"The Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: In 1893, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle decided to kill off the great Sherlock Holmes, having the legendary sleuth plummet to his death over Switzerland's Reichenbach Falls while locked in titanic struggle with his archenemy, Professor Moriarty. Mr. Doyle, having already written two Holmes novels and 23 short stories, had grown tired of detective fiction and felt constrained by the immense popularity of the character. Needless to say, the public was not amused. After eight long years, Mr. Doyle finally relented to popular demand, offering a third Holmes novel, "The Hound of the Baskervilles." But the story is actually set prior to Holmes' fateful confrontation with Moriarty. Loyal readers would have to wait two more years before Holmes was officially brought back to life in "The Adventure of the Empty House" (1903).

Baskerville Hall is found in the desolate, foggy moors of Devonshire. Generations of Baskervilles have resided in the house, serving as royalty to the surrounding peasants and townsfolk. Aside from immense wealth and a noble rank, the Baskerville clan also possess a right fearful family legend. It all began with the dastardly Hugo Baskerville, a man of cruel humor and vicious temper, kidnaping a lovely peasant girl for his own sick pleasure. The girl was lucky enough to escape Baskerville Hall, but an outraged Hugo turned his dogs loose upon the moor to find her, leading the charge himself. When Hugo's drunken cohorts followed a few minutes later, they found the girl dead, apparently of fright, and Hugo being mauled by an enormous black hound. The demonic beast was so terrifying, the once brave men fled for their lives, surviving long enough to spread the dreaded tale. The family curse was passed from generation to generation. While most considered it harmless folklore, the Baskervilles always took it seriously, fearing that the savage hound was somewhere out in the moor, waiting to avenge the sins of the past.

Charles Baskerville definitely feared the hound. The rightful tenant of Baskerville Hall, Sir Charles was a kind, generous old man. With no immediate family of his own, Charles desired to improve the whole countryside with his good fortune, never missing an opportunity to lend a charitable hand. That's why his death came as such a shock to the fine people of Devonshire. Charles was found dead in a hedged walkway outside Baskerville Hall. It was surmised he went for an evening stroll under the stars and succumbed to a heart attack. Sounds simple enough. But his friend, Dr. Mortimer, discovers evidence that Charles was staring out across the moor moments before he died, and that he had to have seen something frightful to cause him to break into a dead run away from the house. The story comes together when Dr. Mortimer notices footprints near the body. Not of a man or woman, the footprints are those of a gigantic hound.

Henry Baskerville, Charles' American nephew, is the next in line to inherit Baskerville Hall. Dr. Mortimer is entrusted to meet Henry in London to escort him to Devonshire, but he is having doubts as to whether or not he should endanger the young man's life by mixing him up with the family curse. Desperate for counsel, Dr. Mortimer turns to Sherlock Holmes. When I have a problem, I usually just ignore it. It'll go away.

The book opens with Holmes and Watson attempting to discern the character of an unknown visitor to Baker Street on the previous night. The man, who turns out to be Dr. Mortimer, had left his walking stick behind, and the minuscule clues provided by the object allow Holmes to display his dazzling eye for observation and his uncanny knack for deduction. The mystery effortlessly unfolds from there, drawing Holmes and Watson into a web of intrigue featuring memorable characters and an intricate plot of deception. What truly separates it from the crowd, though, is its unforgettable atmosphere. Mr. Doyle does a magnificent job of rendering the lonely, depressing Devonshire landscape. The cold stone walls of Baskerville Hall and the damp, marshy hills of the surrounding moor are as integral to the novel as its celebrated sleuth.

As is the case with all the best Holmes stories, Dr. Watson is the narrator throughout. In "A Study in Scarlet" and "The Valley of Fear," Watson forfeits a portion of the story, with Mr. Doyle instead employing flashbacks and a third person narrator to provide the background information for the mystery. Here, Dr. Mortimer supplies the history of the Baskerville curse during his first interview with Holmes and Watson, reading from two documents; the first is a personal account handed down between Baskervilles discussing the hound, and the second is a newspaper report regarding Charles' death. It's a brilliant bit of literary craft from Mr. Doyle, allowing for the quick, easy conveyance of necessary information without disrupting the flow of the story.

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" is Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Doyle at their very best. It's absolute Sherlockian perfection. In terms of the Holmes novels, I'd rate it slightly ahead of "The Sign of Four," with "A Study in Scarlet" third and "The Valley of Fear" fourth.

RATING: