Why We Love Mysteries - A Guest Post by Larry Enmon

Today on Life Of A Nerdish Mum I am very pleased to welcome debut author Larry Enmon to my blog as he discusses just why everyone loves a good mystery.

WHY WE LOVE MYSTERIES

Just so we start off on the right foot here, I've read everything Sir Author Conan Doyle ever wrote about Sherlock Holmes. As a young man I was fascinated by mysteries and mystery writing. Read everything I could get. But I did something that caused me to stop following the genre. I became a policeman.

For thirty-seven years I lived the dream—and often the nightmare—of solving mysteries. I started as a municipal police officer in Houston working uniform patrol and undercover vice. I eventually accepted an appointment as a special agent with the Secret Service and continued investigating crimes and solving mysteries. But I stopped reading them. That was probably a mistake.

Every good story contains an element of mystery. It's in our human DNA to ask why—to solve the puzzle, to discover the secret. That's what pushes mankind forward. Everyone wants to be the first to figure it out.

Reading a good mystery allows the reader to experience the thrill of the hunt without the inherent dangers involved in hunting. Staying at a safe distance from danger is always better than experiencing it first hand. Trust me—I've been shot at more than once. And what else do we love about mysteries? The crime gets solved and the bad guy either gets killed or goes to jail. Not always so in the real world.

The old-style detective and mystery writers weren’t as concerned about characters as the new writers of today. What started out as a plot-driven genre has evolved into a character-driven one. In the digital age, we want to know everything about everyone. This has led to the characters in mysteries becoming more interesting than the plot. Let me share an example: True Detective – Season One (HBO). Sure we care about the detectives discovering the identity of the serial killer, but what keeps us coming back to view the next episode is the relationship between the two detectives, Rust and Marty.

Another writer once asked me how many homicides I saw as a uniform police officer. This started me to thinking about all the different types of death I investigated. Each had a mystery associated with it that needed solving. I saw death by shooting, stabbing, drowning, electrocution, crushing (yes, that happens), poisoning, blunt force trauma, falling, hanging, and burning. I was the first unit on the scene, and it was my job to determine what happened, how it happened, why it happened, and round up the witnesses before the homicide detectives arrived. (Old Cop Trick #1: Always ask the witnesses for some identification. Once they present it, drop it in your pocket. If you don't, in all the confusion, they might just wander away.)

I suspect that few police officers read mysteries, probably for the same reasons that I stopped. It's hard enough living with the horrible real images we see as police. Also living with the fictional ones is like taking your work home with you. But having the experience as an officer gave me the background necessary to write a good mystery. I still love to solve crimes, but only fictional ones, please.

So let me leave you with a real police mystery I witnessed first-hand. My partner and I made the scene of a shooting involving two men. The victim was in his mid-twenties, six foot five, and unarmed. The suspect was in his late teens and five feet tall. According to a half dozen witnesses, the older man began harassing and threatening the younger one over the affections of a woman. The younger man pulled out a small caliber pistol and pointed it at the older one. The victim screamed, "Nooooooooooooo!" just as the single shot rang out. The victim fell to the pavement, dead as a door nail. But there was one problem. The body didn't have a mark on it. No entry wound of any kind!

Everyone assumed the guy either cracked his skull when he fell or suffered a heart attack out of fear. The only blood was a few drops on the guy's lower lip, which could be attributed to biting his tongue or lip as he hit the pavement. The homicide detectives were on their way, so I had only a few minutes to figure it out. As far as everyone was concerned, the suspect had missed the victim when he shot at him. But it was a homicide. Want to know how?

The short suspect fired the small caliber pistol at the taller victim as he screamed, "Nooooooooooo!" The bullet entered the victim's mouth and, because of the angle of the shot (five-foot-tall guy shooting at six-foot-five guy), went into his brain, killing him instantly. The small amount of blood on the victim's lower lip was the only sign of violence. But the bullet in the brain was the cause of death.

Yes, everyone loves a good mystery.

Wormwood

In Dallas, Texas, Katrina Wallace goes missing. As the mayor's daughter, her kidnapping triggers mounting political pressure and forces the Chief of Police to put two senior detectives on the case. Rob Soliz and Frank Pierce have done the impossible in the past, but their methods are unconventional.

The only evidence at the scene is a Bible found in the girl's car and soon Frank and Rob find themselves involved in a disturbing investigation shrouded by Bible prophecy, doomsday cults, and murder.

