to be said for this book.

Watson continues to be an uninteresting narrator; the supporting characters are mostly forgettable, with the exception (oddly) of the police characters, who so far I have found pleasant; and Holmes himself, as many other reviewers seem to note, is at his least likeable here. Obviously, we're supposed to be somewhat confounded by his aloof personality, but his treatment of other members of the human race is extremely off-putting. Like the 2000s versions - Dr. House, etc. - it's supposedly tempered by his desire to help the innocent and fearful, but really the fact that he only seems to have a heart for small children just leads me to assume he is a sociopath.

And then there is the mystery itself: here, Conan Doyle reveals himself as mostly a pulp writer, it seems. Like "A Study in Scarlet", this mystery is decidedly outlandish: cannibalistic midgets, wooden legs, etc, etc. Yes it's escapism and I accept that, but the problem is these mysteries are almost tailor-made for Sherlock Holmes. No human being could possibly be expected to guess from a simple murder that it involved so many elaborate contrivances and foreign devils. It seems strange to say it, but if Holmes could instead investigate a (complex) drawing-room mystery or the like, I might be drawn into the work more, as this would require him to piece together clues within my human scope of comprehension. I'm not asking for an easy mystery, just one that has more of a human element.

Anyway, I'll be interested to continue reading the Holmes books (although I may slow down, as I do have the rest of my life), and perhaps find out why he has become such a mythical figure!

[angelajmaher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An enjoyable and entertaining mystery.

[muumuumousie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is my least favorite of all the Sherlock Holmes novels. I’d probably give it 3.5 stars, if we had half-star ratings. What I liked: Even though its tone is very dark, it fits the story, since this novel is all about the evils of colonialism. Its villain is well fleshed out, as are the supporting characters. It’s got a strong female character, whom Sherlock even praises for her “genius” (his word). There is some good humor here, too, as when Watson, overcome by Mary’s beauty, gets tongue-tied and says some really goofy things. There is subtlety here, too, with Sherlock’s character. He seems vulnerable here in a way that he generally doesn’t, and I get the strong impression that he is lying to Watson when he mentions how little notice he (Holmes) takes of the opposite sex. He seems very much affected by women, both here and in later stories, and his denial seems forced, almost desperate. There’s definitely some room for interepretation here. My impression is that Holmes likes being in control of everything, and women, who can prompt strong emotional reactions in men, are a threat to that control. And I really love that Doyle went out of his way on a couple different occasions to mention Watson’s limp. His army backstory is a constant presence here, and it adds still more depth to an already interesting character. And romance! Watson does not talk about himself enough in these stories, so it was nice seeing him get a love story here.What I didn’t like: Okay, I’m gonna come right out and say it. Sherlock is mean to Watson! This is the story where he crosses the line from lovably egotistical to just plain rude, and Watson must really love this man to keep on forgiving him like that. I do like that Holmes’ behavior isn’t excused; Watson really IS hurt by the comments, and Holmes even apologizes in one place. But Holmes’ egotism and self-centeredness reach their peak in this story, and that can be difficult. I also didn’t like how bleak everything turned out. So many characters are corrupt, and even the decent ones aren’t always great, and most elements of the story don’t really end well (although some do). There is a fairly long flashback scene near the end, but it doesn’t really add much. It doesn’t really make the villain more sympathetic; neither does it flesh out the victim in any meaningful way. The flashback in “Scarlet” did both of these things. Although this book has some beautiful moments, it’s just not my cup of tea.

[fictionzeal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Mary Morstan becomes a client for Sherlock Holmes and a very beautiful and interesting lady for Dr. John Watson. She reports that her father, Captain Arthur Morstan, has disappeared. However, the disappearance was not recent … it was ten years before when he’d telegraphed her to meet him at the Langham Hotel in London. Once there, she was informed he’d not returned to the hotel from the night before. Later, she begins receiving anonymous packages – one for the past six years – each containing a precious pearl inside.Holmes, Watson, and Mary set up a meeting with Thaddeus Sholto. He was the son of her father’s best friend, Major John Sholto. He confirms that his father had met with Morstan on the night he died. They had quarreled over treasure Sholto had brought back from India. Sholto confesses to his two twin sons, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, that he’d murdered Morstan. Before giving them the location of the treasure, they were purposefully distracted. When they returned to their father, he’d been killed. A note was left upon him, “The Sign of Four”.This is the second novel of Sherlock Holmes written by Arthur Conan Doyle and published in 1890. It is the first which details Sherlock Holmes use of cocaine, or as he would put it, his seven percent solution. I felt the pace in this full-length story tapered off mid-way, but picked back up toward the end. As always, I enjoyed Holmes’ powers of deduction. The story is more convoluted than A Study in Scarlet. The contemporary adage of ‘follow the money’ seems to have been just as true in the late 1800’s as it is today.

[booksfordinner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Never read this one before, same as with study in scarlet... i had only read the short stories when i was younger. This had the same kind of flashback sectioin, only it was a story told by a character as opposed to a full on flashback with a different narrator...

[lisamaria_c · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

For me this second Sherlock Holmes novel is what defines a classic. By no means is Doyle the master stylist of a Thomas Hardy or Oscar Wilde, and I'm not going to claim there are profound insights into the human condition, but this novel wears its age very lightly indeed. There are books written decades later that feel far more dated, and the few times anything in it feel the slightest bit old fashioned, it lends it more the piquant flavor of the Victorian Age than anything that feels like a flaw. This is a fun, fast read--barely novel length, only 12 chapters and barely over 40 thousand words and along with its mystery and adventure even provides a soupçon of romance. I don't think this is as good as The Hound of the Baskervilles, the most famous Sherlock Holmes story and novel, but it's holds up well compared to the first, A Study in Scarlet and there's so much here that makes Holmes such an immortal character. There are his brilliant deductions such as his tour de force with Watson's watch, there's his sense of humor that ameliorates his sometimes cold ratiocination, his flare for the dramatic seen in his revelation of his disguises, and even his flaws like his addiction (or close to it) for cocaine, which is highlighted here at the beginning and end of the novel. So much here made me smile. The Holmesian aphorism: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." The Baker Street Irregulars. Toby the master tracker, a mongrel that's a mix of spaniel, collie and greyhound. The exotic mix of things from the height of the British Raj, which includes nothing less than hidden treasure to be found. I don't know that I'd recommend this as an introduction to Sherlock Holmes. I'd point someone first perhaps to the collection of short stories The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes or the best Holmes novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, or even the first novel, A Study in Scarlet. But certainly if you've already discovered you love Sherlock Holmes, you shouldn't be disappointed in The Sign of Four.

[hashford_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I’m sorry, I have tried to like Sherlock Holmes, I really have. But I just can’t get on with the superior attitude, and the casual racism and sexism scattered throughout the stories.As other reviewers have said, this isn’t one of Conan Doyle’s best. The story is incredibly slow, and doesn’t seem to know when it’s finished. The whole of the last CD (a quarter of the book!) is unnecessary and feels very unrealistic – why would the criminal feel the need to tell his tale quite so thoroughly?. Also, Watson’s “love interest” seems contrived and isn’t followed through anyway, so why is it there?And I’m really sorry (and I know I’m in a minority here!), but I didn’t like Derek Jacobi’s reading either. I would have liked more differentiation between Watson’s and Holmes’ voices – often, picking up the story after a few hours gap I had to work out who was speaking from the content (when I think it should be immediately obvious from the voice). His regional / international accents are wobbly to say the least and he struggles to do women effectively.All in all, listening to this in the car on the school run with my daughter felt far too much like hard work!

[jasonlf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent for what it is, of course. This is the second Holmes novella, fits the formula perfectly, and is enjoyable from beginning to end. It features a locked room mystery (sort of), the usual mysteries that had their origin overseas, and even a little romantic interest for Watson. It is not quite as confounding and mysterious, nor is the solution quite as satisfying, as many of the later Holmes stories. But still excellent.

[jwhenderson_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having already read The Hound of the Baskervilles, I turned to another one of the published Holmes novels, The Sign of Four, in part because it is available in a Penguin Classics edition. Felicitously, I found it to be one of the best detective novels of its time.The story is wonderfully paced with plenty of excitement, from chasing down the criminals through the use of a dog to another appearance by the Baker Street irregulars, and a thrilling boat chase for the climax of the story. More than a century after it was first written, the novel shows little sign of its age. The Sign of Four is well-paced, exciting, and even action packed story. It represents Doyle at his finest in many ways. The mystery is somewhat bizarre with its use of exotic weapons and strange footprints, but not too outre as seemed to be the case in some of the later Holmes stories such as "The Creeping Man." As is often the case it involves a young woman, with the added attraction of a treasure making the case even more interesting.I think that while in Study in Scarlet, we learned about Holmes, in this book we begin to see Holmes' personality: the genius who is so driven to avoid hum drum existence, who seeks problems and trouble to find some problem to keep his attention. The novel is also noteworthy for its focus on Holmes' use of Cocaine in the beginning and end. Dr. Watson (and by extension Dr. Doyle) were concerned about the use of Cocaine in the late 19th Century and its negative effects. However, Doyle wasn't heavy handed in his approach, and so Watson's concern sounds more like a modern doctor's concern with any popular addiction. And Holmes is blaise about it, leading to some interactions and statement that may seem surreal or humorous to the modern reader.

