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Jan 25, 2012

Stephen rated it:

The birth of a legend....

This is it...the novel in which Sir Arthur ushered the world’s ~~greatest~~ second best detective ~~(after Batman)~~ into our collective consciousness. Being the non-conformist rebel that I am, I started off bassackwards by reading The Valley of Fear and then The Adventure of the Final Problem because those were the two stories with Moriarty in them. Shocking, I know, but that’s just how I roll. Btw, it still really chaffs my cheeks that Doyle wrote 56 short More...

43 comments like (71 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2011

Tatiana rated it:

Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel is utterly unimpressive. In short, the book starts like this:

and mid-way turns into this:

And I am not even joking. The novel begins with Holmes and Watson meeting, moving into their Baker Street apartment and then investigating a murder of a man found in an abandoned house. At the half point, however, the story completely changes its course and becomes the most awkward introduction of the murderer's More...

29 comments like (30 people liked it)

Nov 27, 2011

Jacob rated it:

Mormons and murder, aaaiiieeeee!

For those who prefer their Sherlock Holmes served up pure and without digression (and I am one), it is possible to skip over the long omniscient passage entitled "The Country of the Saints" without losing "the scarlet thread of murder." Indeed, rare is the reader who can resist the temptation to leapfrog the Great Alkali Plain and learn the fate of the person responsible for the singlular expression of horror and hatred on the dead man’s

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0 comments like (14 people liked it)

Jun 08, 2011

Scott rated it:

In A Study in Scarlet (1888), Arthur Conan Doyle introduces his master sleuth to the world, warts and all. Aside from his well-known arrogance and tactlessness, Holmes' other flaws – as well as his odd but impressive knowledge – are cataloged by his astonished new roommate, Dr. Watson:

1. Knowledge of Literature. — Nil.
2. Knowledge of Philosophy. — Nil.
3. Knowledge of Astronomy. — Nil.
4. Knowledge of Politics. — Feeble.
5. Knowledge of Botany. — Variable. Well up in be

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4 comments like (15 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Dulac3 rated it:

_A Study in Scarlet_ is an interesting book for several reasons. Here we have the first written adventure of Sherlock Holmes and get both the first introduction to the famous sleuth and his comrade Dr. Watson, as well as details of their first meeting. We are treated to a somewhat humorous précis of Watson’s first impressions of his strange room-mate (detailed in several other reviews) and even manage to see a fledgling Holmes occasionally wrong, or at least not 100% accurate, in some of his ini More...

3 comments like (7 people liked it)

Nov 08, 2011

Bonnie rated it:

Interested in more of my reviews? Visit my blog!

Part I

The Storyline
This being the first story in the Sherlock Holmes series, this is also the introduction of the two main characters: Holmes and Watson. After meeting one another they agree to move in together as they were both in need of a roommate. Shortly after, a man is discovered as being murdered and Sherlock Holmes is asked to evaluate the scene to determine if there is any evidence of who may have done it. The More...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2012

Tanu rated it:

Rating: 4 stars

This is my first Sherlock Holmes novel and yes, I am ashamed for not having read it earlier. I suppose that, what LOTR trilogy is to the fantasy world, Sherlock Holmes is to the detective/crime genre. Reading it is kind of like getting a degree. So anyway friends, I have graduated and am finally an official member of the crime/mystery fandom.

And I am most definitely a part of the bandwagon of Sherlock Homes fans.
description

Okay, off to the plot t More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 28, 2010

Cameron rated it:

This is the first of Sherlock Holmes, it is very cool and I enjoyed it. The very interesting part of the book is that it is Doyle's first try at historical fiction. In the introduction it talked about how he was not very accurate with his history but remember it is fiction. I find it interesting because I am a member of The Church of Jesus Crist of Later-Day Saints also known as "the Mormons".
In this book the two people that are murdered are Mormons and the Murderer is not Mormo More...

7 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2010

A.U.C. rated it:

I really, really enjoy mystery and detective novels. So when I told a friend about this, she asked "and have you ever read the Sherlock Holmes series?" I said "no", yet I knew what my next mission was: to read them.