Is Katrina still alive? And what exactly is Wormwood?

As the trail leads them into the woods of rural East Texas, Frank must deal with his lingering religious doubts and solve the case. His worst fears will be realised when he must discover the ugly truth about Wormwood. But he and Rob will have to get out alive to tell the story...

About The Author

Larry Enmon retired from the U.S. Secret Service and started writing. During his career he acted as liaison between the USSS and FBI, working in the Joint Terrorism Task Force.  He received special training from the FBI and CIA in weapons of mass destruction.

For relaxation, and to get away from the city, he likes spending time at his ranch in rural Eastern Texas. With 200+ acres, private shooting range, a 2 ½ acre pond, and miles of woodland trails to explore on four-wheelers and RTV’s, it’s the perfect getaway.

He swims four miles a week, holds a Divemaster rating with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors and has a black belt in Tang Soo Do karate.  He is married with two children and lives in Tarrant County, TX.

His debut crime mystery novel Wormwood is being published by Bloodhound Books, Cambridge. He is represented by the Andrew Lownie Literary Agency, Ltd, London.

To Connect With Larry Enmon

Twitter: @LarryEnmon

Instagram: @Larry_Enmon

Website: http://www.larry-enmon.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/larryenmonbooks/

Morning, Noon And Night Trilogy by Peter Bartram - Book Extract

A while ago I was on a blog tour for Stop Press Murder, a Crampton of The Chronicle mystery by Peter Bartram and I absolutely loved it (you can check out my review here). So when Peter contacted me to say that he was releasing a whole trilogy of novellas as part of the Crampton series I was extremely excited.

I will be bringing my review to the blog soon as I finished all three novellas, but today I have something super exciting to share, an extract from Murder in the Morning Edition.

Murder in the Morning Edition - Book 1 of The Morning, Noon & Night trilogy

Chapter 1

My Australian girlfriend Shirley took a luscious lick of her ice-cream and said: "Why is that man wearing gloves on the hottest day of the year?"

  Shirley flicked her gaze towards the man sitting three tables away. We were on the terrace of the Black Rock café, looking out over Brighton beach. The sun was shining from a sky as blue as Max Miller's jokes. It was August 1963 and a long hot summer was drawing to a close.

  I resisted the temptation to swivel my head and stare. In my line of work, it's not wise to show too much interest in the wrong sort of people. I'm Colin Crampton, crime correspondent on the Evening Chronicle. The kind of characters I peek at on the sly would give you a punch on the snout if they caught you gawping.

  And that's just the cops.

  So without moving my head, I swivelled my eyeballs left until they felt they were about to fall out of their sockets. I squinted at the bloke through a grey mist.

  I said: "One thing's for sure. He's not come for a fun day by the seaside."

  I shifted my chair a little so that I could eyeball the mystery man more discreetly. He was a thin wiry bloke who looked like he hadn't spent his forty-odd years on earth wisely. He had a swarthy complexion, a small scar above his upper lip, and a penumbra of five-o'clock shadow around his jaw. Central casting wouldn't have thought twice about handing him a role as one of the black hats in a spaghetti western.

  He was wearing a grey three-piece suit which would have been perfect for Sunday morning church or a meeting with his bank manager. On Brighton beach he looked out of place - like a smile on a traffic warden's face.

  A small fawn attaché case lay on the table in front of him. Beside the case was a thick white envelope. His gloved fingers drummed impatiently on the case. His flinty eyes glowered at the envelope and then surveyed the bustling activity around him.

  The café throbbed with life as more people arrived. They'd come from a train that had just pulled into Black Rock station on the Volk's railway, a few yards from the café.

  The fresh crowd irritated Glove Man. He drummed his fingers on his case and glanced anxiously around.

  At the table behind him, a spotty boy, watched by a stern-faced nanny, dug his spoon deep into a giant knickerbocker glory. To his right, a pensioner couple smeared strawberry jam on their buttered scones. To his left, a pair of young lovers took turns to snap pictures of one another with a fancy camera.

  A perky waitress in black skirt and white pinafore swung her hips as she weaved between the tables.

  Glove man glared at her as she wiggled by.

  Shirley slurped her ice-cream cone. "I bet those gloves set him back a few saucepan lids," she said.

  "Saucepan lids?"

  "Quid."

  I grinned. "Could be as much as a Lady Godiva."

  "What?"

  "A fiver."

  I focused in on the gloves while Shirley sucked her chocolate flake. It stuck out of the ice-cream like a telegraph pole in a swamp.

