A Study In Scarlet in Catching up on Classics (and lots more!)

Jun 13, 2018 RJ - Slayer of Trolls rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: guardian-1000-read

The first Sherlock Holmes story introduces us to the main character and his trusty companion Dr. Watson, and shows us how they meet and get involved in their first case together. The case itself is a murder whose roots stretch all the way to Utah and the settling Mormons, who are not portrayed in a particularly flattering light. ACD packs everything into a short but satisfying story which ended up defining the detective genre and characters that have endured and thrived through many sequels and ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 11, 2018 Carrie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, detective-private-eye-sleuth

One of my favorite duo's. How do you not love this ones brain?

So we have Watson in London after being discharged from the war , with little to nothing to his name, in need of a place to stay. Meets from a friend Sherlock Holmes who is looking for someone to go in on some rooms. Perfect. Watson is taken by the mystery of Sherlock right away.

Speaking of mystery, this one was fantastic. Divided in two parts, one the mystery of the murder and it's solving. The second the story of the murder.

Wond ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2018 Tom Britz rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This is my first taste of Sherlock Holmes and I can be safe to say that it will not be long before I go back for more. This short novel is written as two halves. In the first half we are confronted with a murder and Holmes comes across early on as a self confident know it all. He has fun teasing the detectives that are on the case and in this first half the reader is introduced to both Dr. Watson and how he is introduced to Sherlock. At the end of the first half Sherlock seems to have the case s ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 29, 2016 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, mystery, gutenberg, forensics, detective-mystery

"What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. ... The question is, what can you make people believe that you have done."

This was great fun!!

I thought this would be stuffy and overly wordy, like so much Victorian literature is (yes, I'm looking at you, Wilkie Collins), but it's not at all. It's funny and fast-paced and feels so very modern.

This was published in 1887, and I was amused to see the text poke fun at conservative politicians and their hand wringing over foreigners and ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2011 Laura rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, e-books, suspense-thriller, read-2011, novellas

I am re-reading the Sherlock Holmes series, loved this first volume.

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 24, 2009 Maggie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery, guardian-1000, series, british

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. In this first Sherlock Holmes story, Dr Watson meets the eccentric Holmes, finds out he is a private detective, and gets pulled into the mystery of a dead man in an abandoned house, with blood spattered over the house yet without a sign of injury on the man himself. Oh, and there's a German word RACHE written on the wall, and a lady's ring on the man. In typical style, Sherlock inspects every inch of the ground, then spends the next few chapters giving hints that he knows more than he's revealin In this first Sherlock Holmes story, Dr Watson meets the eccentric Holmes, finds out he is a private detective, and gets pulled into the mystery of a dead man in an abandoned house, with blood spattered over the house yet without a sign of injury on the man himself. Oh, and there's a German word RACHE written on the wall, and a lady's ring on the man. In typical style, Sherlock inspects every inch of the ground, then spends the next few chapters giving hints that he knows more than he's revealing, annoying the detectives Lester and Gregsom. The dead man is Drebber, and a few days later his secretary Stangerson is found dead as well. Shortly after, Sherlock Holmes has handcuffs on a cabby named Jefferson Hope. We then enter Section Two where we learn that the men were from Salt Lake City in Utah. Drebber and Stangerson were Mormons, and Drebber forcefully raped and married Lucy Ferrier, while Stangerson killed her father. Unfortunately Lucy was Hope's beloved, and he spent the next twenty years hunting down the two men. Back to the present day, the elderly Jefferson Hope has an aortic aneurysm, and dies shortly after giving his testimony, but before his trial.

I was rather put off by Section Two. It did form its own intriguing action tale, despite lots of inaccuracies about Mormonism, and would have made a nice story on its own. But I came into the story expecting pure detective action, and having close to half the book away from Baker Street was disconcerting. Then again, this was the first Sherlock Holmes book, so it's understandable that Doyle hadn't developed the style that he became famous for yet.

The unravelling of the mystery itself wasn't too impressive either. It consisted mainly of Holmes finding tracks on the ground and smelling the man's breath and making conclusions that the reader could never have made based on the circumstances given. Again, this was the first Holmes tale, and whodunnits hadn't been well established at that time, so I won't fault Doyle too much.

What I did like was the introduction of Sherlock Holmes. We get him in bits and pieces. First Watson runs into an old acquaintance Stanford who talks about Holmes as a strange indescribable man. Then Watson observes him himself, noting his peculiarities, his all-encompassing knowledge about chemicals and soils, and his deliberate ignorance about things like heliocentrism. Finally we ourselves observe Holmes, until one day he, of his own accord, reveals his business. Then we get to see him in action, and learn his style and mannerisms. ...more

Like · see review

Oct 06, 2013 Suvi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: _book-shelf, crime-mystery, _great-britain, cities_london, novels, 1800s

I'd previously read The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), but it was ten years ago. I can't even remember the basic plot, so I probably need to read it again in time. These don't necessarily need to be read in order, but my neuroticism wouldn't leave me alone otherwise. So, let the mysteries of Victorian London begin!

Holmes is a damn interesting and alluring character, who now became one of my favourites. He's sarcastic, inquisitive, and enthusiastic about his scientific experiments. Holmes in g I'd previously read The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), but it was ten years ago. I can't even remember the basic plot, so I probably need to read it again in time. These don't necessarily need to be read in order, but my neuroticism wouldn't leave me alone otherwise. So, let the mysteries of Victorian London begin!

Holmes is a damn interesting and alluring character, who now became one of my favourites. He's sarcastic, inquisitive, and enthusiastic about his scientific experiments. Holmes in general just wants to do his thing, without letting anyone's expectations distract him, and doesn't feel the need to share everything about himself. This mysteriousness of course bugs the hell out of Watson, especially when Watson's social life is completely frozen. So, he has to come up with something, like pondering what the hell Holmes is up to and what is he about.

At first Watson is highly suspicious of Holmes's amazing skills of perception, but finally humbles in front of his awesomeness. Holmes himself knows he's a good detective, and isn't shamed to say it aloud. Scotland Yard is just full of incompetent asses. This isn't particularly cocky, because the reader already knows by now that Holmes is unbeatable in crime solving. Watson may seem pointless storywise, but I liked him as the (sometimes painfully clueless) narrator, not as a character per se. Hopefully he doesn't turn into a mere ego booster, but then again I wouldn't mind if there were just me and Holmes.

Doyle's prose is by no mean remarkable, but I don't expect it to be in a crime story. Descriptions of London are pretty much nonexistent, but somehow I still felt like I was there. I guess it says something about the author's skills, although my edition had both 19th century photographs and illustrations to demonstrate the locations, plot points, and special Victorian objects and things to help set the mood.

The murder illustrates Holmes's theory about how even the weirdest and most complex crime is very simple, and the other way round. The sensationalist newspapers stir the case with all kinds of theories from socialism to political refugees, but the real motive turns out to be the age-old one, seen thousands of times before. However, it's so entertaining to follow the deductions, that simplicity doesn't matter, and actually the criminal evokes thoughts of what's right after all.

The structure was a major disappointment, though. Part one was great, but Part two had a flashback that lasted five chapters, and it interrupts the plot almost completely. The flashback does show the background of the characters that are involved in the case, but there's nothing that couldn't have been told in a smaller space. Now the flachback seems like a short story within a novel, and on top of it the style is completely different as well. The chapters after that are a bit boring, because the main points of the case are heard twice, although with different points of view. I do want to know what happened, of course, but not when there's excessive rambling. Maybe in the short stories the pacing is better, since the shortness demands getting to the point. ...more

Like · see review