Review: A Study in Scarlet, Nancy Drew #2,#3.



A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It wasn't so surprising when Sherlock makes the nab, and very cool in the way he does it, but then the story suddenly transforms into a completely different storyline. I was reading by audio and I honestly wondered for a moment if I'd somehow got the wrong disc, for a different book, or something. I actually became momentarily frustrated: while not an uninteresting story, it wasn't the story I wanted, I wanted deduction, not cowboys and Mormons. Only realizing the two suitor's names returned me to patience. Then, the purpose of the crime made sense, even if the crux hadn't occurred yet. From frustration to appreciation of the intricateness of the whole thing. It did feel like a little more background information that strictly necessary, to the point of seeming superfluous. When a summary review (this time, the Wiki summary) says "significant flashbacks" MAN they mean it.

I honestly had to go over Holmes' explanation at the end twice just to get all of it (rather, I had to read it in print after hearing it) because I just couldn't process HOW he captured him until I read it. Twisty twisty the whole thing.

I do love the article in the end. Hilarious!

Very interesting, expect for the odd and very very long flashback. I love how he sees everything, and process all of it, and.. well... I love the way he's Sherlock Holmes. Everything, every tiny thing, means something, if you know how to read it.

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On a sidenote, I also finished Nancy Drew: Hidden Staircase and ND: The Bungalow Mystery. I am STILL in guffaw over the things this young woman does... Just chucking herself into danger. I think in my brain I temper it a little so it's not so, deathly stupid of her. It's the only way I can grok the character without wanting to throttle her. The fact that her father commends her on her 'bravery' makes me roll my eyes, just a little, because HE'D be throttling her too. On the other side, she's really good at what she does, and certainly gets results. I'd feel better if she wasn't in mortal danger all the time. Maybe I'm just getting old. OH, and each bad guy just up and explaining their whole plan when they get caught, turning rat as soon as they're nabbed, "learning a lesson" (Bungalow Mystery) is very Scooby Do to me (grin) but I guess they have to explain it somehow!

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