"I have been in the Valley of Fear... I am not out of it yet." "There - is - danger!" The warning message decrypted by Sherlock Holmes arrives too late to save John Douglas of Birlstone Manor, Sussex, an American gentleman gruesomely murdered in his study by person or persons unknown. But who was John Douglas, why wasn't he wearing his wedding-ring, and what is the crucial significance of the missing dumb-bell? This atmospheric graphic novel adaptation by Ian Edginton and I.N.J. Culbard - the team behind this series' acclaimed A Study in Scarlet, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Sign of the Four - will keep you guessing.

The Valley of Fear is the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is based on the supposedly real-life exploits of the Molly Maguires and Pinkerton agent James McParland. The story was first published in the Strand Magazine between September 1914 and May 1915. The first book edition was copyrighted in 1914, published by George H. Doran Company in New York on 27 February 1915, and illustrated by Arthur I. Keller. Holmes decodes a cipher warning from Moriarty's organization for "Douglas" in "Birlstone", but a corpse is there already. When Mr. Douglas blows the head off his American assassin, he dresses the body as himself, and hides, to throw off the chase for good. Holmes guesses the missing dumb-bell weighted down the killer's clothes in the moat. The calling card left, VV341, is Vermissa Valley Lodge 341. Decades ago for Pinkerton, he went months undercover, first with Freemen in Chicago, then west to desolate mountain coal mine area, to take down corrupt murderers who ran the Valley Freemen Lodge, but criminals pursued. Holmes warns Douglas, when acquitted, to flee England. But Moriarty prevails. The second Mrs. Douglas telegrams that her husband was lost overboard on his way to South Africa on a ship.

This Top Five Classics edition The Valley of Fear includes: • The original, unabridged text by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle • More than 30 illustrations by Frank Wiles from the original Strand serial • A helpful introduction, author bio, and bibliography When Sherlock Holmes receives a coded warning from one of Moriarty’s lieutenants, he is drawn into a grisly murder in Sussex, which only he can solve. The killing has its origins in a 13-year-old conspiracy involving a secret society in America and the beginning of Holmes’s battle against the criminal organization of the evil Professor Moriarty. The Valley of Fear, originally published in 1915, was the fourth and final Sherlock Holmes novel by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sherlock Holmes is intrigued and disturbed when he receives an ominous coded message: a Mr. Douglas of Birlstone House is in terrible danger. Before Holmes can act, shocking news arrives. Douglas has been found dead - his face blown off by a shotgun. Scotland Yard is stumped. Was this suicide or murder? But Holmes is in no such doubt - for he recognises the calling card of his nemesis, Professor James Moriarty.

The Complete Novels of Sherlock Holmes includes A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and The Valley of Fear. Included are illustrations by Sidney Paget, George Hutchinson, James Greig & Charles Kerr. Holmes will need to use his various skills, including a knack at cracking ciphers, an aptitude for acting and disguise, tracking footprints, hand to hand combat, and knowledge of psychology to solve cases involving kidnapping, murder and revenge. Sherlock Holmes is famous for his intellectual prowess and is renowned for his skilful use of deductive reasoning, astute observation, and forensic skills to solve difficult cases. Deductive reasoning allows Holmes to impressively reveal a stranger's occupation. Similarly, by studying inanimate objects, he is able to make astonishingly detailed deductions about their owners. This mindset was a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, inspiring authors like Robert J. Sawyer, Neil Gaiman and Stephen King.

An engaging classroom playscript. John Douglas is a man with a past. Sherlock Holmes is the famous detective who finds puzzle-solving elementary. When Holmes and his faithful friend Watson are summoned to the country to investigate Douglas's murder, it begins to look as though the past might finally have caught up with him New, innovative activities specifically tailored to support the KS3 Framework for Teaching English and help students to fulfil the Framework objectives. Activities include work on Speaking and Listening, close text analysis, and the structure of playscripts, and act as a springboard for personal writing.