Book excerpt: John McFarlane, a young solicitor, got himself in a mess which could cost him his future. He is afraid that he is about to be arrested for the murder of Jonas Oldacre, a builder who he met a day earlier. The only option McFarlene sees is to get to Holmes and Watson fastest possible before the police find him. Just as John manages to explain his situation to the two friends, the police burst in the room and arrest him. Is John’s life doomed to failure or Holmes and Watson will save the day? "The Adventure of the Norwood Builder" is a part of "The Return of Sherlock Holmes". Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was born in Scotland and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh. After his studies, he worked as a ship’s surgeon on various boats. During the Second Boer War, he was an army doctor in South Africa. When he came back to the United Kingdom, he opened his own practice and started writing crime books. He is best known for his thrilling stories about the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He published four novels and more than 50 short-stories starring the detective and Dr Watson, and they play an important role in the history of crime fiction. Other than the Sherlock Holmes series, Doyle wrote around thirty more books, in genres such as science-fiction, fantasy, historical novels, but also poetry, plays, and non-fiction.