"Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: In January 1891, following the success of "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Sign of Four," Arthur Conan Doyle began writing regular Sherlock Holmes stories for The Strand Magazine. It was the dawning of a beautiful literary partnership. The first twelve of these stories are collected in "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."

As with the two previous novels, Dr. John Watson narrates all stories, culling his memories and memoirs in order to publish the exploits of his best buddy, Sherlock Holmes. Watson usually opens up each story by hinting to the reader why this case, above all others, was so unique. The client will then appear, meeting Holmes in Watson in their rooms at 221B Baker Street, explain the particulars of the case, and Holmes quickly eradicates all mystery with his powers of deduction, sometimes never even having to leave the comfortable confines of his study. While formulaic, at least it's a formula that works.

The first story out of the gate is "A Scandal in Bohemia," in which Holmes matches wits with Irene Adler, a beautiful actress who piques more than Holmes' intellect. Holmes is hired to recover a compromising photograph from Miss Adler, doing a little acting of his own to discover the photo's hiding place. Miss Adler actually gets the better of Mr. Holmes, making Mr. Doyle's decision to lead with this story a bold one.

In "The Red-Headed League," Mr. Jabez Wilson, a humble pawnbroker, responds to a newspaper ad seeking a redheaded gentleman to perform nominal services for a generous wage. Incredibly, Mr. Wilson is chosen from hundreds of other similarly colored chaps to sit in a locked room and copy the Encyclopedia Britannica, all for the princely sum of four pounds a week. Good work if you can find it. But it's up to Holmes to discover the truth behind Mr. Wilson's stroke of good fortune.

The best story of the lot, for both its suspense and creativity, is "The Adventure of the Speckled Band." Helen Stoner fears for her life. Her twin sister, Julia, had died two years earlier. On the night of her sister's death, Helen heard a whistling sound followed by a strange metallic clang. Then she heard screaming, lots and lots of screaming. Helen rushed to Julia's room in time to have her sister collapse in her arms and say, "Oh, my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!" Now, Helen has heard the whistling again. Can Holmes save Miss Stoner from the dreaded "speckled band"? You know it. But it's still a good read.

"Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: This collection, offering eleven more tales of Sherlockian sleuthing, is most notable for its closing story, "The Final Problem," which marks the first appearance of Professor James Moriarty.

Ask someone to name Sherlock Holmes' archenemy and, without hesitation, the answer will be Professor Moriarty. It's a tribute to the strength of the character, not to mention the skill of Mr. Doyle, that the dreaded Moriarty has gained this nefarious reputation despite appearing in only two of the 60 Holmes stories.

After years of painstaking investigation, Holmes discovers Moriarty to be the man behind all the crime in London. Before Holmes can spring a trap to ensnare Moriarty and his henchmen, the good professor pays a visit to Baker Street, warning Holmes to let the matter drop. Holmes doesn't respond well to threats. Moriarty departs, vowing to destroy the detective if he continues with his disruptive plans. Holmes doesn't back down, and Moriarty's criminal empire is soon crippled, triggering a magnificent chase sequence culminating in a deadly confrontation at the Reichenbach Falls of Switzerland.

The brilliance of "The Final Problem" overpowers every other story in the collection. The only one that really comes close would be "The Silver Blaze," in which Holmes uses the negative, an apparent lack of a clue, to solve a man's murder and the disappearance of a famous racehorse. But it's "The Final Problem" that steals the show.

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Mr. Doyle, weary from writing mystery stories, intended to have Holmes perish during his struggle with Moriarty, both men tumbling to their deaths over the falls while locked in mortal combat. But the public simply wouldn't let Holmes die. After eight years of constant pleading from fans, Doyle relented and wrote a new Holmes novel, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," although it was set before the events of "The Final Problem." It wasn't until 1903, ten years after that fateful day at Reichenbach falls, that Holmes returned to life in "The Adventure of the Empty House," startling Watson with the harrowing tale of how he cheated death at the hands of Moriarty.

During his triumphant return in "The Empty House," Holmes finds time to solve a murder while avoiding an assassin's bullet. It's a very strong story and sets the stage for what is the best of the three books reviewed. Oddly enough, many Sherlock fans feel he was never the same after his bout with Moriarty, but I think six of the thirteen stories included in "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" are as good as any in the entire canon.

"The Adventure of the Dancing Men" leads the way, with Holmes busting out his mad cryptography skills to crack secret messages comprised of stickfigure drawings. Other highlights include "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton," in which Holmes and Watson turn criminal to steal from an evil blackmailer; "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons" sees a rash of vandalism against sculptures of the French Emperor; "The Adventure of the Second Stain" has Holmes trying to track a missing letter; and "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist" features two rivals scheming for the same young woman's hand in marriage and boasts the following memorable exchange:

"You're too late. She's my wife."

"No, she's your widow."

Aw, that's good stuff. If you're only going to pick up one of the collections, make it "The Return of Sherlock Holmes."

Overall, I was surprised to discover how few of the mysteries were, well, mysterious. They're more peculiar than anything. For instance, when considering most modern mystery stories, there's usually something for the reader to figure out, like who stole the paintings, who murdered the victim, etc. However, the vast majority of Holmes tales are mysterious in more of a "that's odd" way than a "how'd they do it" or "who done it" sense. Holmes and Watson routinely get entangled in a bizarre set of circumstances, needing Holmes' concise reasoning to see them through, but seldom will the reader be asked to play along. Often times the solution is found through Holmes' possession of arcane knowledge or other information outside the realm of the story, leaving the reader as more of an observer than participant.

While true fans of Mr. Doyle and Sherlock Holmes will find all the stories enjoyable, there are definitely peaks and valleys. Had the best of the best been collected in one volume, with all the dead wood cut away, then you'd have a four-shot effort. As it is, each book will have to settle for three shots.

All of the Sherlock Holmes stories and novels can be found for free online at www.sherlockian.net or any number of other resources. If you don't feel like reading everything, here are the best stories from the reviewed selections:

1. "The Final Problem"
2. "The Adventure of the Dancing Men"
3. "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"
4. "The Red-Headed League"
5. "A Scandal in Bohemia"
6. "The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton"
7. "The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist"
8. "The Silver Blaze"
9. "The Adventure of the Second Stain"
10. "The Adventure of the Empty House"
11. "The Adventure of the Six Napoleons"
12. "The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor"

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