Holmes tells us about his first ever case.
Holmes tells Watson of his early days as a detective when he went to stay with a university colleague in Norfolk. Staying at the home of his friend Victor Trevor, Trevor’s father had made his fortune in Australia before returning home. Holmes uses his power of deduction to note that Trevor Snr was once linked to someone called J.A after spotting an old tattoo.
During the stay, a man called Hudson arrives at the Trevor household and swiftly takes a grip on their affairs, passing out drunk within an hour and issuing numerous demands to all the staff. Trevor Snr seems helpless around the man but all Holmes knows is that Hudson is a former shipmate of Trevor’s from three decades ago. Holmes returns to London until he is summoned back to Norfolk after Trevor Snr suffers from a stroke. Whilst there a mysterious letter arrives that while on the face of it is seemingly harmless, has a more deadly meaning once Holmes unlocks its secrets…
With Holmes as our narrator, at first I treated him with an element of suspicion. Would we get the whole story as it happened or would he hold back some vital clue until towards the end? My fears did not come true and instead we see him heartily taking to solving the case and unlocking a code hidden within the letter that unlocks the mystery. (It was a three word skip-code, the same type used in a recent episode of Sherlock.) While the mystery itself seemed rather straight forward, Conan Doyle does tells an action-packed and exciting adventure within the tale itself. Overall I found it a refreshing change from Watson’s usual narration and an interesting insight into Holmes’ early day as a consulting detective.
Tomorrow is The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual…