The Sign of Four/Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 In this rollicking adventure Holmes and Watson solve a mysterious but not really all that mysterious case involving Watson's future wife, Mary Morstan, and of course they immediately fall in TWOO WUV and the prose gets all flowery and they're acting like schoolchildren (stalwart, mystery-solving schoolchildren) and it's actually pretty adorable, and meanwhile Holmes is having adventures on rooftops and climbing drainpipes and solving crimes. There's also a terribly funny bit with Toby the dog, who fans of Disney's The Great Mouse Detective will remember from that, um...fine animated film. The other high point is a thrilling steamboat chase along the Thames. Overall, this had a muuuuch better pace than A Study in Scarlet, and the characters are fully fleshed-out. good times! 171 pp