First observation is that the second novel shares a number of themes with the first. Both involve a rather stupid police detective who Holmes easily outwits, murder by poison with a "vegetable alkaloid" that causes severe contraction of the muscles, Holmes using his tracking powers to give a description of the killer, an extensive back story that could never be ascertained by the clues in the novel (although the second novel offers at least some clues), and a frustratingly unnamed accomplice (although this time Holmes has a good guess). Also, both murders have a mysterious writing that could be either an important clue or a red herring. Last time the police took the clue seriously, while Holmes dismissed it as a red herring. This time, their interpretations are reversed. Naturally Holmes is right both times.
The second novel also contradicts some things in the first. In A Study in Scarlet, Watson describes Holmes as lying motionless on the sofa for days on end, with a dreamy, vacant look in his eyes that would lead Watson to suspect he was addicted to some narcotic "had not the temperance and cleanliness of his whole life forbidden such a notion." Sign of the Four indicates that Watson's suspicion is correct. When his work does not keep him busy, Holmes regularly takes cocaine an possibly morphine, much to Watson's disapproval. In the previous novel, Watson mentions a wound to his arm. In the second, he has a wound to his leg.
In the first novel, Watson is shocked that Holmes has never heard of Thomas Carlyle and doesn't even know that the earth travels around the sun! In itemizing Holmes' accomplishments and limits, Watson lists his knowledge of literature (and philosophy and astronomy) as nil. That is clearly not true. Holmes as heard, at least of Edgar Allen Poe's August Dupin (the original detective hero) and Emile Gaboriau's Lecoq -- a French imitation of Poe's original. But maybe Holmes has a particular interest in detective fiction. In any event, he dismisses the solar system, saying he sees no need to clutter his brain with useless information. Sign of the Four is a different matter altogether. This time Holmes refers to Jean Paul Richter, a popular German novelist and frequently quotes Goethe. When animated he holds forth on "miracle-plays, on mediæval pottery, on Stradivarius violins, on the Buddhism of Ceylon, and on the war-ships of the future." It seems a reasonable assumption that miracle plays, medieval pottery, Buddhism in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and possible future warships have nothing to do with his detective work and are merely useless clutter in his brain. So are violins, but that was introduced in the first novel, showing that even Sherlock Holmes has a life apart from his work.
We also get some faint glimpses into Watson's military career. The first novel, written in 1887, says that Watson got his medical degree in 1878 and promptly joined the army. From there he goes directly to the battle that put him out of action. What happened in the intervening nine years? We don't learn much, other than that Watson had "an experience of women which extends over many nations and three separate continents." So he appears to have had extensive assignments throughout the empire during that time, but we learn no more about it, other than the wound to his leg. Well also that, "[A] musket looked into my tent at the dead of night, and . . . I fired a double-barrelled tiger cub at it."
But most importantly, Watson starts out by assuring us that he has neither kith nor kin in England. Not true, it turns out. He has an older brother who died shortly before the second novel and definitely lived in England before that. Watson inherits an expensive watch from his brother, who, in turn, inherited it from their father who died a long time. Holmes deduces from the value of the watch that the family must originally have had some wealth. Apparently none of it descended to John Watson, MD, or else his brother squandered all of it. Holmes deduces from the dents to the watch that his brother was careless, and from scratches around the key-hole that he wound it with an unsteady hand and was probably a drunkard. Holmes sees four pawn brokers' numbers scratched into the case, which he identifies as a thing done in England. Watson's brother's financial situation was so bad that he had to pawn his watch four times, though each time his situation improved enough for him to buy it back. I suppose that would explain why John Watson did not seek out his help when he first arrived in England!
By way of continuity, Holmes is referred to as "young" in this novel as well.
One last comment. As I understand it, Arthur Conan Doyle got tired of writing Sherlock Holmes stories and tried to get out of it, but was always brought back in. He tried killing Holmes off, but later brought him back. He also tried having him retire. But fictional characters can never be truly killed off. Killing a fictional character, even if successful, only cuts off future sequels. That still leaves the option of prequels.
Sign of the Four looks like Doyle's first attempt to end the series. It ends by marrying Watson off. He will now establish his own household and drift away from Holmes. It turns out that doesn't stop Watson from dropping in on Holmes now and then. Nor would it prevent prequels. Watson says that Holmes has been taking cocaine "for many months" and speaks of "all the years" he lived with Holmes at Baker Street. Clearly, then, there is plenty of room for prequels set between A Study in Scarlet and Sign of the Four.
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