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The Sign of the Four Audiobook

The Sign of the Four Audiobook, by Arthur Conan Doyle Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Ralph Cosham Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 2.50 hours at 1.5x Speed 1.88 hours at 2.0x Speed Series: The Sherlock Holmes Series Release Date: May 2010 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781481545655

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

12

Longest Chapter Length:

50:33 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

10:09 minutes

Average Chapter Length:

19:12 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

264

Publisher Description

In this second Sherlock Holmes novel, the indomitable sleuth is visited by a woman in distress. Each year for the past six years, on the anniversary of her father's mysterious disappearance ten years ago, Miss Mary Morstan has been receiving pearls, she knows not why or from whom. This time, her anonymous benefactor wants to meet. In the letter, he promises to reveal the mystery and to "right the wrongs" against her. "If you distrust me," he writes, "bring two friends." And so she approaches Holmes and Watson. Naturally the great detective cannot pass up such a singular puzzle, so he and Watson agree to accompany her to the mysterious meeting. The ensuing investigation turns up a wronged woman, a stolen hoard of Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian, a helpful dog, and a love affair.

From London to India and back again, this case once more reveals the incomparable talents of the world's only consulting detective.

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"I'd never read any of the Sherlock Holmes books, and decided it was time to try them out. I'm reading my way through them in the correct order - and The Sign Of Four is second. In many senses it is just what you expect - the language and assumptions of the age, the strict class hierarchy, and many of the cliches with which we are familiar through the countless television adaptations and the cultural place that Holmes and Watson still hold. But there is still freshness in the stories despite the fact that you think you 'know' them already. The relationship between Holmes and Watson which develops as you progress through the books - the sometimes unexpected, sometimes bleeding obvious, twists in the tales. There is also some very funny dialogue - some intentionally, and some not. Definitely worth a read."

— Danny (4 out of 5 stars)

Quotes

  • “Of all the Holmes stories it is The Sign of the Four which remains persistently in my memory.”

    — Graham Greene
  • “In The Sign of the Four Sir Arthur Conan Doyle weaves a story that stretches from London to India…Holmes finds himself enmeshed in a crime involving two murders, a wooden-legged man, a budding love story, and the theft of an Indian treasure. Add to this a depiction of Colonial India during the time of the 1857 rebellion and you have one of the more intriguing Holmes stories…Three-time Audie nominee, Ralph Cosham, in a voice reminiscent of Nigel Bruce who played Dr. Watson in early Hollywood films of the Holmes canon, brings the right tenor and feeling to the work. This is classic, well executed and well worth visiting again.”

    — SoundCommentary.com

The Sign of the Four Listener Reviews

Overall Performance: 3.5742574257425743 out of 53.5742574257425743 out of 53.5742574257425743 out of 53.5742574257425743 out of 53.5742574257425743 out of 5 (3.57)
5 Stars: 18
4 Stars: 34
3 Stars: 39
2 Stars: 8
1 Stars: 2
Narration: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Story: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 (0.00)
5 Stars: 0
4 Stars: 0
3 Stars: 0
2 Stars: 0
1 Stars: 0
Write a Review
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " If I could give five stars to characters, then Sherlock Holmes is a five-star character. A morphine-taking, violin-playing manic depressive who always manages to deduce the impossible. This story was good in the beginning, but it seemed to lose steam as Watson's narrative lost Holmes. I think the fault was in the fact that the exposition was longer than the adventure. However, for a mystery of just 100 pages, it was fun. "

    — Krista, 2/20/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " This was a great story. I actually found myself more amused by Doyle's colorful characters than by the mystery itself. Dr. Watson is often so stoic that it's hilarious, and I loved the pompous inspector, the hypochondriac hookah addict and the surly one legged man. This book is great deal of fun to read. "

    — Andrew, 2/20/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " I really enjoy Dr. Watson's narration and I find the Holmes novels quite enjoyable. This novel fortunately avoids the mind-numbing tedium of non-Watsonian narration that made A Study in Scarlet unfinishable for me. The version I read (not this one) has excellent and hilarious footnotes, as well. Apparently there's a whole field of Holmsian scholarship in which people treat Holmes and Watson as real people and chastise Watson for all his inaccuracies and inconsistencies. Very odd. "

    — Corry, 2/19/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " The story's pretty cool, with the detective work and the boat race really exciting. It gets pretty rambly and long at some part though... ^^; "

    — DC, 2/17/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " This is a good book but I was glad that it was short. There was a great deduction part at the begining that I read over and over. the mystery itself was good but not as I hoped it would be. the explination at the end was OK but I still was able to read it through with no problems. Again Doyle needs to give us the background of the bad guy and he really needs to stop doing that. A good quick read. "

    — Cameron, 2/17/2014
  • Overall Performance: 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Outstanding. One of my favorite Holmes' stories "

    — Matt, 2/15/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " I think I'm reading these books wrong because I'm not thaaaaat interested in the mysteries. I could read a whole novel with Holmes and Watson just talking about stuff. "

    — Stephanie, 2/7/2014
  • Overall Performance: 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " I was disappointed; this being my first Sherlock Holmes book, I expected more mystery and plot twists. Instead, there was a little bit of mystery but the story was pretty straight-forward and the end was completely unrelated to Holmes. Overall, it was okay but I don't think I'll be reading another Holmes story any time soon. "

    — Desiree, 1/31/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " The book begins and ends with Sherlock Holmes enjoying some cocaine because of boredom. Yes, our dear consulting detective is into drugs! I enjoyed reading 'The Sign of the Four' but it was not spectacular. I would choose 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' anytime. Doyle's trademark plot twists and air of suspense are somewhat lacking in this book. A lot of the questions were either obvious or immediately answered. However this a must read for Sherlock Holmes fans because this book gives us more perspective on his character and skills. Dr. Watson falls in love and of course, no one wants to miss that! "

    — TheRebelReads, 1/31/2014
  • Overall Performance: 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Quick and fun read. I sometimes wished it wasn't written in first person, though, so it could be a little more thrilling. "

    — Andrea, 1/29/2014
  • Overall Performance: 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Narration Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5 Story Rating: 0 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 50 out of 5

    " Certainly more action packed than the first story, but paradoxically not as exciting or as well written of a mystery. Still good fun! "

    — Jon, 1/26/2014

About Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was born of Irish parentage in Scotland. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but he also had a passion for storytelling. His first book introduced that prototype of the modern detective in fiction, Sherlock Holmes. Despite the immense popularity Holmes gained throughout the world, Doyle was not overly fond of the character and preferred to write other stories. Eventually popular demand won out and he continued to satisfy readers with the adventures of the legendary sleuth. He also wrote historical romances and made two essays into pseudoscientific fantasy: The Lost World and The Poison Belt.

About Ralph Cosham

Geoffrey Howard (a.k.a. Ralph Cosham) was a stage actor and an award-winning narrator. He recorded more than 100 audiobooks in his lifetime and won the prestigious Audio Award for Best Narration and several AudioFile Earphones Awards.