The first Sherlock Holmes novel begins when, conva-lescing in London after war in Afghanistan, Dr John Watson finds himself sharing rooms at 221B Baker Street with an enigmatic new acquaintance. His and Holmes's quiet bachelor life is soon interrupted by the discovery of a dead man in a grimy house in south-east London, his face contorted by an expression of horror. On the wall, the word rache - German for 'revenge' - is written in blood. Watson's head is in a whirl, but the formidable Holmes relishes this challenge to his deductive powers, and so ensues their famous investigative partnership.