A Study in Scarlet

In 1887, a young Arthur Conan Doyle publishedA Study in Scarlet, thus creating an international icon in the quick-witted sleuth Sherlock Holmes. In this, the first Holmes mystery, the detective introduces himself to Dr. John H. Watson with the puzzling line "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive." And so begins Watson's, and the world's, fascination with this enigmatic character. Doyle presents two equally perplexing mysteries for Holmes to solve: one a murder that takes place in the shadowy outskirts of London, in a locked room where the haunting wordRacheis written upon the wall, the other a kidnapping set in the American West. Quickly picking up the "scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life," Holmes does not fail at finding the truthand making literary history. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Anne Perry is the Edgar Award–winning author of more than thirty novels. Her most recent books include Death of a Stranger and Funeral in Blue. She lives in Scotland.