A Study in Scarlet

This is the story that introduced Sherlock Holmes to the world.

The plot brings the reader to the dark streets of Victorian London as a cunning murderer is hunted down. Holmes’s unique powers of observation and deduction then set the bar for all subsequent detective stories as his friend, Watson, is etched into your mind as a ‘true blue’ friend whom you would like to call your own. The story is intricate, delving into the human psyche and the nature of justice. It draws you into the period; it has great characters and mystery, intrigue, and unexpected deductive skills.

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This is the first novel that introduces Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and is vital for appreciating every novel and story that follows. The Sherlock Holmes stories are the best evocation of Victorian England ever depicted. The shock for me was when I discovered that Doyle sold the rights outright to this novel for just £25, and never received any royalties from it.

I couldn’t compile a London list without including Sherlock Holmes, the granddaddy of all London detectives. This is the book in which he makes his debut, using his detective and deductive skills to help investigate the death of a man in an abandoned house on Brixton Road. It’s a London – and style of story – unlike my other choices but it’s good to take a step back to an earlier era when crime, and the telling of it, was the same but different. I had to leave out some good crime writing to squeeze this one in, and long… show more.

Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite characters because although he seems to detest most people, at his core he finds justice for others. From his brusque nature to self-medicating his anxiety, to his tendency to speak in a lecture-like tone, Sherlock manages to overcome his challenges to win the day. I’ve had my own struggles using alcohol to cope with the stresses of day-to-day life. Thankfully, I rarely drink now. I also tend to ramble on about minute details if the mood strikes, and I found Sherlock’s interlinking of evidence and similar attention to detail to be an exciting… show more.