Reviews with content warning for Death - A Study in Scarlet

Alright, this is gonna be a long one, because I have a lot to say.

I have been debating between giving this book 4 or 5 stars, and although, at the end I decided to give it 4, I would still say that it's more of a 4,5 for me.

I'm gonna make this more organized by doing things I liked and things I didn't like.

What I liked:

-The characters were, surprise, surprise, amazingly written! Sherlock Holmes has to be one of the best characters I have ever seen. His personality is really fun and unique, and I was not disappointed by his character.
And John was written in such a way, that it's very easy to find his reactions and comments relatable. And since the book is written in his point of view, it almost feels like you are there, in the story, and observing these events yourself.

-The plot was also quite interesting. There were some issues with it, which I'll talk about in a second, but I enjoyed it for the most part. It didn't feel predictable (to me at least) and I liked how it was all detailed.
I also expected this book to be 100% serious, but there were some quotes and dialogues that made me laugh out loud (whether that was written intentionally or unintentionally to be funny.)

-The ending was worth it. I was worried that we wouldn't get things fully explained by the end, since I know some stories like to leave things unanswered, but I feel like we got an explanation for pretty much everything. And it did leave me wanting to read the next book.

What I didn't like:

-There were some iffy parts, to put it mildly. Certain comments made by some characters had made me feel uncomfortable, and although I'm aware that this is an old book and this is no surprise, I still felt like I needed to mention it. And there was also the poor portrayal of Mormonism which is what everyone else has already mentioned about this book. So, before you read it, just know there are some comments or things in the book that are rather offensive.

-Second part of the book. This part might be a bit spoilery, so feel free to skip it!!!

But basically, for a good chunk of the second part of the story, we follow a different set of characters. Of course, this is all important and is basically a build up, but I found that part to be rather boring for the most part. It gets more interesting at the end, but I really didn't care as much about the characters that we followed then, and for a novel called Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock isn't in it for a good chunk of the story.

-Sooooo much description. This is more of a personal preference, but at times, there would be so much description of locations (especially in the second part of the story) and that mixed up with the old English that was not really easy to understand at times, lead to me having a really hard time going through the book. Some people like descriptions, but for me, personally, this was a bit too much.

Final thoughts:
In the end, I did enjoy the book. I'll still be reading the next novel in the series and I'll post my review on it when (and if) I finish it. The first one did have a bit of a slow start, but I hope the others will be better. :)
And if you read through this whole review, then thanks, but wow, that's impressive.

Content Warnings

ggcd1981's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Eu li a muitos anos atrás uma tradução para o português de A Study in Scarlet, porém não lembrava de quase nada. Dessa vez li em inglês e acho que em sua língua original a obra é bem mais atmosférica. O cenário de Londres Vitoriana é uma das coisas que mais gosto nas histórias de Sherlock Holmes. Nesse primeiro volume se segue Dr. John Watson em sua volta de uma guerra no Afeganistão para Londres e na sua busca de um companheiro para dividir um local para morar. Nesse contexto nos é apresentado Sherlock Holmes em todas as suas excentricidades e o famoso endereço 221B, Baker Street. Dr. Watson é logo envolvido na rotina de Sherlock como consultor de investigação da Scotland Yard e começa a relatar os casos em que Holmes é consultado.

