The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax

The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax is a detective short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, first published in 1911. It belongs to the Sherlock Holmes canon and centers on the disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax. The story is built around investigation, observation, and the careful linking of small clues, with the case unfolding in the familiar Holmes style but in a compact form that works well on its own.

This is a good fit for readers who like classic mysteries with a brisk pace and a clear focus on deduction rather than action. It is also a slightly unusual Holmes story, since Watson has to carry much of the investigation while Holmes stays in the background for a large part of it. If you want a direct sample of Doyle’s detective writing and the structure of a short Holmes case, this is an easy one to pick up.