Superb narration

A very unusual structure to the story in that a major part did not centre on Holmes himself.
Derek Jacobi is a superb narrator and I follow his work more than the various authors. He ranks highly, alongside Timothy West

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Top quality

my ever increasingly interest in Shelock and Watson stories. the narrator pulls into the story . I'm onto the next book

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Great first Sherlock Holmes story

The first story where we meet Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson is a great read wonderfully narrated by Derek Jacobi.

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an interesting listen

good book, a little short. nice reading by derek. love the sherlock holmes books

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a true classic

sherlock is well known for a reason. this is a true classic. though the narration is not great, but not bad either. the narrator's voice is good, but its difficult to know whoch character is talking at times

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Brilliant

You know Sherlock Holmes. You've seen adaptations on TV, you know his stories. But, listening/reading the books is just wonderful. By reading, you gain a deeper understanding of Holmes, of Watson, of Victorian England and Derek Jacobi is an amazing narrator. He is perfect for the job. Also, by reading some of the books you get the added bonus of the second part of the story which gives you the background to the current case. So even though you may be familiar with the stories, have a listen and instead of being preoccupied with 'who done it' (cos you probably know already), enjoy the journey and allow Holmes to lead you there in his own unique way.

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6 people found this helpful

The Beginning of it All

If you could sum up A Study in Scarlet in three words, what would they be?

Meeting, Murder, Investigation

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Study in Scarlet?

There so many, it's difficult to pick one.

What about Derek Jacobi’s performance did you like?

He was just so natural and brought every character to life.

Any additional comments?

I remember reading this one years ago and especially The Adventures of Sherlock Homes, which was my first foray into this amazing character. This is the best book to start with, as it tells of how Watson and Holmes met, began to live together and Watson's first experience of assisting him in a myrder investigation.

It can often be so easy to laugh at the blunders the police make, but that's really because we often know the stories. Gregson and Lestrade certainly make blunders in this book and especially Gregson in his arrest of the wrong person. However, we must look at it from the point of view of the police. Gregson's arrest was understandable at the time, but Holmes, although he wins in the end, doesn't sneer at the police, in fact, before the criminal is revealed, he assures Gregson and Lestrade that he is fully prepared to take responsibility if he messes up. But you do feel for the police as they get more frustrated. They want their man, which is natural.

This is an excellent book and if you haven't tried Sherlock Holmes, I urge you to begin.

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2 people found this helpful

Derek Jacobi is simply godlike.

No matter how much you try to remember that he is doing the narration, you won't. Every single character is distinct and fully formed. It's like a full cast performance.

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3 people found this helpful

The beginning.of Holmes and Watson !

Derek Jacobi brings such fresh life to the well-known and familiar story of when Holmes and Watson met. But Derek Jacobi really is the consummate performer and made for the job. I so enjoyed it I then went to the next book in the series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and I have to add it is equally as good. If you are looking for great comforting listening that carries gently along then I can recommend this.

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Fabulous and Underrated

I had never read any Sherlock Holmes at all, but was pleasantly surprised by the first half of this book as quite a delightful little English frolic.

The second half of the book, though, is completely different. The first half is your typical set up - crime scene, Sherlock being obscure and then, ta-da! He has your man. The second half then tells the back-story of the perpetrator, and is like an entirely different book - set in pioneer country, and is so atmospheric, a million miles away from Baker Street. I was totally absorbed in the story of Jefferson Hope. How has this story never been told on its own before? By the time it catches up with present day London, I'd quite forgotten about Sherlock. The book then ends with the formulaic, "and this is how I did it" which is just a couple of chapters of Sherlock rambling on, frankly, but the story of Jefferson Hope really stuck with me, and I realised that was the real story, and not Sherlock at all.

I'm looking forward to reading other Sherlock Holmes stories to see if any of the other tales comes close to this.

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