Publisher Description
When a strange coded message arrives at 221B Baker Street, sent by a member of Professor Moriarty's criminal organization, Sherlock Holmes soon deciphers it and finds a warning: someone is about to be murdered. A visit from a Scotland Yard inspector confirms that one John Douglas has been mysteriously killed in Sussex. Even Sherlock Holmes, well accustomed to the bizarre, finds the elements of this case unusual. John Douglas lived at Birlstone Manor House, built on the ruins of a castle surrounded by a moat. Every night he drew up the bridge as a precaution against potential villains. Nevertheless, Douglas was found dead, shot in the face at close range with a sawed-off shotgun. And the bereaved are strangely dry-eyed. The mystery spans the Atlantic, from Sussex and the foggy streets of London to a coal-mining region in Pennsylvania, and the ultimate twist can only be untangled by the incomparable skill of the legendary Holmes.
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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 the Narrators
Michael Healy has appeared off Broadway and on
national television, most notably on Saturday Night Live for
three years, as well as in several national commercials. He continues to hone
his craft in Rhode Island, where he has won awards for acting. His audiobook
recordings include Mr. Midshipman Easy by Frederick
Marryat, The Collector of Lost Things by Jeremy Page,
and The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Patrick
Tull (1941–2006), born in the United Kingdom, was a multitalented actor of the stage, screen, and
television, as well as an award-winning audiobook narrator. He acted in
numerous American television shows from 1962 to 1996, including Crossroads, and he had roles in six Broadway plays between 1967 and
1992, including Amadeus. His film credits
from 1969 to 1996 included roles as Cecil in Parting Glances and Jerry the bartender in Sleepers. He served as narrator for the television series Sea Tales. He narrated nearly forty audiobooks,
and his readings of The Canterbury Tales,
The Letter of Marque, Monk’s Hood, The Vicar of Wakefield, and
How Green Was My Valley each earned
him an AudioFile Earphones Award. His narration of Patrick O’Brian’s
Aubrey/Maturin novels was praised by novelist Stephen King as among his ten favorite
audiobooks of 2006.