The Adventure of the Dying Detective

Sherlock Holmes pretends to be dying. The purpose: to expose the man who killed his own nephew for the inheritance.

For three days, Holmes refuses to eat and will only allow Mrs Hudson to ask Dr. Watson for help. The great detective appears to dying from a highly contagious disease. One which is usually found only in Asia. Watson examines things in the room. A curious ivory box draws his attention. When he picks it up to get a better look, Holmes demands that Watson must immediately put it down. Holmes tells Watson to bring a man called Culverton Smith to see him. Culverton Smith has no professional medical training but he knows more about the disease which Holmes claims to be suffering from than anyone else in the world. Holmes admits that he and Culverton Smith are not on friendly terms. This is because Holmes suspects the man had some part in the death of his nephew.

When Smith arries, Holmes orders Watson to hide behind the head of the bed, not to move, and not to betray himself under any circumstances.

Smith promises to cure Holmes if he no longer investigates the death of his nephew. Smith suggests that Holmes received a box in the mail (which Dr. Watson picked up), opened it, scratched it, and contracted a deadly virus. Holmes asks to fulfill his dying request and turn on the light. Now, the police enter the room, and the revived Holmes demands matches and cigarettes.

Holmes wanted to prove that Smith killed his nephew because of an inheritance, and pretended to be dying for this. He had to lie to Dr. Watson to get him to sound convincing.

All in all a decent short tale. But it sees Holmes lying to Watson to achieve his end. In a similar fashion to The Big Lie, where Holmes faked his own death which Watson believed for many years.

Definitely this is my favorite short story of Sherlock Holmes because he shows his artistic abilities more than any other story.