So, I started the book, and unlike most 19th century novels, this book was entertaining from the first page onwards. It was extremely well written, its language being precise and sort of scientifical (like Sherlock Holmes himself) but also with an enterta More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 28, 2011

K.D. rated it:

Not related to the book yet

This is the book that completes my 2011 Goodreads Reading Challenge! 275 books and I still have 3 days to spare. My first target was 200 because that was the the annual target of the author Nicholas Sparks as he said in one of his interviews. But I achieved it in September so I changed it to 250. But I achieved 250 on the last week of October and I thought I could still read 25 more. So, here I am, proud that I was able to read 275 books!!! Last year, I onl More...

26 comments like (32 people liked it)

May 28, 2010

Kemper rated it:

Sherlock Holmes is a dick. And I don’t mean that as a reference to the character being a private detective.

Sure, he may be brilliant, but he’s also arrogant, condescending, cold, rude, self-absorbed and generally an insufferable douche bag. If Watson wasn’t such a brown-noser, he’d have snapped and pimp slapped the shit out of Holmes about five minutes after meeting him.

It’d been a long time since I’d read any of the Holmes stories, and I thought I’d check some out More...

2 comments like (12 people liked it)

Apr 22, 2011

Becky rated it:

I really enjoyed this story, and now begin to wonder why I've never read any of these Sherlock Holmes stories before. (I did like to read the Slylock Fox mystery cartoon in the Sunday paper as a kid, but that hardly counts. :P)

This is the very first of all of the SH stories, and it introduces us to Holmes, Watson, and the methodology of Holmes's practice and brilliance. I loved Holmes's witty, dry humor, and his quirkiness and genius. I also loved Watson's more socially accepted gent More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2009

Ouise rated it:

I found this book in a second-hand bookshop and as always with Conan Doyle, it transported me to a whole different world. This is the first Sherlock Holmes' novel and it mixes the crime genre with the travelling-to-uncommon-places narration that I am fond of in Conan Doyle. I particularly liked the first encounter with Sherlock Holmes, the description made by Dr. Watson of his new peculiar "flatmate" and the discussion they have about the brain-attics. Sherlock Holmes explains to Dr. W More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 17, 2011

Hayes rated it:

[See below for review, which contains spoilers.]

I confess: I have never read "A Study in Scarlett", although I have read many other Holmes stories. The book has been challenged in Virginia* because of its insuitability for younger readers (I might agree that 6th grade is a little young for Sherlock Holmes), and because of its portrayal of Mormons and Mormonism.

There is nothing I like more than reading a challenged book.

* Albemarle School Board to vo More...

25 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 11, 2010

Timmy rated it:

The first book in the Sherlock Holmes series is far from Doyle's best, but it's a great success for evoking Mormon apologists to somehow find deep in the recesses of their polygamist pockets a lost "historical inaccuracies" card---discolored, peeling, forgotten, and foul-odored.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle went on to write superior Sherlock Holmes novels; Joseph Smith never improved his religion.

Sir Doyle himself was a spiritualist and he never apologized or recante More...

17 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 15, 2011

Valerie rated it:

Maybe I should've starting reading the books before watching the movie (the one with the guy from Iron Man) because I was kind of disappointed. I should also mention that I’ve seen no other adaptation—at least I don’t remember seeing any.

I knew that Holmes is supposed to be a conceited and arrogant fellow. This I’m okay with but what I wanted was for Watson not to add fuel the fire, it made Holmes more, I don’t know, complacent I guess. Watson didn't really help any either. Maybe thi More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 22, 2012

Callista rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

9 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Cristopher rated it:

I like a lot this first Holmes' novel. It's very easy to read and I finished in two days. The descriptions made by Sir Arthur about Utah are absolutely amazing. I guess that he was in that place at least one time. I think that the change of subjects in the middle of the book was a little abrupt. Maybe he could do a better job in that sense, interspersing the two stories in the book. Now I will start to read the second book, "The Sign of Four".

Me gustó bastante la primera More...

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Feb 11, 2009

Hayley rated it:

Doyle's first book about Sherlocke Holmes introduces us to Dr. Watson, who meets Holmes and provides a reasonable and likable narration of the latter's bizarre prowess as a detective.

The most enjoyable parts of this, for me, were Watson's own observations and characterizations of Holmes. I think there could have been much more of them, but I suppose that's what the later books and short stories are for.

