Cannonball - Book 4

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

 

This is the first book that comes in under the 200 page mark.  I really liked it, but I think I would have liked it better if I read it when I was younger.  When I was thirteen or so (I think, around then) I read almost nothing but Agatha Christie novels.  Eventually I moved on to other mysteries but I always liked the old-fashioned, British ones best.  I am not sure why, but I think it had to do with how stoic the characters were.  To the detectives the murder was never anything but a puzzle, and to everyone else it was a minor inconvenience.  Like, "Oh, how unfortunate I am suspected to be a murderer, it shall interfere with my plans to go riding".

The book is split into two parts.  The first follows Holmes and Watson as they solve the mystery and the second goes back and tells the story of the murderer and his victims.  I was not a fan of this particular structure.  Conan Doyle spent the entire first half of the novel making me curious about Sherlock Holmes and then, in the second half, abandoned Holmes entirely in favor of a couple or Mormans and a vengeful red-faced guy.  Lame.  Especially since Mormon's story didn't really inform the murder solving much.  It's not that I didn't care about them, it's just that the transition was a little too abrupt and clumsy.

All of the Sherlock Holmes parts made it worth it though.  I see why he is such an iconic character.  He's awesome.

Page count: 146
Up next: Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson