I first discovered Sherlock Holmes at the age of 11, in an illustrated, abridged representation of his most famous adventure, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Captivated, I sought out the original and read it as soon as I could. While I had to sit with a dictionary to decipher Conan Doyle's exquisite 19th century language, the power of the story had me in its thrall. Over the course of year, I had read all four novels and fifty-six short stories featuring the most famous fictional detective of all time.

As I grew into adulthood, I read them again and appreciated them in a new light. Finer nuances that had escaped me on my first encounter with Holmes now revealed themselves, including the frailties of this mighty personality. For a mind this brilliant (and he was no slouch in the physical department either, as his boxing and other physical exploits will attest), it was certainly a frailty that he did not appreciate the degenerative consequences of injecting heroin. Thankfully, there was the ever-loyal Dr. John Watson to wean him away from his self-destructive habit.

I have read the stories several times since, and I am sure I will read them several times again in future. For it is through them that I developed a love for the English language, and this love affair will continue as long as I am physically able to read.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Sourya is a former risk analyst and have worked with several financial organizations of international repute, besides being a professional journalist with several articles published online. After 6 years of work, she decided to pursue her MBA from the University of Notre Dame. She has a Bachelors in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Information Technology. Sourya is also a member of high-IQ organizations Mensa and Triple Nine Society and is negotiating with publishers to get his science fiction work published.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

Each of the twelve stories in this collection is unique in itself, presenting new challenges to Holmes's formidable intellect. Indeed, it begins with Holmes being hired by the King of Bohemia to retrieve a picture from his former lover Irene Adler, and results in the great detective facing one of his rare defeats. Doyle ranked A Scandal in Bohemia fifth in his list of his twelve favourite Holmes stories.

The Adventure of the Red-Headed League presents the curious case of Mr. Jabez Wilson who is chosen for useless clerical work at princely wages just because of the color of his hair. However, there are sinister reasons behind this apparently practical joke, as Holmes and Watson discover. This ranks second in Doyle's list of favorites.

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