Summary
A Study in Scarlet is the novel that launched the legendary detective duo, Sherlock Holmes and Dr.
Watson.
The story begins with Watson, a war veteran recently returned from Afghanistan, meeting Holmes—an eccentric genius with a knack for deduction.
The two become roommates at 221B Baker Street, and soon Watson is swept into Holmes’s world of criminal investigation.
Their first case involves the mysterious murder of a man found in an abandoned house with the word "RACHE" written in blood on the wall. As Holmes applies his unique methods of deduction, the investigation leads into a hidden backstory involving revenge, love, and religious extremism that stretches from London to the Mormon settlements of Utah.
The novel is notable for its two-part structure: one part a London detective story, the other a dramatic flashback set in the American West, revealing the motive behind the crime.