A Study in Scarlet
by Arthur Conan Doyle (Ward Lock & Co, 1887); audiobook read by Stephen Fry (ABC/Audible, 2017)
This would have made a fine short story—introducing the great detective to his chronicler—yet the lengthy second part serves only to demonstrate Conan Doyle’s dependence on Holmes and Watson. In the absence of these seminal characters, the prose turns flaccid.