In the first of all the Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. John Watson, discharged from military service after suffering severe wounds, is at a loose end until a chance encounter leads him to take rooms with a remarkable young man. The arrogant, irascible Sherlock Holmes is a master chemist, a talented musician, and an expert on all aspects of crime. And when Watson is drawn into the investigation of a bizarre murder in which Holmes is involved, he is unaware that it is the beginning of the most famous partnership in the history of criminal detection.
The mystery begins when a body turns up in an abandoned building. A baffled Scotland Yard calls in the world's first "consulting detective," Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Through observation, subterfuge, and tenacity, he is soon able to discover the identity of the assassin, but that is only the beginning of the bizarre mystery.
This audiobook includes the bonus Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band."
Download and start listening now!
"A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the first published Sherlock Holmes story. Like all of Holmes' adventures, A Study in Scarlet presents a crime case which to the average eye seems impossible to solve, all but that of the Victorian detective. The story like most of the others is told from the perspective of Dr. John Watson, and tells of how Holmes and he first met each. From their like all Holmes stories a mysterious crime is committed, and a case is presented to the pair. The story is divided in three-parts, the first describes Dr. Watson's early bond with the detective and the two murders, the second explains why the murders were done in the form of a second-person narrative, and the third tells of how the case concluded. The length of the novel is small, but the content is grand. The relationship between Watson and Holmes is entertaining and humorous, and the crime captures the reader's imagination. The greatest part of the story is that if you are not used to stories about mysteries and crime, you'll only be able to solve the crime once it has been explained by the protagonist. However, this is what makes the story fun, because it is a hard struggle to keep up with the plot. Even if the reader does not plan on being a detective when they grow up, they must remember that being the crime solver is Sherlock Holmes' job, for the time being the reader's job is to watch the eccentric hero what he does best....proving people wrong"
— Harrison (5 out of 5 stars)
Can any narrator go wrong with a mystery featuring the shrewd Sherlock Holmes? Simon Prebble certainly doesn't.... This is a solid performance.
— AudioFile" After reading the first Sherlock Holmes story, I honestly cannot believe that he ever became a household name. The parts of the story that are narrated by Watson are charming, but the (much longer) middle section is TERRIBLE. It reads like one of those ridiculous "riddles" where a man eats rare bird and promptly kills himself, and you have to ask questions to determine that years ago the man was stranded on a desert island with his wife, who died, and another companion who fed him rare bird, only now that the man has eaten that rare bird he knows that what he ate on the island must have been HIS WIFE. Truly, it's terrible. "
— Annika, 2/19/2014" After reading the first Sherlock Holmes story, I honestly cannot believe that he ever became a household name. The parts of the story that are narrated by Watson are charming, but the (much longer) middle section is TERRIBLE. It reads like one of those ridiculous "riddles" where a man eats rare bird and promptly kills himself, and you have to ask questions to determine that years ago the man was stranded on a desert island with his wife, who died, and another companion who fed him rare bird, only now that the man has eaten that rare bird he knows that what he ate on the island must have been HIS WIFE. Truly, it's terrible. "
— Annika, 2/19/2014" The worst of the Sherlock Holmes Novels, but it's still pretty good, and it's where Holmes and Watson first meet, so it's critically important. For that I almost want to give it one more star. The funny bit is that it does a tremendously weird thing where you're reading right along about Holmes, and then suddenly you're not. You're reading about mormons. It takes a long time to figure out why. I remember just being confused for a while. "
— Jeremy, 2/15/2014" The worst of the Sherlock Holmes Novels, but it's still pretty good, and it's where Holmes and Watson first meet, so it's critically important. For that I almost want to give it one more star. The funny bit is that it does a tremendously weird thing where you're reading right along about Holmes, and then suddenly you're not. You're reading about mormons. It takes a long time to figure out why. I remember just being confused for a while. "
— Jeremy, 2/15/2014" An interesting book, but did really captivate me. "
— Chris, 2/13/2014" An interesting book, but did really captivate me. "
— Chris, 2/13/2014" Mystery novels aren't really my thing, but I really liked this story. It was relatively quick and fun read. "
— Jacey, 2/13/2014" An interesting book, but did really captivate me. "
— Chris, 2/13/2014" I loved how intricately woven this story was. I expected nothing less of Doyle, but I was still pleasantly fascinated as I turned each page. Having seen BBC's Sherlock prior to reading this story I was also intrigued by how much detail the writers put into the show! I hope to always read them together because both bring a new level of excitement to my life. "
— India, 2/10/2014" I loved how intricately woven this story was. I expected nothing less of Doyle, but I was still pleasantly fascinated as I turned each page. Having seen BBC's Sherlock prior to reading this story I was also intrigued by how much detail the writers put into the show! I hope to always read them together because both bring a new level of excitement to my life. "
— India, 2/10/2014" I loved how intricately woven this story was. I expected nothing less of Doyle, but I was still pleasantly fascinated as I turned each page. Having seen BBC's Sherlock prior to reading this story I was also intrigued by how much detail the writers put into the show! I hope to always read them together because both bring a new level of excitement to my life. "
— India, 2/10/2014Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) was born of Irish parentage in Scotland. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but he also had a passion for storytelling. His first book introduced that prototype of the modern detective in fiction, Sherlock Holmes. Despite the immense popularity Holmes gained throughout the world, Doyle was not overly fond of the character and preferred to write other stories. Eventually popular demand won out and he continued to satisfy readers with the adventures of the legendary sleuth. He also wrote historical romances and made two essays into pseudoscientific fantasy: The Lost World and The Poison Belt.
Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile’s Golden Voices, he has received thirty-seven Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York.