The first time I read this well-beloved Sherlock Holmes story, I was seventeen and more prone to reading about lovestruck vampires and wizarding schools than about 19th century detectives. The world of the supernatural has always been my favored literary escape, but I was looking to branch out into the world of classic literature in hopes of being more sophisticated and grown up . Predictably, I fell off the wagon fairly quickly due to the surprising lack of YA plot devices, but during my brief dive into the world of classics, The Hound of the Baskervilles served as a pleasantly effective intermediary between the worlds of my youth and the world of perceived maturity.

While rooted in the realistic version of 19th century England, The Hound of the Baskervilles includes elements of a vaguely supernatural gloom; a gloom that blends seamlessly with the palpable tension of a very real threat. Centering around a sparsely populated English moor, this adventure takes Sherlock and Watson out of their element and into the world of country superstition, ancestral legacy, and hidden dangers. The mystery is this: the most recent Baskervilles descendant has died, leaving behind evidence of foul play and a supernatural end courtesy of a long running curse. Inquiring minds want to know what happened, and more importantly, whether the remaining Baskervilles heir should be worried. Enter Sherlock and Watson, though the story is mostly investigated by Watson, whilst Sherlock goes off elsewhere to be brilliant alone.

Sherlock Holmes is the kind of character that you would probably absolutely abhor in real life. He is incredibly arrogant and patronizing, the epitome of "well, actually...," and would be insufferable in a social setting. In print, however, he is an entertaining example of the powers of deductive and inductive reasoning, and is softened into likeability by his devoted everyman assistant, Watson.

The mystery is solid, the red-herrings and clues well spaced, and the setting wonderful. Doyle really takes the reader out onto the moors, amidst the blinding fog, and makes you feel the delight and terror of our characters as they struggle to work it out. The book is incredibly short; a blessing when you're trying to fit a whole book into your busy life, and entertaining enough to justify the time spent. As the most famous of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, it also offers the added incentive of familiarizing you with what could possibly be a future Jeopardy question.