I'm not going to describe the particular mystery Holmes solves in det More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 06, 2010

ninefly rated it:

excerpt from detailed review here:
http://angeltyuan.blogspot.com/2010/01/r...

review of audio book read by John Telfer

This introduction of the uniquely gifted detective Sherlock Holmes, seen through the eyes of the humble ex-army doctor John Watson, appeals as both a historical mystery, as well as a deeply entertaining portrait of the eccentric sleuth. It was fun to follow along with the easily sympathized Watson as he struggles to figure out both what Holmes has alre More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 20, 2008

Brian added it

The first Holmes. I was half expecting the character, as presented in his original form, to be the cartoony “elementary, my dear Watson!” shorthand we all carry in our heads, but I was surprised to see that many of the cool mannerisms that Jeremy Brett brought out in his performances were right there on the page (which makes Brett an even greater actor in my mind, knowing that his performance was in large measure an accurate interpretation of the literary character, rather than added-on eccentr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 11, 2010

Kati rated it:

First "Holmes" story that I've ever read. I liked it a lot, but I have to admit that the flashback to what happened in Utah - as interesting as it was - disrupted my reading pleasure a lot. It felt as if I was suddenly reading a completely different book and it took me a bit to realize that it was a flashback, there to explain the how-s and why-s behind the murder. And some parts of the mystery - like the word "Rache" on the wall or some of the conclusions Holmes drew - were More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 17, 2007

Amy rated it:

I recently read/listened to A Slight Trick of the Mind by Mitch Cullin. I've only read one of the Sherlock Holmes short stories when I was younger, and decided my Winter Reading Goal is to read through/listen to as many of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock stories that I can get my hands on.

Study in Scarlet was a great introduction to Holmes and Watson. I never entirely realized what a smug, conceited bastard Holmes was. I'm not entirely sure that I like him, but the story was well-to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 18, 2011

Bettie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 28, 2007

Lenna rated it:

This wasn't quite as interesting as I expected, perhaps because it is the prototype for a genre that has become so prevalent. As a reader you're not really asked to think about anything on your own. None of the facts that Holmes uses to make his startling accusations are provided to you until the mystery has already been solved so the whole thing is rather anti-climatic. A crime happens, a bunch of other things happen and then an arrest is made... then there is lengthy exposition as to how the ' More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 31, 2008

Pete rated it:

After reading some of the stories from "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" recently, I got caught up in watching a bunch of the BBC's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes TV series (which was a fantastic program from the 1980s...check it out on Netflix). I then thought it necessary to take a look at this... the original Holmes story. Eh. The first part of the book is great, the initial meeting of Holmes and Watson is priceless (as all of their interactions invariably are), but half of the boo More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 11, 2012

Kevin rated it:

A Study in Scarlet is the first novel in the Sherlock Holmes collection by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A Study in Scarlet introduces the famous detective, Holmes, and his partner, Dr. Watson, as they first meet and eventually join together and become the famous crime solving team. The story takes place during the first case presented to Holmes and his partner; the murder of Enoch Drebber and later the murder of Joseph Stangerson. The story becomes a struggle to find and catch a killer who avoids al More...

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Dec 31, 2008

Andrew rated it:

It's weird to think of Sherlock as anything but the big-nosed floppy-heat-wearing goof that we've all seen in a million different incarnations whether it be in film, cartoon or whatever. I pictured him as written and it wasn't in the checkered suit and magnifying glass. He was more of a prick and a usually mentally unavailable man that wasn't exactly approachable who cared little outside of uncovering clues and getting to the bottom of the case.

The relationship between him and Watso More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Ben rated it:

So we come to another classic of its genre that I’d never read: Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. I’d seen the films, the TV versions – including the just brilliant new BBC version, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. I was once given the complete collection by my grandparents when I was ten, but the sheer size of the volume put me off. And it didn’t have spaceships on the cover. If only I’d known what they did contain.

Like Jules Verne, Sherlock Holmes really needs to be read wh More...

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Feb 05, 2012

Bill rated it:

QOTD
Robbery had not been the object of the murder, for nothing was taken. Was it politics, then, or was it a woman? That was the question which confronted me.
- Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Scarlet

Murder. Must have been politics or a woman. He he.

A couple weeks ago, I asked Ty what he was reading. "The first Sherlock Holmes book. The one where he's a kid." OK. So, I took the opportunity to define for my 12 yo what a "prequel" was. Then, I thought o More...

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