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readingrobyn 's review for:
A Study in Scarlet
by Arthur Conan Doyle
For such a foundational and important story in the mystery pantheon, I expected to like this more. I don't normally consider hype to be a problem for classics because I generally know that they can be hit or miss. Classics are classic for a reason, but that doesn't mean they can always compare to the contemporaries I'm used to reading.
For Sherlock Holmes though, I had very high expectations. I couldn't imagine a world where I didn't find this story dazzling. This was also the first Conan Doyle story I ever read and that combination was a roller coaster ride directly to disappointment. I found it difficult to adjust to Conan Doyle's writing style and I didn't find the mystery to be very compelling. It was still a well writing story, but I struggled.
Thankfully, I didn't give up on Conan Doyle and found I enjoyed some of this other novels more ([b:The Hound of the Baskervilles|8921|The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes, #5)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355929358s/8921.jpg|3311984] is my favourite.) but lesson learned for how to approach classic fiction with a little less of the weight of its cultural influence and lower expectations.
For Sherlock Holmes though, I had very high expectations. I couldn't imagine a world where I didn't find this story dazzling. This was also the first Conan Doyle story I ever read and that combination was a roller coaster ride directly to disappointment. I found it difficult to adjust to Conan Doyle's writing style and I didn't find the mystery to be very compelling. It was still a well writing story, but I struggled.
Thankfully, I didn't give up on Conan Doyle and found I enjoyed some of this other novels more ([b:The Hound of the Baskervilles|8921|The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes, #5)|Arthur Conan Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1355929358s/8921.jpg|3311984] is my favourite.) but lesson learned for how to approach classic fiction with a little less of the weight of its cultural influence and lower expectations.