jacey | Booklog 5/2025: Arthur Conan Doyle: The Sign of Four – Sherlock Holmes #2

Read by Stephen Fry With introductions by Stephen Fry.

Fry's voice is perfect for the Holmes stories and his introductions are fascinating. This is a L_O_N_G audiobook encompassing several stories, so I'm reviewing them one at a time. The Sign of Four is the second Holmes book in which Watsom meets Mary Morestan, the love of his life. Mary comes to Holmes (and Watson) for back-up in the matter of a strange letter received from a stranger. Holmes is at a loose end, falling back into his drug habit due to boredom, but Mary's case snaps him out of it. It seems that Mary's missing father, an ex army officer, had come into some treasure, but had been cheated out of it and now John Sholto, the son of the now deceased 'cheater', wishes to restore Mary's half of the jewel box lately belonging to an Indian Maharajah. But John's brother Bartholomew is killed in deeply mysterious circumstances and the jewel box is stolen. Inspector Athelney Jones immediately gets the wrong man while Holmes and Watson track down the right one. This all goes as you might expect with a few twists and turns, and yes, Watson gets the girl in the end.