The Valley of Fear and Selected Cases FROM THE PUBLISHER
A man called Douglas has received a bullet in the head. Sherlock Holmes has deciphered a secret message warning him of Douglas's danger - too late. When he arrives at Douglas's home he finds a bizarre series of clues: the victim's branded arm, the theft of his wedding ring and a mysterious calling card. Scotland Yard is stumped, but Holmes, who has detected the evil presence of Moriarty in this crime, has some ideas of his own.
Along with the novella The Valley of Fear, this volume contains ten other curious cases, including 'The Empty House', in which Holmes reappears after his deadly struggle at the Reichenbach Falls, and 'His Last Bow', where the great detective is called out of retirement on a matter of national importance.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Margie Sinclair
Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard has asked the assistance of Sherlock Holmes inside the ancient Manor House of Birlstone in what appears to be the murder of John Douglas. Holmes, along with Dr. Watson, joins Inspector MacDonald and Mr. White Mason in solving the puzzling mystery of a man shot to death in a house surrounded by a moat. In his usual secretive manner, Holmes begins to sift through the lies and deceptions to finally solve the crime and once again amaze the inspectors. To make sense of it all, Dr. Watson describes the events involving the Scowres from Vermissa Valley twenty years before. In this most interesting story of murder and mayhem, Watson depicts how one man finally brings down the mob that controls the town. This new edition contains an introduction by Charles Palliser along with notes by Ed Gilnert and ten other cases. In "The Dancing Men," Holmes must decipher a most peculiar script of what appears to be a child's drawing of dancing stick figures. In each case, the conflict is clearly presented in the beginning, but few details emerge before Holmes solves the crime and reveals the whole case. The suspense revolves around what clues Holmes will discover next and how he will put them together. 2001 (orig. 1915), Penguin Classics, Ages 12 up.
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