A review by dean_issov
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

adventurous mysterious fast-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

4.0

I have never read any of the Sherlock Holmes books before, I've only watched the popular films and series so reading A Study in Scarlet for the first time was so much better than I expected. "A Study in Pink" was the very first episode of BBC's Sherlock series so I thought I already knew the full story, but I was wrong, and I'm so glad that I was. I was surprised at the amount of backstory and nuance that the book gave compared to the series, it gave more life to it; I didn't expect the story of the murderer to be so tragic, I don't even remember anything about the murderer in the series' version, whoever wrote the series' version of him made him more bland compared to the book.

I really liked Sherlock in this book, I expected him to be the coldblooded high-functioning sociopath that I knew him to be in the TV series but in the book he really felt like a human. He wasn't as sassy like in the TV series but he was definitely more polite. I liked that he laughed and really showed his fondness with John in this book, it really made it clear how long and great their friendship will be by the end of it. 

Overall, this was a pretty solid first book for a series and finishing just makes me want to continue reading the next book in the Sherlock Holmes series. 

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