When Miss Mary Morstan is invited to meet a secretive stranger, she asks Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson to help her. Captain Morstan has disappeared from his hotel without a trace. Should Miss Morstan dare to hope that her father is still alive? What horrible scene awaits the famous detective and his friend when they break down the door to Bartholomew Sholto’s attic room? Who is the man with the wooden leg, and why is he so full of bitterness and hatred? Will Toby, the cleverest tracker dog in London, help Holmes and Watson solve one of their most difficult cases?

When Dr Watson agrees to share lodgings with Sherlock Holmes, he soon finds himself involved in a shocking and mysterious murder case. What will Holmes discover when he examines the body? There are no marks on the dead man, so why is there so much blood at the scene of the crime? Inspector Lestrade and Inspector Gregson have asked Holmes to help them. But will they listen to his advice? Can the famous detective and his new friend discover the truth before the murderer strikes again?

'Dat gold bug was a vicious bug. Massa caught it first but it bit him. I think da bite has made Massa poorly. It has affected him in da head.' William Legrand has found a new type of bug, a golden bug, unusually heavy. His servant, Jupiter, is worried. Why is Legrand behaving so oddly? Has the bug's bite made him mad? When Legrand shows his friend a drawing of the gold bug, it looks more like a skull. What can this mean? The arrival of the gold bug leads the three men on an exciting adventure towards skeletons, a skull and a hunt for buried treasure. Should we believe Jupiter's superstitious fears, or is there a more logical explanation of events? If there is, can you, the reader, discover it? Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world's greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.