This is my first Sherlock Holmes novel, leaving aside the childishly abridged short story collection I read some years back. I am not going to count that. Anyway, having recently been 'sherlocked' by the BBC series, getting this novel left me squealing in excitement. The TV Sherlock always seemed to me as a person with super-human brilliance. However, I couldn't help but feel incredulous about the possibility of such a type of person existing in reality. That question was actually resolved by this novel. The canon Sherlock Holmes's deductions were more believable and fairly possible; nevertheless his science of deduction was still very much fascinating. 
 The novel is split into two parts - the first part centers around Sherlock solving the murder mystery, which is sure to leave the readers in awe of him. The second part delves into the background story that builds up to the murder. A simple tale about love and revenge but Canon Doyle's gripping narrative steers the reader forward. Amidst serious themes like murder and mystery, Scotland yard's detectives Gregson and Lestrade provide the comic relief now and then. The rivalry between them coupled with Sherlock sarcastic comments make them a laughing stock sometimes. For instance, Sherlock quips at them, "With two such men as yourself and Lestrade upon the ground, there will not be much for a third party to find" while the two detectives feel a little self-satisfied; oblivious to the underlying sarcasm. 
 So to sum up, people might feel either of these two ways about the book. The first category may probably find the canon Sherlock less impressive than his TV counterpart (less likely to happen). The second category of people might be left wanting for more cases for they can see their favourite detective at work. I belong to the latter.