# Mr. Lestrade — A Study in Scarlet character guide

> Mr. Lestrade in A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Lestrade

**First appearance:** 0003-iii-the-lauriston-gardens-mystery

## Snapshot

Scotland Yard's other detective on the case, a sallow, rat-faced official whose plodding methods Holmes mocks even as he relies on the force behind them.

## Who they are

Lestrade shares the Lauriston Gardens investigation with Gregson, and the two men compete for credit while Holmes quietly outpaces them both. He is the professional whose instincts are sound but whose imagination stops short, the kind of detective who notices the obvious and misses the telling detail. His presence sharpens the contrast between official procedure and Holmes's private science, and his occasional grudging cooperation keeps the police thread alive through the early case.

## In the story

### [II: The Science of Deduction](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/chapters/ii-the-science-of-deduction)

Mentioned as a well-known detective who consulted Holmes on a forgery case.

### [III: The Lauriston Gardens Mystery](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/chapters/iii-the-lauriston-gardens-mystery)

Scotland Yard detective also present at the crime scene, working alongside Gregson.

### [VI: Tobias Gregson Shows What He Can Do](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/chapters/vi-tobias-gregson-shows-what-he-can-do)

Arrives disheveled and troubled, interrupting Gregson's triumphant report to announce that Joseph Stangerson has been murdered.

### [Light in the Darkness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/chapters/vii-light-in-the-darkness)

Reports the discovery of Stangerson's body and the word 'Rache'; participates in the struggle to subdue Jefferson Hope.

### [VI: A Continuation of the Reminiscences of John Watson, M.D.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/chapters/vi-a-continuation-of-the-reminiscences-of-john-watson-m-d)

Drives the cab to the station and takes shorthand notes of Hope's confession.

### [The Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/chapters/vii-the-conclusion)

Mentioned alongside Gregson as being wild about Hope's death and credited by the press.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/characters/lestrade
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_study_in_scarlet_se/characters