In sync with the sleuth

I got introduced to the character when I was a child. We didn't have too much of choice back then, moving from Enid Blyton to Sherlock Holmes, to Agatha Christie. The character fascinated me, and there is a story about a snake — The Adventure of the Speckled Band — that's stuck in my head. It's about how someone is trying to do away with children inheriting a fortune. And what I like [about Conan Doyle] is that he doesn't put everything on a plate. You are working with the detective, which I feel that many modern detective novels are missing. They give out everything in black and white.
The Hound of the Baskervilles has also stayed with me. The images of the hounds and the moors, and the fact that you can be confronted with these demonic beasts in the dark, was more fascinating than the actual mystery. When I read it as a kid, it was guaranteed that I wouldn't step out at night for a while.