Um homem é encontrado morto em uma casa vazia, sem ferimentos, porém há sangue na cena do crime. Com a vítima, um americano, é encontrado um anel de diamante. Depois de algum tempo uma segunda vítima, também americano, é encontrada esfaqueada em um quarto de hotel. A investigação de Holmes é breve e em pouco tempo ele afirma saber a identidade do assassino, armando para esse uma “armadilha” e o capturando com a ajuda dos inspetores da Scotland Yard Lestrade e Gregson e também do Dr. Watson. A partir daí a narrativa passa a contar a história de vingança de Jefferson Hope, o assassino. A história de Hope começa em Utah, nos Estados Unidos onde suas vítimas faziam parte de um grupo religioso extremo que causou a morte da mulher que Jefferson amava, assim como do pai da garota. Pai e filha tentaram fugir do grupo religioso, mas foram pegos, o pai foi assassinado e a garota forçada a casar, em pouco tempo definhou e morreu. Essa parte do livro em que os conhecidos e amados personagens não estão presentes se arrasta um pouco, mas foi importante para contexto. As vítimas de Hope foram primeiro Enoch Drebber, o homem que forçou a garota, Lucy Ferrier, a ser uma de suas esposas, e segundo Joseph Stangerson, o homem que matou o pai, John Ferrier. Ao fim a única pergunta não respondida foi quem era o cumplice de Hope que tentou o ajudar a recuperar o anel de casamento de Lucy que Jefferson havia deixado cair sobre o corpo da primeira vítima. Não sei se essa questão será respondida nos próximos livros da série. A obra termina com a amizade entre Sherlock e Watson estabelecida e, como todos que conhecem a série já esperam, a Scotland Yard levando o crédito pelo trabalho realizado por Sherlock Holmes.

A Study in Scarlet foi um primeiro volume bastante bom, estabelecendo muito bem a atmosfera e os personagens, com certeza quero ler os próximos volumes. Dou 4.25 estrelas.

Content Warnings

librarymouse's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A Study in Scarlet was an enjoyable read. Sherlock Holmes, for all his quirks, is history's best detective, and this was a fun introduction into his adventures. The plight of Jefferson Hope and his love for Lucy was charming, and then heart breaking. I got to the second section of the novel I did a double take of sorts and googled it to make sure that my digital copy of the book hadn't accidentally been merged with another book. The difference in the plot in the flashback section was jarring, but the writing style stayed consistent between the actual investigation and the explanation behind it. The character of Watson was far different from his modern iterations. I kind of enjoyed him being characterized as being choosey about what's worthy of him leaving the house, in order to conserve his limited energy after being injured while serving in the military. There was racism and classist sentiment sprinkled throughout the book that was considered acceptable at the time it was written.

Content Warnings

easypeasy17's review against another edition

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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

3.0

I’m a massive Sherlock (tv show) fan. I love the mystery and how he is able to come to his conclusions. I had read a different Sherlock Holmes novel in high school and so I had had a sense of the original text. However, I was very much not expecting the side quest into Mormonism in this story. I was frustrated that it didn’t seem to connect to the original mystery until the last 20 pages or so. It was unexpected, but I still enjoyed this read.

Content Warnings

caitlin_doggos's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

crufts's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Some books become classics for a good reason.

Recovering from injury and illness sustained during the war, ex-army-doctor John Watson moves in with an eccentric flatmate: the chemistry enthusiast Sherlock Holmes. Although talented and with a steady stream of small-scale clientele, Holmes has never had the chance to prove himself against a big case. When he does, he pulls Watson along with him and the novel races off.

Fast-paced, well-written, and with characters that have remained the world's favourites for over a hundred years, A Study in Scarlet is a wonderful book.

Content Warnings

sunny_not's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

After the middle bit I was not interested in the story at all and I really didn't wanted to continue but I kept going since it's such a short book. I'm glad that I continued since after that backstory bit it picked up the pace which made the story a lot better in the end. So even though some parts were really boring I liked the story in the end but not as much as other murder mystery books.

Content Warnings

silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I read and re-read Sherlock Holmes in general MANY times in my teen years, but I think only read this one once, or possibly even gave up in the middle of the long back story section.

This time through it clearly confirmed my love of Sherlock Holmes, despite the passing decades. Though I still didn't love the back story section, it was a lot easier to engage in as an adult, if only because I was mentally prepared for it this time.

Possibly not the best book to start with if you've never read Sherlock Holmes before, but very enjoyable for all the classic mystery and (now stereotypical) clever deduction moments.

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