Holmes has taken on a life of his own in the hearts and minds of a modern world The Times Start a story by Conan Doyle and you cannot stop reading whether you are ten or sixty.Michael Dirda The immense talent passion and literary brilliance that Conan Doyle brought to his work gives him a unique place in English letters.Stephen Fry Arthur Conan Doyles The Valley of Fear 1915 is the fourth and final installment of the Sherlock Holmes crime novels. This work of riveting suspense and intrigue is loosely based on the infamous 18th Century Irish secret society The Molly Maguires. First published in serial form in The Strand Magazine in 1914 and 1915 this novel brings Sherlock Holmes facetoface with the evil Professor Moriarty one of the most nefarious characters of crime fiction.