Sherlock Holmes - The Final Problem and The Empty House characters

Appears from the start

A consulting detective whose powers of observation and deduction have defeated many criminals. He comes to Watson in an unusually strained state after confronting Professor Moriarty and asks his friend to help him leave England while the police close in on Moriarty's organization.

Also known as Dr Watson

Appears from the start

A physician, the narrator, and Holmes's trusted friend. Though he has returned to ordinary medical practice, he agrees to accompany Holmes to continental Europe when the detective explains the danger posed by Moriarty.

Appears from the start

A mathematics professor whom Holmes identifies as the calculating organizer behind a vast criminal network. Respectable in public and extremely dangerous in private, he is the one opponent Holmes considers his intellectual equal.

Appears from the start

Holmes's older brother, whose unobtrusive help is trusted during the attempt to escape Moriarty's agents. His ability to pass unnoticed makes him useful when conventional travel arrangements are unsafe.

Also known as The Honourable Ronald Adair

First appears in chapter 2

A well-connected young Londoner and keen card player whose unexplained death becomes the mystery occupying Watson after Holmes's disappearance. He is found shot in a locked room with money and a record of card winnings arranged nearby.

First appears in chapter 2

A former army officer, celebrated big-game hunter, and formidable marksman. His connection to Moriarty's circle and his specialized air gun make him the immediate danger behind the trap at the empty house.

First appears in chapter 2

Holmes's loyal landlady at Baker Street. She helps prepare the decoy in his old rooms and moves it at intervals so that an observer across the street will mistake it for a living occupant.

First appears in chapter 2

A Scotland Yard inspector who has worked with Holmes and Watson before. He and his officers wait near Baker Street to arrest the gunman once Holmes's carefully arranged trap has been sprung.