canon of Sherlock Holmes Books in Order

Reading order

The canon of Sherlock Holmes books in the order they were published, with the year each first appeared.

1. 1A Study in ScarletHome from the Afghan war, Dr Watson takes rooms with Sherlock Holmes at 221B Baker Street and is soon drawn into his new flatmate's investigation of a murder.Buy a copy: eBay1887
2. 2The Sign of the FourMary Morstan asks Holmes to explain her father's disappearance ten years earlier and the valuable pearls an unknown sender has posted to her each year.Buy a copy: eBay1890
3. 3The Adventures of Sherlock HolmesThe first collection gathers the twelve stories that ran in The Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892, beginning with A Scandal in Bohemia.Buy a copy: eBay1892
4. 4The Memoirs of Sherlock HolmesThe second collection of Strand stories runs from Silver Blaze to The Final Problem, in which Holmes confronts Professor Moriarty.Buy a copy: eBay1894
5. 5The Hound of the BaskervillesHolmes and Watson investigate the legend of a monstrous hound said to haunt the Baskerville family on Dartmoor.Buy a copy: eBay1902
6. 6The Return of Sherlock HolmesThirteen stories first printed in 1903 and 1904, beginning with The Adventure of the Empty House.Buy a copy: eBay1905
7. 7The Valley of FearA coded warning from an informer inside Moriarty's organisation is followed by news that a country gentleman named Douglas has been killed at Birlstone.Buy a copy: eBay1915
8. 8His Last BowA collection of later stories, including Wisteria Lodge and The Dying Detective, ending with the title story of Holmes's war service.Buy a copy: eBay1917
9. 9The Case-Book of Sherlock HolmesThe final twelve stories, printed in The Strand between 1921 and 1927, including The Illustrious Client and The Sussex Vampire.Buy a copy: eBay1927