I had a complete Sherlock Holmes volume as a kid, and I've read all of the stories a number of times. This version is still worth buying for the excellent annotations. ( )

Superb. ( )

Read and loved three of these four novels (never got to "The Valley of Fear") in middle school and would love to obtain the matching, slipcased, annotated edition... and as they're both languishing in a prominent spot in our mystery section, I'll probably have to have them the next time we pull books for a return to Norton.

A Study in Scarlet Arthur Conan Doyle (4/5)

This and the following three books were all collected in Leslie Klinger's excellent New Annotated Sherlock Holmes.

This novel describes Holmes and Watson's first meeting, with Watson being at first unsure what exactly his new roommate does for a living. The mystery itself wasn't one of my favorites; parts of it struck me as a bit contrived, and the long flashback that takes place in Utah and doesn't involve Holmes or Watson bored me a little.

The Sign of Four Arthur Conan Doyle (5/5)

This is a really good one, if quite short. There's lots of exotic stuff (stolen treasure! a Pygmy who shoots poisoned darts!) and some great deducing by everyone's favorite detective.

The Hound of the Baskervilles Arthur Conan Doyle (5/5)

My favorite of the Holmes novels. This one is still good even if you know how it ends, and offers some pleasantly shivery moments, what with spectral hounds howling on the moors and such.

The Valley of Fear Arthur Conan Doyle (4/5)

I have mixed feelings about this one. In a lot of ways it seems like a short story that was padded out with a flashback (much like A Study in Scarlet), and I found the end a bit depressing and dissatisfying. On the other hand, the interaction between Holmes and Watson at the beginning of the novel is wonderful, with Holmes coming off as almost playful in his teasing of Watson. ( )