A Study in Scarlet | Arthur Conan Doyle | Penguin Classics

Evidently I am not much of a Sherlock Holmes fan, for I was not even aware that A Study In Scarlet is the first story in which Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were first introduced to the world.

The title itself, is provocative and perhaps indicative of the power of sensationalism to sell books in the Victorian era.

The plot is easy to follow and written in an engaging style even for today's readers.  No surprises there that Sherlock Holmes continues to be adapted for movies a century later.  Holmes has to be the equivalent, or rather predecessor of today's crime dramas-movies, with his methodological deductive reasonings.  Today's detectives would have a far wider array of tools to deploy thanks to technological advancement.

I could not help but feel that Coyle had split what is in fact one character into Holmes and Watson, where Watson is the foil that expresses exclamation at Holmes brilliance.  Watson is asked by Holmes to accompany him on his cases as a help, although it felt more like Watson is more of a narrator and spectator.

A Study in Scarlet also introduces a group of boys who are paid by Holmes to tail or watch suspects for him.  Doyle never dwelled on the harsh realities experienced by street children during Victorian era.  But then again, it isn't exactly fair to use today's lens to view times past.