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thaurisil's review against another edition
3.0
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.
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.
ellieloose's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
koxi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
acmarinho3's review against another edition
3.0
Sempre tive curiosidade em ler os livros de Sherlock Holmes, mas com a premissa de começar pelo primeiro. A verdade é que fiquei algo desiludida. Apesar de ter gostado, estava a contar com mais mistério, mas senti que Holmes rapidamente desvendava os enigmas. No final, neste registo literário, continuo a gostar mais de Agatha Christie e do incrível Poirot. No entanto, mais livros de Holmes serão lidos.
kessler21's review against another edition
4.0
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson first appeared in 1887 in A Study in Scarlet.
I was excited to read my first Sherlock Holmes story (my only other experience with Sherlock Holmes was the TV show Wishbone and the Robert Downey Jr. movies) and I was not disappointed.
Sherlock is all I imagined him to be and I love his analytical approach to...everything.
In this story you are reading from Watson's diary. Sherlock and Watson meet, Sherlock is brought on to a murder case which he single handedly solves, and the story switched to the Mormons in Utah. There, we follow the story back to London.
Fun, short crime fiction.
I was excited to read my first Sherlock Holmes story (my only other experience with Sherlock Holmes was the TV show Wishbone and the Robert Downey Jr. movies) and I was not disappointed.
Sherlock is all I imagined him to be and I love his analytical approach to...everything.
In this story you are reading from Watson's diary. Sherlock and Watson meet, Sherlock is brought on to a murder case which he single handedly solves, and the story switched to the Mormons in Utah. There, we follow the story back to London.
Fun, short crime fiction.
thoscheii's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
bluelou7's review against another edition
3.75
i honestly thought it would be a little bit boring but for the most part it wasn’t. the only part that was is the very long backstory that we get after we already know who committed the crime so it kind of took the mystery out of that mini story in the story. overall i really like the way we actually find out how sherlock deduces all that he does because it means that i feel like im learning to be more sharpminded
rinlorulsy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jujudepamplemousse's review against another edition
3.0
After watching TV shows and movies about Sherlock Holmes, it was my first time reading the original novel and to be honest I was expected a bit more of it. I rather enjoyed the first part of the book but when the second part started, I thought that there was something wrong with my book as if I was reading a totally different book. I struggled a lot before starting to understand what this part has to do with the rest of the story. Not that it was bad written or anything but the story tended to drag a bit on to my taste.
Despite everything, Mr. Conan Doyle’s work seems promising so I still intend to pick up the sequels.
Despite everything, Mr. Conan Doyle’s work seems promising so I still intend to pick up the sequels.
timlaz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0