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A review by thetomatowriter
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
3.0
An excellent introduction to the character of Sherlock Holmes, and to his partner in crime-solving and the narrator of the series, John Watson. You're charmed, aggravated, and impressed by Holmes's quirks, his brilliance and even, as Watson points out, his ignorance in certain things. In the beginning, you worry "Oh, no, what have they gotten themselves into?" by moving in together when they barely know each other and Holmes is SUCH a character; but by the end, Watson already refers to him, very naturally as "my friend." The Scotland Yard characters are laughably in the wrong most of the time without being ENTIRELY useless. They're all entertaining, and it's a good indication of what to expect through the rest of it.
*SPOILERS BEYOND*
Additionally, as a story, it's interesting and well thought out. It's sad to read about the fate of John and Lucy Ferriers, and you find yourself sympathizing more with Hope than his victims. The two settings (London, England and Salt Lake City, Utah during the settlement of the Mormons) are so vastly different, but both well-written.
As a mystery though...this one fell a little flat for me. The set up was GREAT. Clearly a violent murder but with no apparent cause and very few clues. As Holmes says towards the end, "Most people, if you describe a train of events to them, will tell you what the result would be. They can put those events together in their minds, and argue from them that somjething will come to pass. There are few people, however, who, if you told them a result, would be able to evolve from their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led up to that result." That's basically what this case was. You had to work backwards, which was fun. But I love to try to figure it out WITH the detective, to try to guess who did it based on what I've read, and that's difficult to do when the killer is basically pulled out of thin air. It was a well-written mystery, I guess, but doesn't really appeal if you get really invested in the who-done-it aspect, which I do.
*SPOILERS BEYOND*
Additionally, as a story, it's interesting and well thought out. It's sad to read about the fate of John and Lucy Ferriers, and you find yourself sympathizing more with Hope than his victims. The two settings (London, England and Salt Lake City, Utah during the settlement of the Mormons) are so vastly different, but both well-written.
As a mystery though...this one fell a little flat for me. The set up was GREAT. Clearly a violent murder but with no apparent cause and very few clues. As Holmes says towards the end, "Most people, if you describe a train of events to them, will tell you what the result would be. They can put those events together in their minds, and argue from them that somjething will come to pass. There are few people, however, who, if you told them a result, would be able to evolve from their own inner consciousness what the steps were which led up to that result." That's basically what this case was. You had to work backwards, which was fun. But I love to try to figure it out WITH the detective, to try to guess who did it based on what I've read, and that's difficult to do when the killer is basically pulled out of thin air. It was a well-written mystery, I guess, but doesn't really appeal if you get really invested in the who-done-it aspect, which I do.