The storytelling of Valley of Fear hearkens back to that of A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes story which Arthur Conan Doyle penned, and which also featured a lengthy story-within-a-story. What he did right by Valley of Fear was to merge the two much better. The outer story is told by Watson this time (Study in Scarlet is one of just a few Sherlock Holmes tales not narrated by his sidekick), and the inner is handed to him by one of the main players, to be told to his readers. Thus, we acheive the necessary context to understand the inner story's placement in the overall plot, which A Study in Scarlet so desperately needed. Add to that one of the best mysteries of the series, and I dare say Valley of Fear may be my most favorite Sherlock Holmes of all.