Long before forensics and modern crime detection tools, there used to be a detective who needed only a single glance to determine your age, profession, your history and your present ailment. He wasn’t a cop nor a bounty hunter. He simply possessed amazing analytical skills. At times eccentric, always on the track of a criminal, sometimes even a step ahead, this man is what all detectives must yearn to become. He was Sherlock Homes.

This is the book through which Holmes and Watson were first introduced to the world. A body found in mysterious circumstances in an abandoned house has the Scotland Yard hunting though the streets for the person responsible for the murder. But Sherlock needs only an examination of the crime scene, a ring found beside the dead man and the German word “Rache” written on the wall, to deduce who the culprit is and why the crime was committed.

The second part of the book is a flashback set in Utah, in the world of Mormons, their polygamous affairs and is a background of the crime and its perpetrator.

I used to read a lot of Sherlock Holmes as a kid. This was however the first time that I read A Study in Scarlet. To be honest I found it lacking. It wasn’t an exceptional story. Nor was the crime all that difficult to unravel. Perhaps because it was the first Sherlock Holmes story, it didn’t have that kind of attraction to it. Or perhaps I’m already so familiar with Holmes and his accomplishments, trickled as they have through the years in the last 120 years, that I was expecting a lot more from the book.

Overall, it isn’t exactly a book you would read again. But being the first in the series, the very introduction of a character much-loved throughout his existence, one might want to give it a shot. ( )

3.5 stars

I liked the beginning and end but the story in America I found too melodramatic.

( )

The first of the Sherlock Holmes books.

The mystery in this story was okay (not mindblowingly interesting...), but the creation of the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson was masterful. Part 1 was good, Part 2 was not, mainly because it ruined the mystery almost immediately. Overall, a good first book, but I'm really hoping there is more to Holmes than this. ( )

I've long felt bad about never having read any of the nine books that make up the Sherlock Holmes canon, so finally I've rectified that... and what an odd little work it is.

The first half of the book is what's important, historically, but it's the least interesting. Conan Doyle doesn't write natural dialogue, and a result the discussions between Watson and Holmes come across more like a treatise on how detective work - in the real world and in novels - is evolving and progressing. While this is all very very interesting, particularly to someone like myself who has read a lot of Christie and Poe etc, it feels like an essay that has been structured in story form, rather than the other way around.

On top of this, I concede that I have a bias against this "one really smart quirky man always outdoes everyone" formula. Holmes started it, but it's returned in the last ten years or so to television, and personally I think it just weakens the narrative when every other character functions only as a sounding board for our god of a leading man. Sherlock is cunningly described by Watson as a seemingly paradoxical man who in fact has rational reasons for all of his education and activities, although even the great detective can't seem to fix his (bipolar?) moods. As their friendship is still embryonic at this stage, Watson can give us no insight into Holmes' life, and Holmes offers none, so he remains a cipher. But I'm treating this as a pilot episode, so that's okay. More immediately fascinating are the elements of contemporary life: street beggars working for Holmes, the necessary advantages and disadvantages that came from being a police officer in the era - thrilling stuff.

The second half is a mixed bag also. Conan Doyle is an admirable prose writer, and his description of the events twenty years prior to the murders is captivating and gripping. On the other hand, it is filled with amazingly anti-Mormon sentiment. I'm no religious sympathiser myself, but I couldn't take it seriously when the narrator assured us that all Mormons kill or destroy anyone who attempts to leave their faith.

An odd little novel, and I've already started the second one, since I'm very eager to see if Conan Doyle can somehow retain his marvelous leading character, whilst furthering his skills in the other required areas.

(Two and a half stars) ( )

This book is an intriguing start to the world renowned series. First, readers are introduced to Watson and learn of his background. He then explains how he made the acquaintance of Sherlock Holmes. Watson describes both his quirks and his genius.
Watson learns that inept police detectives consult with Holmes when faced with baffling crimes. Watson gets drawn in to the latest case, the murder of an American named Drebber.
Holmes uncovers the murderer by "reasoning backward", and uncovers an interesting, long-premeditated motive. ( )