[port22_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It seems that Holmes is an early discoverer ("I have chosen my own particular profession, or rather created it...") of a new didactic method of working out crimes: "Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner." Three qualities are necessary to make the ideal detective -- power of observation, deduction, and technical subjects; it is all a work of precision: "No, no: I never guess. It is a shocking habit, destructive to the logical faculty."Holmes uses cocaine as a substitute of craved mental stimulant which detective's work provides to him: "My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere." When confronted by Watson he is not irritated, "On the contrary, he put his finger-tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of this chair, like one who has a relish for conversation."And that morning, to Watson's astonishment, Holmes demonstrates that "For example, observation shows me that you have been to Wigmore Street Post-Office, but deduction lets me know that when there you dispatched a telegram."The plot arch is uncovered in a straight forward story which Dr. Watson recounts in first person: A young lady, Mary Mortan, seeks the assistance of able men to accompany her to a meeting with a mysterious someone who promises to reveal to her how her father died and a commitment to relinquish her fair share of a supposed treasure she inherited. Then, the entire action is compressed into the following 3 days.Reading Conan Doyle is also a bit of an archeological window into the language of the 19th century. For me, the smattering of quaint phraseology only adds an element of authenticity to the book.The book excels in unfolding the detective story (the "what"). Tightly paced and compact. One mildly unsatisfactory element is the choice of a deus-ex-machina plot device in explaining the "why". An entire chapter of the book is filled by a guy who sits in a chair and tells a story that puts put the motives behind the crime that was investigated by Holmes and Watson. One defense to this decision could be that this way Conan Doyle preserves the consistency of the book of being entirely told from the point of view of Dr. Watson and written in the first person.

[ursula_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What is there to say about Sherlock Holmes and Watson that everyone else hasn't already said? That won't stop me, though. I am reading them in order, so this is my second encounter with Holmes and Watson. Here you begin to see what would become the basis for endless film and tv representations of their characters. Holmes is treating his boredom with cocaine; Watson is a bit of a nervous aunt as he inquires as to the wisdom of the treatment. But before we have to delve too deeply into Holmes' psyche, a case comes calling in the person of Mary Morstan. The case involves a death, and a hidden treasure from India. We get a lot of brilliant deduction, followed by various methods employed by Holmes to fill in the gaps in his knowledge - the Baker Street irregulars (street urchins he employs from time to time), disguise, a chase, etc. Ultimately, once the villain is discovered and safely in custody, it's time for him to spill the entire back story so we can see how right Holmes was.Recommended for: everyone (come on, it's Sherlock Holmes!).Quote: "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE, must be the truth?"

[justabookreader · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I used to read a lot of Sherlock Holmes stories. Of course, this was years ago and I think I must have overdid it because I avoided Conan Doyle for years. Like the plague. Then I came across a few short stories when purging the shelves and thought it would be nice to take a look again, and it turns out, I still like me a bit of Sherlock and his handy sidekick, Doctor Watson. Feeling confident, I downloaded The Sign of Four from The Gutenberg Project and decided I would get re-acquainted with the duo. Not so much joy ensued.Here’s the general overview: a man has gone missing, a treasure has been misplaced, and Sherlock is asked to stick his nose in and sort out the conflicting mess. It’s wildly more complicated than that but I’ll be honest, I couldn’t get into this one and barely trudged to the end. The mystery was bland to me and this is supposed to be one his most revered Sherlockian works. People supposedly love this one and to a high degree I might add. I may not have had much interest in the actual mystery but what I did find interesting in this story was the drug use. Yep, right at the start Sherlock is getting high on cocaine. It made me wonder why anyone would hire someone who seemed, at least here, to be mildly stoned for most of the day to solve a mystery. Also of interest, we get to meet the future Mrs. Watson.I want to tell you more but I fear that my boredom with the story will cause me to give too much away. Besides, there are many favorable reviews of this book out there that if you like Sherlock, google it then read it. It might do wonders for you.

