Book excerpt: From the curious clauses in a miser's will, to a plea for help on a tiny scrap of paper, these six cases, from the early years of Holmes's career in the 1880s, present a singular collection of mysteries for the world's first consulting detective to resolve. What is the significance of the arrival in the post one morning of a cardboard packet of children's bricks? Who is the man found dying in a deserted warehouse in London's East End, and what is he doing there? Why have the names of a couple of young honeymooners been removed from a hotel register? Sherlock Holmes must find the answers to these and many other puzzling questions if he is to bring these cases to a successful conclusion. In this new collection of Sherlock Holmes short stories, well-known author, Denis O. Smith, accurately recreates once more both the atmosphere and the excitement of Conan Doyle's well-loved original Holmes tales.