I listened to this as an audiobook, and I must say that there's a star specifically for Stephen Fry's narration, as his ability to distinguish between Holmes’s manic energy and Watson’s grounded curiosity is nothing short of masterclass. It was very grabbing and not as shallow as I thought it would be, offering a surprising amount of depth that made the Victorian setting feel tangible.

"There's the scarlet thread of murder running through the colourless skein of life, and our duty is to unravel it, and isolate it, and expose every inch of it."

Crime and mystery (according to my humble experience) are more plot-driven than beautifully written, but Doyle manages to elevate the genre here with a prose that feels both intellectual and engaging. Plus for the main part, the book was focused on introducing the complexities of Sherlock, rather than just trying to solve the mystery. It's the journey more than the destination, and witnessing the first sparks of the world's most famous partnership was far more rewarding than the eventual resolution of the case.

Mind you, for its time, it was revolutionary, so you may want to approach it with that mindset to truly appreciate how it paved the way for every detective story that followed.