The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The novel opens with a mini mystery – Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson speculate on the identity of the owner of a cane that has been left in their office by an unknown visitor. Wowing Watson with his fabulous powers of observation, Holmes predicts the appearance of James Mortimer, owner of the found object and a convenient entry into the baffling curse of the Baskervilles. The novel is by all accounts, a classic. It features a legend of a spectral hound, an ages-old family curse and a setting that is moody and ominous and brooding enough to be worthy stage for mystery, danger….and murder. Just as importantly, the characters of the story are vibrant and plausible providing for suspects, victims and villains that are worth reading about.