  The mystery man's gloves were as different from the mitts I wore when I drove my MGB on a cold day as a beach pebble from the Kohinoor diamond. They'd been tailored from some fancy brown leather. Probably by some ancient craftsman with white hair and hunched shoulders who agonised over every stitch. They fitted Glove Man's hands like a second skin. He could have sat at the upright joanna in my mum's old parlour and tinkled Rachmaninov's second piano concerto note perfect without taking them off.

  And then knocked out My Old Man's a Dustman as an encore.

  I switched my attention back to Shirley. A summer tan had gently bronzed her perfect skin. The fringes of her blonde hair ruffled in a gentle breeze. She was wearing a stylish pair of Gucci shades which made her look like a film star. Perhaps dodging the paparazzi at the Cannes film festival. Or sneaking into Cinecittà in Rome to act in a new Visconti movie. She was wearing a lemon yellow dress that seemed to have given up any hope of covering her legs shortly after it had left her bum.

  Not that I'm complaining.

  I'd been dating Shirley since last summer when she'd pitched up in Brighton. She was working her way around the world and had found a job in a seafront café to earn the money for the next leg of her trip. She was still putting money by, but I hoped it would be a long time before she bought her next ticket.

  Shirley crunched on the last of the ice-cream cone and said: "Perhaps old Glove Man is on his way to a business meeting."

  "That explains the suit and attaché case but not the gloves," I said.

  "Perhaps the guy's got sensitive hands."

  "So why's he drumming his fingers on the case like he wants to beat a hole in it?"

  "He's impatient. He's waiting for someone."

  "I don't think so. The person he came to meet has already left."

  "How do you know that, clever clogs?"

  "Because whoever it was left him the envelope. They would have been and gone before we arrived. If he were waiting to meet someone and give them the envelope he'd keep it in the case."

  "Why the impatience?"

  "He wants to put the envelope in the case. But he doesn't want to open the case with everyone around - in case someone sees what's inside."

  "So what's inside?"

  "It must be something a casual passer-by would immediately recognise as important at a glance. Perhaps something suspicious."

  Shirley's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't know that."

  "True. I don't know it for certain. But he keeps looking at the case and the people moving around him. He's choosing his moment when he can sneak the envelope in the case with no risk of anyone peeking inside."

  "We'll never know," Shirley said.

  She leaned forward and kissed me. Her lips tasted of ice-cream. Vanilla. Personally, I prefer chocolate. But when ice-cream comes served on Shirl's lips I'm prepared to compromise. Her lips felt cold and hot at the same time. I tried to figure which I liked best. Decided it depended on what I was going to do next. And as we were sitting in the middle of a crowded café the options were limited.

  I wrenched my mind back to Glove Man and said: "When he leaves, why don't we follow him?"

  Shirley's eyebrows arched over the top of her sunglasses like the loops of the Loch Ness monster breaking the surface. "Nuts," she said. "We can't follow an innocent man."

  "We don't know that he's innocent."

  "Listen up, whacker. I believe a man is innocent until he's proven guilty."

  "We're not pointing the finger of guilt at the bloke. We just want to find out why his fingers are in those fancy gloves while the temperature is over eighty."

  "What for?"

  "There could be a story in it."

  "Man in glove sensation! Give me a break."

  "I've known big stories begin from more trivial beginnings. Besides, you're the one who wanted to know why he's wearing gloves on the hottest day of the year."

  "And I guess we'll never know."

  I grinned. "Perhaps not."

  Perhaps Glove Man was as innocent as a baby sleeping in a crib. But I've got a reporter's mind. Suspicious.

And I could think of at least one guilty reason for wearing gloves on a sweltering day.

And that's it! How great is that, thank you so much to Peter for providing me with the extract today.

About The Author

Peter Bartram brings years of experience as a journalist to his Crampton of the Chronicle crime mystery series. His novels are fast-paced and humorous - the action is matched by the laughs. The books feature a host of colourful characters as befits stories set in Brighton, one of Britain's most trend-setting towns.

You can download Murder in Capital Letters, a free book in the series, for your Kindle or other e-reader from www.colincrampton.com.

Peter began his career as a reporter on a local weekly newspaper before editing newspapers and magazines in London, England and, finally, becoming freelance. He has done most things in journalism from door-stepping for quotes to writing serious editorials. He’s pursued stories in locations as diverse as 700-feet down a coal mine and a courtier’s chambers at Buckingham Palace. Peter is a member of the Society of Authors and the Crime Writers' Association.

