Doyle, Arthur Conan: A Study in Scarlet. Ebook.
(Sorry again for the limited citation; this ebook didn't give any details about who created it, etc.)
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SETTING: Mostly in London and various parts of Utah.
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SUMMARY: This first story in the Sherlock Holmes series details how Holmes and Dr. Watson meet and become a team, as well as the first mystery they solve "together" (I put this word in quotes because it's mostly solved by Holmes, of course). This mystery starts out with the perplexing murder of a well to-do American and the disappearance of his secretary. As is the case with Holmes' stories, there is more going on than initially meets the average person's eye.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'I should have more faith,' he said; 'I ought to know by this time that when a fact appears to be opposed to a long train of deductions, it invariably proves to be capable of bearing some other interpretation.'" - Part 1, Chapter 7.
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I started reading this book a few months ago and was almost done with it when I stopped reading it for some reason. I picked it back up last week, only to realize that I didn't remember the majority of the story! Particularly what was written in part 1, which takes place in London and details the murder. So I started reading it again from the beginning. The inspiration behind resuming the book in the first place? I'm happy to report that I started watching the show Sherlock! And I LOVE IT. I have been experiencing what can only be described as intensely geeky moments when I watch each episode, mostly because, out of the five episodes I've watched so far and the five books associated with them, I've read four of the books. During each of those four episodes, I had the best time comparing the show and the book. They obviously use the books as only a small inspiration for the story, and those who have watched the show and read the books are aware that the show varies greatly from the stories. Anyhow, for my own entertainment, I'll write an additional post about which similarities and differences I like and do not like between the show and books.
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Things I liked about this book:
- The writing. I love Holmes' novels, but they are sometimes too lengthy. This one, however, was the perfect length. It was an even more enjoyable read for me because the story was split into two distinct parts: part 1 details the murder, while part 2 gives a complete back story about the murder. And speaking of back story, the #2 thing I liked about this book is...
- The back story. I haven't read too many murder mysteries where the author provides such a thorough background of the inspiration behind the crime. Doyle goes all the way to the beginning, or as far back as is appropriate for the reader, and gives a richly detailed account of why this crime occurred.
- Holmes use of homeless children as his eyes and ears on the street. Of course this would not be something that worked in present day, luckily because we've become attuned as a society to what a horrible injustice it is to have homeless children (won't get into the debate about homeless adults here...). But Holmes' reasoning behind why he uses homeless children rather than an official person to collect information on the street is so brilliant yet simple: people are more likely to talk to someone who isn't official.
- Dr. Watson and Holmes' friendship. I love it in every story. And I also love that these stories are written from Watson's point of view; they are transcriptions from his personal journal and thus narrated by him. If Holmes was the narrator, the stories would get obnoxious really quickly.
- Holmes' way of thinking. Obvious once he explains it, but not something the common person would conclude themselves.
- The motivation behind the crime. This isn't a point that I usually like. The motivation behind the crime is generally something terrible, but this story is an exception. You definitely feel for the perpetrator.
Thing I didn't like about this book:
- The fact that I read the majority of this book a few months ago and forgot so much of it! Now, I know that this occurrence is mostly my fault. It is my own lack of attention and choosing to read a few pages of the book at a time in an inopportune setting that resulted in me forgetting so much of it. And of course I have to take into account that I have the tendency to forget a lot about the storyline of books I've read in the past (which was the main motivator for creating this blog). However, I have to put at least half of a percent of the blame on the book. If it was super attention grabbing then it is less likely I would have forgotten so much, especially regarding the details of the actual murder.
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I really enjoyed this book, more so because I started re-reading it after I watched Season 1, episode 1 of Sherlock: A Study in Pink (a cute change to the title, in my opinion). I'm now reading two books simultaneously, a non-Holmes novel written by Doyle and a young adults' book. We'll see which one I finish first!
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Recommend? Yes!
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