A Study in Scarlet - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

After recently watching the new Sherlock Holmes movie I was motivated to start reading some of the books. The movie whetted my appetite for the characters of Holmes and Watson but I had a feeling that the literature versions would suit me even more. So many of you gave me good advice about where to start with the Holmes books and I followed along and chose the first book, A Study in Scarlet to begin my Holmes reading. My partner and I were lucky enough to receive a Borders gift voucher for Christmas from a very clever relative so we splurged and bought The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - a gorgeous hard cover book although a little heavy to carry around on a daily basis so I did my reading of A Study in Scarlet at night in bed.

The book introduces not only the characters of Holmes and Watson but also their relationship with each other - I admit it was hard to get Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law's faces out of my head while reading but I think I did manage to create my own versions of these very famous characters.

As someone who is extremely dense when it comes to mystery novels I am always amazed by authors in this genre and the imagination and intelligence they display in creating their plots. I am thankful for the work of the author in this case as he has Watson and Holmes clearly explain their thoughts and actions at the end of the mystery for the benefit of the reader. I realise that some people might find this extremely annoying but I found it helpful and it increased my enjoyment of the book. Is this a style that occurs all through the Holmes books and stories??

I really enjoyed this short book - I thought it was a great introduction to the characters and the world of Sherlock Holmes. I am so glad I have purchased the whole collection because I know I will be reading more of these.

Sherlock Holmes - Movie

Tonight my partner and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. It certainly was an action packed adventure!

I thought Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law played wonderful parts but my favourite actor had to be Rachel McAdams - she was just great as Holmes' "muse". It would have been great to see more of her - but I guess this would not have supported the Holmes/Watson storyline.

Having never read any of the Sherlock Holmes book I had no literary reference to compare the movie too - so while I enjoyed the movie as a stand alone action adventure through the streets of London I'm not sure that I have been shown the "true" Sherlock Holmes?? The action itself was fast paced but I felt the plot was a little lacking in substance - I did find myself feeling a little bored when the upteenth action scene came on screen. Is this how it is in the books?

I would really love to move onto the literary Holmes from here - can anyone offer any suggestions on good places to start?

The Beekeeper's Apprentice - Laurie R King

I have to say I am really starting to enjoy my mystery novels! I have picked up some great ideas from my fellow bloggers, particularly Eva and Danielle and they both recommended The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R King (I'm sure there are others out there that have loved this book too so please let me know if I have forgotten you!). I am fairly new to the mystery genre so recommendations are really the only way I can enter this reading world safely - there are just too many mystery novels out there to wade through.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the first novel in Laurie R King's series which brings together the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and a budding young investigator, Mary Russell. I have to admit I have never read any of the Sherlock Holmes writings so I really knew nothing about the character - this didn't impact negatively on my reading of this book at all. King sets up the character and the setting perfectly - the first half of the book where this is all done was by far my favourite - I enjoyed it more than when the actual mysteries and cases started to occur!

Sixteen year old Mary runs into Holmes in the English countryside near her farming home in Sussex Downs - they recognise a similar intellect in each other (although the two characters are not without their considerable differences which leads to some great tension throughout the book) and Holmes becomes a mentor for the orphan Mary.

The relationship between the two characters was the real joy in the reading of this book for me - the mysteries and cases were really only a vehicle for learning more about their relationship and their personalities - I'm not sure if this is supposed to happen when reading a mystery though??

I have to say I'm hooked now - I'll definitely be looking out for the rest of the books in this series.