Gareth Moore - The Great Sherlock Holmes Puzzle Book

Dear Reader,

Welcome to this most portentous volume. It is the very first of its kind, for within the pages of this book I have collected together the most unique puzzle vignettes. All have been gathered during the past few years of my life, during which I have had the rare privilege to accompany that most singular of detectives, Sherlock Holmes, on many of his most renowned cases.

Should you somehow fail to have heard of the detective tour de force that is Mr. Sherlock Holmes, let me take a moment to introduce you to him, peccadillos and all.

His signature feature is his towering intellect. His cranial cogitations are majestic in their profundity, often reducing mere mortals such as you, no doubt and certainly I to mere observers, no matter how much we might wish to offer some additional insight into his investigatory activities. Having already solved a mystery, he enjoys playing with others in the way that a cat will tease its prey, ensuring that you are never in any doubt as to how superior his own intelligence is to yours. He will frequently challenge you to reach some conclusion or the other, but it is invariably one that he has long ago passed at the wayside in his own insatiable quest for knowledge.

This book collects together more than 130 such challenges that Holmes has set me over recent years, and which I present here in written form for your edification and entertainment.

These challenges are of several different types. Some rely on principles of the mathematical kind, while many need one or more logical deductions to be made from the presented writings. A few make reference to contemporary technology or other new inventions of our Victorian era, and others require abstract thinking to explain some apparently impossible situation. Let me assure you, however, that none require any special knowledge or experience, beyond the wit that God himself gave you as you entered this mortal world.

Holmes is rather fond of riddles, so I should also take this opportunity to give you fair warning that at least a few of the challenges require cleverness of the language variety, with a few plays on words and the like. If a puzzle seems unsolvable, it is always worth considering that some cleverness is at play and all is not as it seems. I have also seen fit to put a small hint into some of the puzzle titles, so if you should ever find yourself stuck it is always worth considering the true meaning of the title. It might perchance be of some small assistance in your hunt for even the most elusive of answers.

Should any of the conundrums herein happen to challenge and perplex you beyond your ken, I have (much against Holmess recommendation, I might add) included full solutions at the back of this volume. Here I have stated the answer as it was originally given to me. This section might, I suggest, be given to a friend or detective colleague to read, so that they can concoct a hint that is slightly less fiendish than those already given to you on the puzzle pages.

Each challenge may be tackled on its own, and you may dip in and out of the book at your leisure. The material tells no grand overall story, beyond documenting the genius of the man I am lucky to call my friend: Mr. Sherlock Holmes.

Doctor John Watson,

221B Baker Street, London, 1897

PUZZLES