Book Review: A Study in Scarlet (Sherlock Holmes #1), Arthur Conan Doyle

Title: A Study in Scarlet
Series: Sherlock Holmes #1
Author: Arthur Conan Doyle
Published: 01/05/2012, BBC Books
Pages: 212
Source: Bought
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3/5
Sherlock show co-creator Steven Moffat provides an introduction to this first in a set of Sherlock Holmes reissues that tie in with the television series.

The hit series Sherlock offers a fresh, contemporary take on the classic Arthur Conan Doyle stories, and has helped introduce a whole new generation of fans to the legendary detective. The pilot episode took as its inspiration the very first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, and this new edition will allow Sherlock fans to discover, or rediscover, the power of that classic story. This is the genre-defining work with which popular crime fiction was born. A potent mix of serial murder, suspense, cryptic clues, red herrings, and revenge, the novel introduces us no the world-famous characters of  Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and Inspector Lestrade and sees Sherlock and Dr. Watson meet and join forces for the first time as they track a mysterious killer that stalks London's streets. In addition to the original text, this edition also has an introduction by Steven Moffat, who tells how it inspired the script for his episode.

I'm so glad I finally got around to reading Sherlock Holmes. And I'm equally glad to say that I quite enjoyed the majority of A Study in Scarlet. However, for the size of the book, I also found A Study in Scarlet to be quite a slow read.

I really liked both Sherlock and Watson. And I loved finding the similarities between the original story and BBC's Sherlock (which I love). The majority of A Study in Scarlet is told from Watson's point of view which is great as we see his confusion concerning Sherlock and how he solves mysteries.

As I have watched BBC's Sherlock, I knew and recognised parts of the story already. However, I was completely thrown by the middle section of the story where we leave Sherlock and Watson behind and instead read about Mormon's in America. This did confuse me. I also felt this section was where I was most bored with the story and is why I took so long to finish A Study in Scarlet. However, once back to Sherlock the ending was very climatic and wrapped the story up nicely.

I would definitely recommend A Study in Scarlet to fans of the Classics. I actually found it very easy to read compared to many other Classics too so it would be a great starting point for someone. I will definitely be reading more Sherlock Holmes in the future too.

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