Getting To Know...Nicola Slade

On Getting To Know... today I am welcoming author of the Harriet Quigley Mysteries and Charlotte Richmond Investigates series, Nicola Slade.

You originally wrote a romantic comedy when changing from children's book to adult books, but you now write two mystery series. What was it that drew you to this genre and prompted you to make the change?

My mother and grandmother were voracious readers so I was always surrounded by books.  I was brought up on mostly Victorian novels and the classic mysteries of the Golden Age: Margery Allingham, Patricia Wentworth, Dorothy L Sayers and to a lesser degree Agatha Christie. It’s the puzzle element that appeals to me in those classic mysteries – who did it, why and how – and working through the various suspects to find the murderer. I love that aspect as a reader and as a writer.

Do you have a favourite character that you have written so far?

My Victorian sleuth, Charlotte Richmond, is my favourite. I’m very fond of Harriet Quigley, my contemporary retired headmistress sleuth but she’s slightly scary after her years as a top headmistress and is comfortable in her own skin. Charlotte is much more vulnerable and has to contend with the problems of being a young widow in the 1850s as well as with the difficulties that arise in a murder case. She has a slightly shady background and comes from Australia, which makes her a curiosity in mid-Victorian England. I’m passionate about history and it’s certainly much easier to set a mystery before the days of forensic science, fingerprints and the internet!

Do you have a set routine or schedule that you like to follow when you're writing?

Not really, it’s more a case of ‘when the spirit moves me’. I do tend to write mid-morning to mid-afternoon, rather than the classic thing of dashing off a thousand words by breakfast time! Sometimes I’ll lose myself in the story though, and emerge dazed after a long writing session.

When you're not writing, what would we find you doing?

Chatting and meeting friends is what my family would say! And poking in charity shops and second hand bookshops because a friend and I were antiques dealers in a small way, some years ago, and the urge to check out the date stamp or maker’s mark never leaves you. I love going to castles and stately homes and I read a lot, as well as painting.

You are also an artist and do some wonderful paintings (I love your hares, in particular Hare Flight). Are you a natural artist or is something that you worked on to become?

Thank you! I have a ‘thing’ about painting hares! I did Art at O Level and could always draw, but it wasn’t till my children were older that I started going to art classes. When the teacher retired we set up our own art workshop and hold an exhibition every year. I’m strictly amateur but it’s fun to do and our group is now quite well-known locally. My latest mystery ‘The Art of Murder’ is about an art group, but not – I hasten to add – about the one I belong to!

Have you always known that you wanted to be an author?

I think I was about six when I understood that books came out of people’s heads and decided that’s what I wanted to do. I had some children’s short stories published in my early twenties, then put my creative energies into raising a family, after which I wrote stories for women’s magazines until my first novel, Scuba Dancing, was published.

Harriet Quigley is an older main character than in a lot of books, which is good to see. What was the reason behind choosing to write an older character?

It all stems from my first publisher, Transita Ltd, who published Scuba Dancing. They featured older heroines – from forty-five and upwards and Harriet arose from that idea. The classic lady sleuth tends to be ‘of a certain age’, Miss Marple and Miss Silver, for example, and if you think about it, an older woman is likely to have more time to observe and investigate than if she’s holding down a full-time job. My Victorian heroine, Charlotte, has time on her hands because she’s a lady, but she does have other restrictions – it’s not easy to run away if you’re wearing a crinoline!

You enjoy travelling and have lived in some lovely places, do you have a favourite place that you have visited?

We had a few days in Fiji that were magical – coral islands, palm trees and so on, I’d love to go back one day. Our son and his family live in Sydney and we did a trip to Tasmania which was fabulous; besides seeing the family, Australia has the added bonus of letting me do research for my Australian heroine!

Do you have a favourite author?

I love the novels of Charlotte Yonge, a Victorian best-seller, and I’m particularly fond of her novel ‘The Pillars of the House’. I also love Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels and recently, I’ve discovered Jodi Taylor’s The Chronicles of St Mary’s books and can’t wait to read the next.

What can we look forward to from you in the future?

My previous publisher ceased trading a year ago so I’ve been wondering which direction I should take. I’m currently revising a contemporary novel which has historical echoes, a kind of time-slip novel, and I’m about to send it to my agent. Besides that, I’m two-thirds of the way into a cosy mystery set in 1918 which is great fun to write, though whether a publisher would like it remains to be seen. There’s always self-publishing which is something I might explore in the future.

