I actually just finished watching The Great Mouse Detective with my wife - first time for her and the first time for me reliving that element of my childhood in more than twenty years – I was terrified it wouldn't live up to my memory, but was surprised at how good it was. I'm pretty sure it was my first exposure to the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (and I do recommend it heartily to anyone who hasn't watched it!).
Of Doyle's non-Sherlock works, The Lost World is the first that comes to my mind. Great fast read, also highly recommend! (Though nothing beats the full and complete collection of Sherlock Holmes, see [1] for the PDF and [2] for the actual book).
The pdf is from https://sherlock-holm.es which offers a variety of other formats, if you hate pdf as much as I do; either way, the versions on that site have been updated with additional corrections since the linked pdf was published.
Casebook is still under copyright inside the U.S. (only there). That's why the site splits out a U.S. legal version.
Ever since I read The Hound of the Baskervilles five years ago I've been hooked on the Sherlock Holmes stories. I think I've read every single one. I didn't realize Arthur Conan Doyle wrote other genres, I'll have to check those out.
And for you Sherlockians who still just can't get enough, there is "I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere," the definitive Sherlock Holmes podcast and website at the intersection of news and popular culture:
I can also recommend the two novels by Anthony Horowitz, House of Silk and Moriarty. These are the only two contemporary works to earn the seal of approval from the Conan Doyle Estate. And Horowitz, creator of the beloved ITV British detective drama "Foyle's War", knows a thing or two about mystery and suspense ;)
But I don't think you can really discuss Conan Doyle without commenting on the influence of Edgar Allan Poe. And how even to this day in internet forms like creepypasta and #nosleep, Poe's innovations continue to, ahem, haunt us.
Of Doyle's non-Sherlock works, The Lost World is the first that comes to my mind. Great fast read, also highly recommend! (Though nothing beats the full and complete collection of Sherlock Holmes, see [1] for the PDF and [2] for the actual book).
1: https://maggiemcneill.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/the-comple...
2: http://amzn.to/1UBvHwJ