707. The Sign of Four (Arthur Conan Doyle)

Synopsis from Amazon UK:
As a dense yellow fog swirls through the streets of London, a deep melancholy has descended on Sherlock Holmes, who sits in a cocaine-induced haze at 221B Baker Street. His mood is only lifted by a visit from a beautiful but distressed young woman Mary Morstan, whose father vanished ten years before. Four years later she began to receive an exquisite gift every year: a large, lustrous pearl. Now she has had an intriguing invitation to meet her unknown benefactor and urges Holmes and Watson to accompany her. And in the ensuing investigation which involves a wronged woman, a stolen hoard of Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian, a helpful dog and a love affair even the jaded Holmes is moved to exclaim, "Isn't it gorgeous!"

My rating: 4 stars

Publication information:

• 1890
• Spenser Blackett
• London
  
• Red cloth with black lettering & designs
  
• Black endpapers
  
• Issue points:
• Contents page reads '13' instead of '138'
• 'wished' shows as 'w shed' on page 56