[dulac3_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

_The Sign of the Four_ isn't a bad mystery, but I didn't quite like it as much as _A Study in Scarlet_ or most of the stories in _The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes_. I'm starting to think, however, that these stories aren't always of interest because of the mystery itself (though sometimes they certainly are), but more because of the revelations they disclose about the character of Sherlock Holmes himself. Did you know that he had fought a prize fighter and won? I didn't before, but now I do. We also get to see first hand what happens to Holmes when he has no work of sufficient interest to tax his incredible mind and he slumps into malaise and cocaine use to take the edge off.

This is also an important story for the genial Dr. Watson as he meets and falls in love with his future wife, Mary Morston. Good thing it turns out she was a client of Holmes' in these early days of their acquaintance since it helps to explain why she lets her husband go gallivanting around London with him all the time with nary a complaint. She owes him.

The central mystery revolves around a lost treasure and a missing soldier (Mary's father) who disappeared mysteriously years before. A man murdered in a locked room proves to pose a problem for the police, but not for Holmes of course. Along the way Watson discovers love and Holmes once again helps the police solve a mystery for which he receives no credit. As I said, not a bad story, but not one of my favourites thus far.

[slpenney07 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Summary: A young lady has been sent pearls. Sherlock and Watson investigate their origin, along with a cryptic letter that promises to explain all.The Take-Away: My love of the classics is two-fold: I love stories that well told even by modern standards; I love seeing how the world has changed. For instance, Sherlock Holmes was a cocaine user. When he wasn't solving mysteries, he was so bored with life, that a 7% solution was one of the two things that made life tolerable -- the other being morphine.I also love seeing how writing has changed. "Editing" the title helps me to think through what would need to be done to make it sell in today's market. Working out that muscle also helps my own writing.Sherlock isn't nearly as interesting as Watson. Sherlock is cool and undistribed, always right whereas Watson is emotional and often overlooks what Sherlock considers a clue. Indulge me a bit here: Sherlock is always right, because the author makes sure he is. If Sherlock missed a clue, here and there, like Watson often does, would the books be considered as great? Is it because Sherlock is a larger than life character that they've carried through the years?Recommendation: If you like classics, Sherlock is a great detective.

[ruthich · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not quite the classic of Study in Scarlet or Valley of Fear, an adventure that roams to an Indian hard labour camp, where some of the inmates get involved with jewels and crooked British Officers.

[391_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Sign of Four brings in a lot of character development and description - we get to see Watson and Holmes' famous friendship (such as when they are led to a complete dead-end by a dog who has gotten on the wrong track) as well as find out more of Watson's personal history. I also quite like the narrative voice, as Watson can be quite the charmer at times, though occasionally melodramatic, an opinion with which I'm sure Sherlock would agree. The long exposition at the end, though it didn't drag nearly as much as Jefferson Hope's, was still a bit tedious compared to the adventures leading up to it.

[milda8tx · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My first Sherlock Holmes read. The characters of Holmes and Watson were more fun than I imagined they'd be! But, the story got over-long, even tho the book itself is tiny.

[melydia_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This second novel of Holmes's adventures is a tale of stolen treasure, betrayal, and of course murder. Holmes is his usual self, driving the police absolutely mad with just how right he is all the time. One of the things that most captivates me about Sherlock Holmes's detective work is that it all takes place before the advent of fingerprinting. There are so many inferences he would never need to make today if he could show who touched what. Anyway, back to the story. The plot was pleasantly complex. Watson's romance was adorable. My favorite part, though, was when the pair found themselves on the wrong trail and suddenly burst into laughter. While I certainly enjoy witnessing Holmes's amazing (and often unlikely) feats of deduction and inference, its his friendship with Watson that truly makes the stories come alive.

[nx74defiant · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A client walks in and Watson falls in love. At the end there is a long section with Jonathan Smalls back story leading up to the case.

[andrew1theqm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 Stars. Didn't enjoy this one as much as the first one.

[spyderman58 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Anxious to get to the next one. Was a bit surprised to see that SH is a coke head.

[jessiqa_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second Sherlock Holmes novel. I was surprised to find that Holmes was already using cocaine this early in the series. I had been told in class that Conan Doyle had introduced Holmes' drug use in order to make him less likable, because he didn't wish to continue writing about him. That seems an unlikely motive for the second published work, so I guess I can throw that theory out the window.The client in this story is Mary Morstan, whose father disappeared under mysterious circumstances and who is now receiving very strange letters from an anonymous benefactor. This is learned to be Thaddeus Sholto, whose father had hidden a treasure that Miss Morstan's father also had a claim to. The treasure is located by Thaddeus Shoto's brother Benjamin, and when Holmes, Watson and Miss Morstan go with Thaddeus to his brother's home, they find Benjamin dead inside a locked bedroom with the windows all locked shut. Homes deduces the means of the killers' entry and exit and uses a dog to follow the trail, as well as his Baker Street Irregulars. He even uses a disguise to do a bit of snooping himself. This, of course, is what pays off. Once the killer is caught, he relates his whole tale to Holmes, Watson, and Inspector Athelny Jones.There is a bit of a love story in this one too: Watson and Mary fall in love and are engaged by the end of the book. Holmes sighs at Watson's decision to marry since love is so illogical, but he pays Mary the compliment in saying that she "had a decided genius in that way," meaning in investigative work. Quite high praise coming from him.I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next in the series.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I inherited a set of Holmes a few years back but hesitated to read them for fear they'd be difficult due to old-fashioned language & style, and due to references to unfamiliar history and culture. Well, they were amazingly accessible and interesting. Highly recommended.

But don't start with this one (or with Hound of the Baskervilles) and do try to read them in some sort of order. This particular was a bit convoluted (after all, it's longer than many, too).

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Originally published in 1889, this is the second Sherlock Holmes mystery. We meet Dr. Watson's future bride-to-be, Mary Morstan.One of the most prominent characteristics of Sherlock Holmes's personality is his cheeky hubris, especially when he makes comments like, "Yes, I have been guilty of several monographs" (p 4), or "I cannot live without brainwork" (p 8). Aside from his ego, Holmes carries a sharp sense of reasoning and deduction and of course, the acute ability to draw unsuspecting witnesses out of their privacy, getting them to spill the beans by pretending to know everything they do already. An age-old police tactic.To sum up the complicated mystery: it involves a secret pact between four criminals, a treasure and Mary Morstan. Mary's father has been missing for ten years. He disappeared without a trace. Four years after his disappearance Mary started received a pearl a year from an unknown benefactor. Where's rumor of a hidden treasure.

[she_climber · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Interesting enough story about lost and stolen treasure, interesting characters, poison arrow darts, brilliant deductions, and even some romance for Dr. Watson. Even the First time in the classic Holmes that I recall hearing of his drug use.Normally I love Sherlock Holmes but this one just drug on for me. I'm going to blame it in part of the Audio, the music in between scenes just didn't do it for and I'm guessing I just wasn't in the right frame of mind for some classic Holmes.

[david7466 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book confused me with all of the characters running around. The conclusions made by Holmes at times seemed to be too much of a reach, but the boat chase was thrilling. Overall a good read.

[scorched_earth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four, which is the second book featuring the famed detective Sherlock Holmes, the authors vivid imagination tells another riveting detective story. The book begins and ends with Sherlock Holmes injecting himself with cocaine simply because he is bored due to not having a murder case to occupy his mind. Readers get to know Holmes and Dr. Watson a little better in this book. The story is so detailed and well conceived that it almost seems real. I will be looking forward to the next installment in this series, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

[msaucier818 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was my second Sherlock Holmes book and I enjoyed it as much as the first. This book introduces us to Holmes' cocaine habit, and Watson meets a girl he likes, so it was nice to have that type of character development. The way Holmes uses logic to solve the crime of the story is again interesting and fun to read. I also liked the bit of history mixed into the story - this time dealing with British rule in India. A quick read and I will continue to read the Holmes' stories in the future.

[lgandt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Liked the book far more than any of the screen adaptations I have seen, well worth the reading.

[marcusbastos-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Holmes and The Science of Deduction This is chronologically the second book of Sherlock Holmes cases. The story evolves around a treasure that came from India in an exquisite manner. The possession of the treasure’s riches cause, as one can expect, some murders. Holmes is called to discovery the reason for the disappearance of Mary Morstan’s father, which appears to have direct connection with the treasury. With the help of Watson, the famous “consulting detective” used all his abilities to solve the mystery. Careful observation added with the special ability of deduction help Holmes to find the answers. In this adventure Watson knows someone who will have an important place in his heart and ultimately in his life. The story has a lot of action and the finish is somewhat surprisingly. After “A Study in Scarlet”, the reader knows a little bit more of Holmes and Watson and the relationship both build.