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A Study in Scarlet Book Review

A Study in Scarlet is an 1887 detective novel by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s the first Sherlock Holmes novel and a flawed, but solid start of this series.

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“His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge“

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It introduces the iconic characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as they solve a mysterious murder case in London. This was the first of only four novels in the Sherlock Holmes series and it’s not the best-known one. It has its merits for sure, but it also has its glaring flows that prevented it from becoming truly great.

The story is divided into two very distinct parts – one truly great and the other one quite uneven. Let’s talk about the former first. The beginning of the story is truly exceptional as not only do we get to see the two iconic characters move to Baker Street, but we also get to see them meeting for the first time and getting to know one another through very witty and entertaining situations.

Sherlock himself has never been a particularly likable character and here we get to see his ambitious drive and big ego thrive. But he is undeniably an iconic creation and from the first moment that we meet him here he becomes a fascinating presence. Holmes is surely well developed and interesting in this first book. I liked how he is the underdog in the police scene as well. But it is Watson who is the standout for me.

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This section is told from the POV of Watson and it was interesting following his thoughts and fascination with Holmes. The mysterious aura of Holmes drives this section to even greater heights, but I just loved the humor on display. The dialogue is exceptional and the two trying to outwit each other was immensely entertaining. The highlight for me was Watson’s awe and shock at Holmes’ very limited knowledge in some sciences and vast knowledge in others. Another memorable moment is when we see his deductive skills on full display.

But the second part of the story is where the entire book stumbles unfortunately. It was such a glaring flaw from Doyle to move the plot to a wholly different location that the novel just could never recover. The Utah section with the Mormons benefitted from truly impressive attention to detail, gorgeous descriptive passages and a classical feel to its storytelling, but the characters were simply underdeveloped and I could care less for these people and what happened to them. I just wanted to go back to Baker Street.

That section sadly did grind the entire book to a halt. A Study in Scarlet needed a better overall mystery. Jefferson Hope is the only interesting personality in the American-set section with others all being forgettable. There is some intrigue at first there, but it went for so long that eventually I lost interest. The ending is fine, but the book remained at its best during the stellar, cozy and charming first half.

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Doyle’s writing of dialogue was superb and his characterization of the two main players was top-notch. The novel is quite short at around 100 pages of length, but the second half felt much longer than it was sadly. The first half was on the contrary riveting and I wanted much more of that here. Thematically, this is a lackluster reading experience. But as well written and fun detective fiction, the book shines through and is worth a read for all Sherlock Holmes fans.