Thank you so much to Nicola for taking the time to answer all my questions, it's been wonderful having her on my blog today.

To Connect With Nicola Slade

Twitter - @nicolasladeuk

The Art Of Murder

A weekend art course at an upmarket B&B near Winchester’s historic cathedral is bound to be relaxing and fun… 

But not when man-crazy Linzi Bray, Chairman of the local art group, is in charge and the house is full of people who loathe her. 

Accidents start to happen – in a ruined castle, in a fast-flowing river, in a peaceful garden. 

There’s a stalker – or is there? 

And there are far too many dead insects, as well as a vandalised Porsche and a pond full of blood. 

It’s not the first time former headmistress, Harriet Quigley, and her cousin, the Reverend Sam Hathaway, have been embroiled in a mystery, but this time they’re baffled at the “spiteful game” that seems to be being played. 

And then somebody else dies and the games all stop. 

Act of Murder is perfect for avid crime mystery fans – with festering secrets, potential motives and the opportunity for sweet – or spiteful – revenge. 

Pumpkintown Perils - Aubrey Law

Firstly I'd like to thank Aubrey Law who provided me with an e-book copy of their book Pumpkintown Perils: Volume 1 in exchange for an honest review.

Pumpkintown Perils is a collection of four short cozy mystery stories. I have discovered cozy mysteries in the past twelve months and I absolutely love them. I love the mixture of a mystery and the lighthearted (usually) way that the main character ends up solving them. 

Wanda is our main character and she is a witch who owns her own witchcraft shop and is on her way to being a very efficient investigator of mysteries, working side by side with Sam Shamrock, a police inspector who is not a witch but a leprechaun. Wanda often works out plots before Sam and puts herself in danger by trying to get things done herself even though she knows the she should really follow the rules, if they weren't so boring. 

Wanda is extremely sassy, confident and very vain. She knows how to get what she wants and will do pretty much anything to get it. She has a soft spot for hot guys and can let that get in the way at points. I'm really not sure how I feel about Wanda as she just has so much personality it can over power the story a little bit at times, but she is a strong woman and she wants to be successful in both her businesses. 

There are a cocktail mix of other characters, her family (including her passed on mother who "visits"), gnomes, humans and a leprechaun (Sam Shamrock). All the characters work very well together and when they're having a coffee or a drink (or ten), you can't help thinking how much fun it'd be to join in with the group. 

The four mysteries themselves are all interesting in their own way and are well thought out and some are even intertwined. I was going to try and say which mystery I liked the most, but as I came to write this I can't decide! Maybe the last one, only because it was the last one I read and so clearest in my mind! 

Pumpkintown Perils is a lot of fun and a very quick read, so if you're a fan of cozy mysteries definitely pick it up. 

I gave this book 4 stars

I started this book on the 7th of September 2016 and finished it on the 12th of September 2016.

Pumpkintown Perils: Volume 1 - synopsis

Deep in the Jagged Wood enchanted forest, wild witch Wanda Tempest owns a magic supply shop, practices witchcraft, drinks too much, dances and frequently falls prey to a weakness for attractive men. She also happens to be a promising, if only part-time, Private Investigator. She’s talented, beautiful and has earned the respect and admiration of the equally talented, though far less striking, Police Inspector Sam Shamrock, an overweight leprechaun. He’s crazy about her… she’s crazy about her cat food refusing whiskered companion, Jinxy.

Join this formidable, if mismatched, crime-solving duo, as they tackle mysteries ranging from the scandalous to the outright strange. Talking trees, evil gnomes, murderous wood trolls and homicidal humans will keep Wanda and Sam fighting for justice, and their very lives.

Troublesome twin sisters, a crazy great-aunt, a kiss that shouldn’t have happened and a spoiled Siberian cat with a smart mouth all guarantee that Wanda’s life remains full of surprises. As long as Sam doesn't drink too many Irish Coffees everything usually works out.

Things that go bump in the night - My review of The Haunting of Hill House

I took my time choosing the book for the PopSugar challenge topic "a book that scares you" as I wanted something scary, but not too scary, because as I've got older, I just can't deal with horror the way I used to be able to and now pretty much everything terrifies me. I decided on a classic that sounded more psychological than outright horror and it's one I have wanted to read for a long time, the book I chose was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. There will be a spoiler in this review, so you have been fairly warned.

