A Study in Scarlet,

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

First published in 1887.

Setting: London, England and the American West of the nineteenth century.

Plot: Dr. John H. Watson, just back after being wounded in the Second Afghan War at the Battle of Maiwand, is living on a modest pension and in need of a roommate. He is introduced by a mutual friend to an eccentric young man, one Sherlock Holmes. The two get along well, and rent a flat together. Holmes, a freelance consulting detective, is soon called in to help the police in a murder investigation. He brings Watson along, and the two men arrive at the scene of the crime, where Holmes displays a bizarre method of investigation and gives attention to the most minute details.

The novel shifts narrative halfway through, from the first person account of Dr Watson's to a third person account of a tragic series of events involving the Mormons and the settling of Salt Lake City in Utah. It is a rather sudden shift, and can throw the reader off a bit, but it's all back story that eventually reveals to us the motive behind the murder that Holmes is investigating.

The story moves at a quick pace, and is full of humour and intriguing scientific trivia. For anybody who enjoys Monk, Psych, Law & Order, Agatha Christie stories, or anything involving detective work, this is a must read. It is the story that introduced the world to the man who set the standard for these kinds of stories.

Rating: 9/10