The Return of Sherlock Holmes

The Return of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of thirteen short stories marking Sherlock Holmes’s dramatic comeback after being presumed dead at the Reichenbach Falls. The book opens with “The Adventure of the Empty House,” where Holmes reveals to a shocked Dr. Watson that he survived his struggle with Moriarty and has been in hiding to escape Moriarty’s remaining associates. Together, they reunite and resume their detective partnership.

The stories that follow showcase Holmes’s deductive brilliance across a wide range of cases—blackmail, murder, theft, and elaborate criminal schemes. In “The Norwood Builder,” Holmes clears a young man accused of patricide; in “The Dancing Men,” he deciphers a mysterious code that leads to tragedy; and in “The Six Napoleons,” he uncovers a hidden jewel concealed inside smashed busts of Napoleon.

Other notable tales include “Charles Augustus Milverton,” featuring Holmes’s confrontation with a dangerous blackmailer, and “The Priory School,” a complex kidnapping mystery. Throughout the collection, Watson’s admiration for Holmes grows, and readers witness the detective at the height of his analytical powers.

The book restores Holmes to London and reestablishes the celebrated duo for many more adventures.