This story is about the detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson, where they are asked to investigate the murder of Miss Julia Stoner by her twin sister Helen Stoner. We are told that the twin sisters lived with their stepfather Dr. Grimesby Roylott a member of the well-known Surrey family of Stoke Moran. At the time of Miss Stoner's visit to see Holmes and Watson, rumours of how her stepfather had died were circulating and Holmes seemed to be glad of her visit because, according to Holmes, the rumours were making "the matter even more terrible than the truth." Roylott was a doctor in India and he brought a pet `Swamp Adder" home from his travels. He trains the snake to slither down a bell pull and bite his victim. To keep the reader interested, he uses lots of red herrings to try and keep the...