The very first of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, A Study in Scarlet reveals the early days of Holmes and Watson's friendship, and exactly how the former doctor became involved in a life of crime-solving. A body is found in a grimy house in south London, its face twisted by fear and horror, with the word rache scrawled on the wall in blood beside it - yet the corpse itself is completely unscathed. How did this man meet such a strange and terrible end? The answer is darker than anyone could imagine.