The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Volume Four: A Case of Identity/the Adventure of the Crooked Man/the Naval Treaty/the Greek Interpreter » (Abridged, 3 CDs)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was both a doctor and a believer in spirits, which may partly explain why his Sherlock Holmes is one of literature's most beloved detectives: Holmes always approaches his cases with the gentility and logic of a scientist, but the stories are suffused with an aura of the supernatural. Narrated by devoted assistant Dr. John H. Watson, Holmes's adventures were so addictive that fans protested the master deducer's "death" in 1893 and Doyle had to resurrect him.

The character of Sherlock Holmes first appeared in 1887 in, A Study in Scarlet .

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-These four mysteries are from Doyle's last collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927). The selections included are representative of a preoccupation with the grotesque that infuses the collective atmosphere of the Case-Book stories. In "Shoscombe Old Place," a country squire conceals the death of his wealthy invalid sister after burning her body, hiding it in the family crypt, and hiring a manservant to impersonate her. "The Veiled Lodger" is a hideously disfigured woman whose confession of a premeditated murder plot gone awry elicits a rare and uncomfortable display of sympathy from Holmes. The nefarious Baron Gruman is the infamous murderer and sexual exploiter of "The Illustrious Client," whose face is also severely disfigured in an act of retribution at the hands of a past victim. The title story, "The Sussex Vampire," raises the specter of vampirism when a woman is caught in the act of sucking blood from her child's neck. Christopher Lee is a superb reader and not only brings his beautifully sonorous voice to these tales, but also a gravity of presence that solidly intrigues and grounds listeners. Appropriate for all collections.-Barry X. Miller, Austin Public Library, TX Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.