This is the first Sherlock Holmes story I ever read (I guess, I was about ten). As strange as it is, it has a tremendous place in my heart. The Jeremy Brett/David Burke version is the best I've seen. It does justice to the canon. This is the story of two sisters who have an inheritance and who live with their father, a violent, explosive man. One of the sisters succumbs to some weird attack. It is our hero's task to figure out what is going on. These young women have been living in the oddest situation. For example, their beds are fastened to the floor, immovable. Strange sounds are heard in the night. Wild animals pervade the property around the house. The motivations are not that unusual as we watch things unfold, but the methods are really bizarre. I think it's the circus like atmosphere of this poor young woman's world that is the attraction. As a previous commentator, I also enjoyed the evil father's confrontation with Holmes, who is really unflappable, no matter what. Conan-Doyle frequently took liberties with the natural reality (despite being a medical man himself) and often assumed his readers would take things at face value. I know I did. This is a really fun story with sad implications and heartbreak. Sometimes we forget how the first girl died and what a loss this was for her surviving sibling. Watch this, ignore your scientific hesitation, and just enjoy it.
Review of The Speckled Band