The first thing that struck me about this book was the writing, it seemed slightly "off" to me. The book was written/published in 1959 and yet the writing seemed to try and make it feel like it was written a lot earlier than that. Once I got into it though, I got used to how it sounded and it felt natural.

The story itself took almost half the book to get started, but I did enjoy the character building with Eleanor. I absolutely love how Eleanor made stories in her head about things that she saw as she was driving along as I do the same thing when I'm out and about. Something I didn't like was the conversations between the guests at the house, I know it was written in a different time, but seriously who has conversations like these people do? All the make believe and non sensical stuff at times took away from the story and I found I didn't really follow what they were talking about.

This bit contains the spoiler. After finishing the book, there are a few things I'm still unsure about so if you can answer any of them or have your own thoughts please let me know! I'm not 100% sure whether there actually was any paranormal activity or whether it was just fear creating fear. And finally the ending left me confused, did Eleanor really exist? Did she kill herself? What happened?

Overall though I enjoyed this book and I'm glad that I got around to reading it.

I started reading this book on the 2nd of April 2015 and finished reading it on the 4th of April 2015
I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads

My Review of In The Dark by Richard Laymon

I really need to get back to reading books on my reading challenge lists and stop getting distracted by ALL THE BOOKS. So on both the PopSugar reading challenge and the BookRiot read harder challenge, there is a topic for "a book recommended by a friend" and the book I was recommended to by the hubby (he counts as a friend right?) was In The Dark by Richard Laymon.

Since meeting my hubby I've read quite a few Richard Laymon books as he is one of his favourite authors, this isn't one of them though and he really wanted me to read it to see what I thought as he hasn't read it yet either. 

As with all Richard Laymon books, even though this was over 500 pages long, it was very quick and easy to read and I read it in just a couple of hours over 3 days. 

The story centres around Jane who is the new head librarian in the town and she receives an envelope which contains money and a clue to where she would find more money. Along the way she meets Brace who becomes a love interest and you get the usual "is it him or is it not" twists, hints and misdirections. As she follows each clue, the challenges become more and more difficult and dangerous. As a normal, sensible human being (honestly) there is no way I'd have gone past finding the first envelope and I don't think anyone with any sort of sanity would continue past maybe the fourth one when it becomes more extreme. 

The characters as usual for a Richard Laymon book are pretty pantomime, but I found both the main characters to be likeable which isn't always the case. 

Overall I really enjoyed the story and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of horror without it being too scary, There was just one bit at the end that I felt was an unnecessary addition to the story, but I won't say what as I do try to keep spoilers out of my reviews. 

One thing I did do when starting to read this book was to get out my pen and paper and start a "nipple" count. If you've read any Richard Laymon at all, you'll probably know he loves the word nipple! This book actually came in with a relatively low score of only 11 mentions.

I started reading this book on the 6th of March 2015 and finished it on the 9th of March 2015

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads

The Beginning of Something Great - My review of A Study In Scarlet

I seem to be cruising through my challenges so far, however we are only a few days into the new year so I best not get too confident!

I need to start reading one shorter book and then one longer book so that I don't get stuck with all the massive volumes at the end of the year as that is just asking to fail. For the mystery or thriller section of the PopSugar challenge, I made the decision to read A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as though I have read all the other Sherlock Holmes adventures, I have never read the one book where it all began.

I genuinely love the character of Sherlock Holmes and I found myself smiling as he was introduced to Dr Watson and then during their subsequent conversations. It was nice after all this time to read for myself how they met and how their friendship and partnership was begun. ( I think the closest I've come to it is reading and watching Basil the Great Mouse Detective) 

I really enjoy the way Doyle wrote, I think the way he writes is beautiful and an absolute pleasure to read. Everything I've read by him is just so easy to read and you don't notice that the language used isn't of this time.

There is one thing that I will say about this book (and it may be because I was reading it on my Nook) and that is that when Part 2 began and started at chapter 1, I was a little baffled as to whether I had stumbled onto another book and that A Study in Scarlet had just finished abruptly. The story was set in a different time and place with, to start off with anyway, different characters, so it really threw me, Once I'd realised that I was reading the back story of the culprit, everything fell into place and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the reasons behind the crime.

Overall I'd recommend this book to anyone, especially people who would like to read "classics" but are worried about the language used or the way they would be written. This would be a perfect book to try and you get to meet Sherlock Holmes!

I started reading this book on the 11th of January 2015 and completed it on the 14th of January 2015
I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads