The story in one page
Sherlock Holmes is bored by sanity and fueled by a seven-percent cocaine solution until Mary Morstan arrives with a puzzle. Her father vanished ten years ago, and now a mysterious benefactor sends her a rare pearl every year. The trail leads to the eccentric Sholto twins, whose father served in India and returned with a hoard of jewels and a paralyzing fear of men with wooden legs. When one Sholto is found dead by a poisoned thorn in a locked room, Holmes must navigate the London fog, employ a pack of street urchins, and hunt a vengeful convict across the Thames to uncover a colonial conspiracy.
Who's who
- Sherlock Holmes
A hyper-observant consulting detective who uses drugs to combat intellectual boredom.
- Dr. John Watson
The narrator who finds a wife while chasing a murderer.
- Mary Morstan
A governess seeking the truth about her father's disappearance and inheritance.
- Jonathan Small
A wooden-legged convict driven by a blood oath regarding stolen jewels.
- Tonga
A loyal Andaman Islander who uses blowpipe darts against his enemies.
What it's really about
- Deduction vs. Emotion
- Logic is prioritized over human feelings like love or greed.
- Imperial Legacy
- Crimes committed in colonial India eventually haunt the London suburbs.
Why it's memorable
- Holmes tracking a murderer through London using Toby, a dog with a superior nose.
- A high-speed steam-launch pursuit on the dark waters of the Thames.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Watson announces his engagement to Mary Morstan, while the treasure is lost at the bottom of the Thames. Holmes, unimpressed by romance and left without credit for the arrest, returns to his cocaine bottle.
For your book club
- The contrast between Holmes's mechanical logic and Watson's romantic impulses.
- The depiction of colonial subjects as exotic threats to Victorian domesticity.