Is The Hound of the Baskervilles the best mystery novel ever written? A group interested in the mystery genre in particular could debate that question long into the night, with each member advancing reasons why his or her favorite novel deserves the honor. But the question is not a shallow one. For nearly one hundred years readers young and old have been held in the powerfully suspenseful grip of the tale of a demonic hound and the efforts of mortal human beings to uncover its murderous secret. The novel is one of Conan Doyle's most inspired works, balancing traditional romance against harsh reality. Part of the novel's greatness lies in its testing of the human spirit; its characters are put under terrible stress, with some of them snapping under the strain, and others such as Holmes feeling the blows of an evil that almost defies rationality...