¨A crime happened at Boscombe Valley, in Herefordshire.
¨Sherlock Holmes arrives with Dr. Watson to investigate the death of Mr. Charles McCarthy who has supposedly been murdered by his son James.
¨James was taken into the prison Lestrade, a crime investigator convinced that the father and son involved in violent altercation.
¨Holmes refuses to accept the easy conclusion.
¨A host of mysteries boggle the minds such as the motive for Mr. McCarthy’s visit to the pond, his being followed by his son with a gun under his arm, the son’s report of the strange “cooee” call in the woods. Etc.
¨Mr. Turner’s daughter also believes in the innocence of young McCarthy.
¨ Holmes’ investigation reveals interesting set of footprints from which Holmes deduce that the perpetrator of the murder is a tall and lame man smoking Indian cigar. But dramatically before Holmes’ hands lay upon him, he visits Holmes to make a confession.
¨The story ends as the young McCarthy walk free and the culprit meeting his natural death after a couple of months of the admission of his misdeed.
¨A moral standpoint is given to the culprit saving him from turning into a reckless criminal. The ending furnished by saving an innocent man from the gruesome punishment.
