Author:Arthur Conan Doyle,Mark Billingham
Discover the first classic Sherlock Holmes novel in this stunning edition, featuring an introduction from Mark Billingham. The is edition also features the short story ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’.
When Dr Watson ends up renting rooms in Baker Street with the eccentric Sherlock Holmes he finds that he has let himself in for a great deal more than he imagined. He is called upon to help the budding detective solve a perplexing mystery, involving a dead body found in a locked room. Although the body shows no signs of having been attacked Holmes is convinced that a murder has been committed. As Watson looks on, he uses his exceptional powers of deduction to unravel a case that involves both kidnapping and thwarted love.
Arthur Conan Doyle is unique in simultaneously bringing the curtain down on an era and raising one on another, ushering in a genre of writing that, while imitated and expanded, has never been surpassed
—— Stephen FryI first encountered him through an eccentric maths teacher who would read 'The Speckled Band' and other Conan Doyle adventures to us instead of teaching fractions. He also used to balance chairs on his chin, but that's another story. I'm still fond of Holmes to this day, especially now that I can see him as the crazed, controlling junkie that he clearly was
—— Mark BillinghamA wonderful Sherlock Holmes story from its sparkling first pages, through its vivid painting of darkest Dartmoor, its undertones of fear of the mind's depths, and on to the triumph of the rational
—— The TimesHolmes is probably the only literary creation since the creations of Dickens which has really passed into the life and language of the people
—— G. K. ChestertonA Victorian whodunnit of brooding power
—— GuardianOne of his best works
—— Contemporary ReviewNow, as in his lifetime, cab drivers, statesmen, academics, and raggedy-arsed children sit spellbound at his feet... No wonder, then, if the pairing of Holmes and Watson has triggered more imitators than any other duo in literature
—— John Le Carre[Wexford] has become an old friend who gets better with age.
—— The HeraldPsychologically acute and extremely disturbing, Ruth Rendell's work is outstanding.
—— The TimesIt's not often you pick up a book where the plot is technically perfect, where the characters all come off the page perfectly formed and the writing is so good that it's impossible to spot an unnecessary word, but which still managed to be a damn good story. I was still reading at 2 o'clock this morning...
—— TheBookbag.co.ukPatterson knows where our deepest fears are Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried... there's no stopping his imagination.buried... there's no stopping his imagination.
—— NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEWPatterson is in a class by himself.
—— VANITY FAIRSharp, sassy and guaranteed to send shivers down your spine, this is a tense thriller
—— WOMANCross is one of the best and most likeable characters in the modern thriller.
—— SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER