The Adventure of the Sealed Room is a Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

 murder mystery by Adrian Conan Doyle

Adrian Conan Doyle

Adrian Malcolm Conan Doyle was the youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his second wife Jean, Lady Conan Doyle. He had two siblings, a sister, Jean, and a brother, Denis....

. The story was published in the 1954 collection, The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes

The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes is a short story collection written by Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr, first published in 1954.The stories contained in the collection are:*"The Adventure of the Seven Clocks"*"The Adventure of the Gold Hunter"...

, a joint enterprise of Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr

John Dickson Carr

John Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....

.

It expands on the comment by Doctor Watson in The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb

The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb

"The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb", one of the 56 short Sherlock Holmes stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is the ninth of the twelve stories collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The story was first published in Strand Magazine in March 1892.-Synopsis:In his...

 "Of all the problems which have been submitted to my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, for solution during the years of our intimacy, there were only two which I was the means of introducing to his notice -- that of Mr. Hatherley's thumb, and that of Colonel Warburton's madness."

Rising early one morning for his medical practice, Dr Watson discovers that his first patient is Cora Murray, his wife's friend. She informs Watson that Colonel Warburton is dead and his wife Eleanor Warburton is horribly wounded. Because the couple had locked themselves in a room with a collection of Indian antiquities before the gunshots were heard, the incident appears to be a murder-suicide caused by a sudden fit of madness in the Colonel.

Watson escorts Miss Murray to Sherlock Holmes' residence at 221B Baker Street

221B Baker Street

221B Baker Street is the London address of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, created by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In the United Kingdom, postal addresses with a number followed by a letter may indicate a separate address within a larger, often residential building...

, and Holmes soon becomes interested in the case. Holmes learns that Miss Murray, Major Earnshaw, and Captain Lasher (the Colonel's nephew) were all in the house at the time of the tragedy, along with a sinister Indian servant.

"Indeed, when Major Earnshaw and Captain Lasher and I burst into that locked room, my most distinct memory is the smell of Colonel Warburton's cigar."

This casual remark was followed by a moment of intense silence. Sherlock Holmes had sprung to his feet, the cigar–box in his hand, and was staring down at Miss Murray.

"I would not distress you, madam, but are you quite sure of what you say?"