You could also start with 'The Moonstone' by Wilkie Collins. It's often considered one of the first detective novels. Set in London, it has a great mystery involving a stolen diamond. The narrative is engaging and introduces readers to the concept of mystery - solving in a London context without being overly complicated.
Another good option is 'The Woman in Black' by Susan Hill. It has a spooky London setting. The story builds a sense of unease as the protagonist encounters strange events in the London - area marshes. It's not too complex for those new to mystery novels.
For beginners, 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' is an excellent choice. The stories are relatively short and easy to follow. Holmes' deductive reasoning is fascinating to read about as he solves mysteries around London.
One of the best London - set mystery novels is 'Sherlock Holmes' series by Arthur Conan Doyle. It features the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes and his loyal friend Dr. Watson solving complex mysteries in the streets of London.
For beginners, 'Sherlock Holmes' stories are a great start. They are easy to follow and Holmes is such an iconic detective. His adventures around London are really engaging.
For a more light - hearted read, 'Paddington' by Michael Bond is a good option. The story of the bear from Peru arriving in London is both charming and gives a different view of the city. It shows London through the eyes of an outsider, which is quite interesting.
For beginners, 'The Cuckoo's Calling' by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) is a good start. It has an engaging plot set in London's seedy underbelly. The characters are well - drawn, and it's easy to follow the mystery as it unfolds.
For beginners, 'White Teeth' by Zadie Smith is a great start. It has a relatively easy - to - follow plot and the characters are very engaging. You get to see different cultures interacting in London.
One of the great London - set fiction books is 'Oliver Twist' by Charles Dickens. It vividly portrays the slums and social strata of London in the 19th century. Another is 'A Clockwork Orange' by Anthony Burgess, which gives a unique and often disturbing view of a future London. And 'Mrs. Dalloway' by Virginia Woolf is also a classic, exploring a day in the life of a London woman and the city around her.
The 'Enola Holmes' series could be a good start too. It has a young and feisty female detective as the main character. The mysteries are engaging and not overly complicated, and it has a bit of a historical charm to it as it's set in Victorian England.
For beginners, 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' is a good choice. It's part of the Sherlock Holmes series. The mystery of the Baskerville family and the terrifying hound is really engaging and not too complex for new mystery readers.
I would recommend 'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins. Although it's not strictly a Web London novel in the purest sense, it has a lot of elements that are relevant in the digital age such as the way information is spread and controlled within the society depicted in the book. It's also a very popular and accessible story for new readers.
For beginners, 'The Westing Game' by Ellen Raskin is a wonderful choice. It's a young - adult mystery that has a lot of fun elements like puzzles and clues within the story. Also, 'A Study in Scarlet' which is the first Sherlock Holmes story is a good entry point. It sets up the character of Holmes and Watson well, and the mystery is not overly complex.