Sherlock is called in to solve a mysterious and motiveless murder…
Inspector Stanley Hopkins comes to see Holmes at Baker Street to ask him for help in solving a mystifying murder. Willoughby Smith, acting as a secretary to Professor Coram, now confined to his bed, has been found murdered. According to Hopkins the man’s death is apparently motiveless with nothing untoward in his background. The murder weapon was a sealing-wax knife belonging to the professor and when he was found Smith’s last words as he lay dying were “The professor; it was she.” Also found in his hand was a pair of golden pince-nez glasses. Can Sherlock unravel the mystery?
As the story and case unravels, I found it be an intriguing and unexpected conclusion. From Sherlock’s rather remarkable deduction of the owner of the glasses (they belong to a woman of good breeding; she dresses like a lady; shas a thick nose and her eyes are close together; a puckered forehead, a peering look, and likely rounded shoulders; she has been to an optician at least twice over the last few months) through to secret hiding places and a tragic conclusion, it was a page-turning read. Often I start to suspect the outcome of the stories but here the conclusion was a genuine surprise.
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Tomorrow it is The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter…