A Study in Scarlet

The first Sherlock Holmes book, and the start of one of the most iconic characters of all time. Unlike movies and TV shows, a flashback to Utah plays an important role in the book. Although it came as a surprise, I did enjoy the payoff in the book moreso than in the video form. There was much more background to the murders that gave the villain more of a heart – and a real motive.

The book follows the same dry formula from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Case presented, Holmes investigates it and based on small details he solves what seems to be impossible.

Three things contributes to make this book larger then a short story:
- the case is a more slowly presented, although this doesn't add too much to the story. It is still satisfying to hear Holmes logical deductions.
- there is a small presentation of how Watson and Holmes meet, and also a minor introduction to the police inspectors
- there is a story inside the main story. When the culprit of the murder is found, he tells his tale and it takes a whole chunk of the book. It was a nice sub-story, but nothing special about it.

Sherlock Holmes is synonymous with the idea of a fictional detective, yet I realized I had never read a single one of his stories.

A Study in Scarlet, the story that introduces Holmes and Watson, exceeded my expectations. I did assume I would be in for a dry, dusty, 18th-century novel with a pretty good mystery to solve in there somewhere. But, as a fan of mystery, pop culture, history and so on, I figured I should dive in anyway.

Instead, this seemed fresh, bright, energetic. Telling the story through Watson's eyes was a great way to show Holmes' talents and eccentricities insight of someone a bit more average, I suppose.

The mystery itself was also excellent, full of interesting details, compelling motivation and not something you could easily guess.

Full review can be found at the SFF Book Review


Dr. John Watson has just returned from his work as a war surgeon in Afghanistan and is looking for somebody to share a flat with him. He is introduced to Sherlock Holmes, the only existing consulting detective in the world – and his theory of deduction. Soon Watson learns that it is more than a theroy as he watches Holmes figure out the details of a murder case. A dead man is found on the floor of an empty apartment, the only (to us ordinary people) clue is the German word RACHE written on the wall in blood.

I was surprised at how readable this book was. Maybe I underestimate my own ability to read English but then I did read my first Sherlock Holmes when I was about 19 years old. Either way, the language has a nice flow to it and I finished this small adventure in about two hours. The unravelling of the case was done quickly, even for Holmes' standards, but the second half of the book shows us the murderer's backstory. We turn from dialogue-heavy banter between Holmes and the police force to a tale that makes us look at the murderer in a different way and shows us his true motive.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle managed to pack a fair bit of criticism into his detective story and that also took me by surprise. I will definitely read all the other Sherlock Holmes stories (even though I'm worried I might deduct the outcome from my having seen the TV show) and I'll probably reread The Hound of Baskervilles as well. Holmes is a likable, if very cocky, hero (don't tell him I called him that) and while his knowledge in certain fields is almost unbelievable, I will gladly suspend my desbelief for the sake of a good story.

I recommend these books for anyone who – like me, a number of years ago – is daunted by the idea of “reading the classics”. This quick read doesn't only show the beginnings of Holmes and Watson's beautiful friendship but it offers a fun detective story and a surprisingly intriguing background to our murderer.

THE GOOD: Easy to read, great characters, a lot of depth that I was surprised to find on so few pages.
THE BAD: The actual detecting could have lasted longer for my taste. I can't get enough of Sherlock's wise-cracking.
THE VERDICT: Recommended, but maybe a longer Sherlock tale would be a better starter-drug.

RATING: 6,5/10

Before reading this, I never knew that the 2nd part was such a departure from the original portion of the book. And at first, I was confused with this sudden change in place, plot, and setting, but that portion of the book turned out to be an interesting read and gave the vibes of a Western.
I would have to say though that the contrast between the 2 storylines was quite jarring.

Just got the super bumper edition of all the Sherlock Holmes stories read by Stephen Fry on Audible. I'm not sure I'd have enjoyed this quite so much if anyone else had been reading it. Plot wise, it's a 3. Performance by Stephen Fry, 4. Writing style and engagement, 4. The descriptive writing at the beginning of the second part, the back-in-time part, is excellent. It drew me right in and felt just a little bit like Steinbeck. Not a lot mind you, but enough that I was drawn right in which, up until then, the novel hadn't done.

I really fricking loved this book like it was really good. I recently became interested in the TV series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman and loved it so this was going to be tough. Usually if you watch a series and then read the book all the excitement of the plot is lost and the book has less of an impact but I didn't feel that way at all with this one. I am currently trying to read more classics and if there were any I had to recommend, I would recommend this series and Pride and Prejudice!!

I went through a bit of a Victorian period in my early teens, and Holmes was a major part of that. I don't think I ever read this one, though, oddly enough? A fairly quick read; the solution to the mystery comes across a little deus ex machina, and there's this weird interlude of 6 chapters or so focusing on the Mormons of Utah, and their “exotic culture” that is textbook Victorian literature. Still, an interesting introduction to Holmes and Watson, and their relationship.

The first Sherlock Holmes book, and the start of one of the most iconic characters of all time. Unlike movies and TV shows, a flashback to Utah plays an important role in the book. Although it came as a surprise, I did enjoy the payoff in the book moreso than in the video form. There was much more background to the murders that gave the villain more of a heart – and a real motive.

Just a fantastic book overall. There's something about the way Sherlock's stories are presented that keep me on the edge of my seat every time. This being the introduction to our protagonists, is an amazing start. 

The first half of the book, focused entirely on Sherlock and Dr Watson, from how they get to be roommates to how they get involved in the mystery of Drebber's assassination, is just perfect.
I didn't love the pages set in Utah on the love feud between Jefferson Hope, Stangerson and the aforementioned Drebber as much as I did the ones set in England and that actually included Sherlock and Dr Watson in them. 
Even though I understand the huge importance of that part of the story, they're simply not as good as the rest and I would've preferred it if it were shorter and overall, we had a bigger part set in England. And because almost half of the story tells said love feud, I don't give this book five stars.

A fantastic classic. I was throughly invested in the story and the character development of both gentle Watson and eccentric Holmes. A great start to the world of Sherlock which I am sure I will continue with. Also high praise to Stephen Fry's narrator of the book and the Sherlock Holmes collection on audible as he really helps create the atmosphere and phenomenal storytelling tone apt for a Holmes novel. A throughly indulgent and pleasurable read. A high 4 star read for me. It didn't rock my world enough to be a 5 star read but i throughly enjoyed it and I raced through it. A classic I am happy I have ticked of the list and I will be continuing with.

I kind of wish I could give this 4.5 stars but I guess 4 will have to do. I'm a sucker for a good origin story so “A Study in Scarlet” will always be one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. I love getting to see how Holmes and Watson met and, in the case of the book, how Doyle initially characterizes Sherlock. I guess he's supposed to be about college age in this which totally threw off how I was picturing him. I've been picturing him as more of a 40-ish gentleman but now I'm not sure. Also, what's the timeline of these stories, do the characters age? Ah well.

I was really surprised to see how close this book was to the BBC adaptation, down to the culprit being a “cab” driver (I suppose cabs were pulled by horses back then though). Of course everything does a complete 180 in the second half and we get the cab driver's entire life story, making him one of the heroes all of the sudden. (I'm pretty sure in the TV show he was just some crazy guy). We didn't get anything like this in the other two compilations/novels I've read so far so I wonder if this is early installment weirdness? Anyway, I didn't dislike the second half but I was a little eager to get back to Holmes and Watson. The book suddenly turns into a survival-action-cult-avenger story which was entertaining, but not what I signed up for. It felt weirdly modern because I literally just watched a True Crime video about the Latter Day Saints and a recent missing person's case they're involved in. For some reason, I've always thought of cults as something that started around the 60s and 70s so I was really surprised to see them show up in a novel written in 1887.

Hope dedicating his life to vengeance felt kind of like a cheesy action-movie plot. Like, what is this, John Wick? Really, I cared less about the mystery and the back-story in this one than I did character interactions. Mainly, I liked seeing Sherlock playing off Lestrade and Gregson and also Watson and Sherlock's getting-to-know-you phase. The scene where Watson trash talks Sherlock's writing without knowing it's his was great, I love how calm and cool Sherlock is in the face of criticism. Watson realizes in this book that Holmes loves being praised (his face flushes and can't stop himself from smiling-too cute!) and I feel like that's why he does it so much in all the stories. What an adorable friendship :) I look forward to continuing on!

Yes you could read this like someone who doesn't like context, in which case it's fine but clearly not the strongest detective story going around, Holmes and Watson and their relationship aren't fully formed, and the salacious shift to the foothills of Utah feels a little disjointed.

Or you can read this as the invention of entire genre, like Dracula. It's hard to pick between Sherlock Holmes and Dracula for who is more culturally significant. What's bigger, detectives or vampires? Impossible to answer. But the point is that is where this book sits in the history of culture.

It's definitely not as good as Dracula but, lets face it, few things can be. It's still fun, and if you read it as someone experiencing the concept of a detective for the first time it's even better. All the elements of all detective stories are there, the experienced but cynical genius, the police claiming the glory, the extended reveal at the end, it's great!

Plus as a 19th Century resident of England think how exciting and exotic the Mormons would sound like, it helps explain that extended detour.