A Study in Scarlet

A Study in Scarlet is the first Sherlock Holmes book written by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Dr. John H. Watson meets the great detective Sherlock Holmes, and together, they solve a case of murder, in which Watson is amazed at Holmes’ “science of deduction”.

The novel is split into two quite separate halves. The first is titled “Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John Watson, M.D., Late of the Army Medical Department”. This part is told in first person by Sherlock Holmes’ friend Dr. Watson and describes his introduction in 1881 to Holmes through a mutual friend and the first mystery in which he followed Holmes’ investigations.

The mystery revolves around a corpse found at a derelict house in Brixton, London, with the word RACHE scrawled in blood on the wall beside the body.