I really struggled with the setup of the book. Once the case was solved, and the story moved away from Holmes and Watson to America, and to the story behind the case, I struggled to care and the pacing seemed so slow. 

A Study in Scarlet is a fine detective novel in its own right, but it's most notable for being the first of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories. The introduction of the character of Holmes (as narrated by his sidekick Dr. Watson) is one of the most celebrated in all of fiction, and for good reason. Every time I re-read the novel I am struck by how economically Doyle introduces the character; within a few pages he has sketched out in full Holmes's singular character. At the same time, Doyle's vivid descriptions immerse us in late 19th century London, a bustling metropolis where adventure lurks around every corner. Many of the other familiar trappings of the Holmes stories are first mentioned here too: Scotland Yard, Inspector Lestrade, and, of course, 221B Baker Street. The murder plot itself is rather grisly, taking place in an abandoned house in the middle of a rainy night. Doyle excites the reader by describing how thoroughly Holmes investigates the scene, and how quickly he is able to deduce the identity of the murderer. Once the case has been solved, the novel takes a strange left turn and becomes a Western. Again Doyle is able to vividly describe the environment, this time the harsh mountains and salt-plains of Utah. We learn of the strange society built by the Mormons after their exile from the United States. The portrayal of the early Mormon theocracy is bone-chilling; this was a society where absolute religious dogma was expected, the patriarchy reigned supreme, and women were treated like cattle, forced into polygamous marriages. All of this serves as an elaborate origin story for the murderer eventually caught by Holmes; this man swore revenge on two Mormon elders who kidnapped his beloved, and forced her into marriage. This sequence is striking for how unnecessary it seems - after all, the murderer's motive could have been related in far fewer words. It seems that Doyle wanted to stretch himself by including this section, and he must have wanted to tell a tale of adventure and horror. There is some controversy over his portrayal of Mormon society, but let's keep a few things in mind. Mormon history was quite bloody, and did practice polygamy. This is enough to make them fair game as villains in a work of fiction (unless you don't think it's right to ever make any group into villains). Though <i>A Study in Scarlet</i> is not the best Holmes novel, it is a must-read for fans of Sherlock and of mystery fiction in general.

 
I'm reading this because I learned that the plot for Aliette de Bodard's The Tea Master and the Detective is loosely based on this first novel in the Sherlock Holmes series. And I'm not a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, I haven't read many books in the series (The Hound of the Baskervilles is the only one, I believe), and I don't follow any of the televised shows, even the one that has a sexified Sherlock with Benedict Cumberbatch.

Call me a Sherlock noob.

So I found Dr. Watson to be a much more interesting person, and his observations of Sherlock are hilarious. In modern life, he would be a cocaine addict with bipolar disorder - prone to fits of manic activity and then long periods of lethargy where he is laid up on the couch for days like a giant potato. He can read muddy footprints, identify odd species of cigar ash, and sniff out dead people's breath. Did I mention he plays the violin and knows about next to nothing of anything outside of his own esoteric field? Because according to Sherlock, the human mind can only fit so much information before it gets jumbled up. Yup.

I lost it when Sherlock decided it was okay to give poison to a small dog in order to show that the murder victim was poisoned.

Ugh. 

I was almost happy when the book made a sharp right turn to the wild territory of Utah and the land of the Mormons, here depicted as some crazy, murderous religious cult. Considering the history of most Western religions, I can't say that I disagree.

It's also in this section where I found my favorite line in the whole book, from John Ferrier, who's just about to be rescued in the desert from hunger and thirst: "It ain't easy to talk when your lips are like leather."

That's certainly true. And makes for quite an amusing picture. 

A really interesting first outing for Sherlock. Like many, I've seen an inordinte number of adaptations but it's a totally different thing to read the original work.

I really liked the characterisations of Sherlock and Watson, their interactions were really enjoyable and I actually laughed at points! A lot of the eccentricities of the Sherlock character seen in the BBC show are here in his first outing, though he is a bit more whimsical here!

The mystery itself was interesting but

unfortunately the 5 or so chapters giving the killer's backstory in the second half, whilst an interesting narrative device, were very dull and boring to me. This aspect should have been cut down to a chapter or 2 max to preserve the pacing; I really missed Sherlock and Watson!