The Sherlock Holmes Stories of Edward D. Hoch

A collection of twelve stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, written by Edward D. Hoch, a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America. The stories include a case involving an heiress whose guardian attempts to murder her with a rare Indian swamp adder—a plot stopped by Holmes's intervention. Another tale takes place five months after the events of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," when Holmes and Watson return to Stoke Moran after a traveler reports the viper has escaped. Holmes must determine whether the greater threat is the snake itself or the possibility that the traveler is lying. Written in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, these twelve tales present Holmes confronting circus tigers, Druidic curses, and Christmas-related murders. The collection recreates the Victorian-era detective through the work of one of the twentieth century's prominent mystery writers.