A burglar breaks into a house but only damages a bust of Napoleon. Can Sherlock solve the case?
Lestrade visits Holmes, seeking help to solve a seemingly trivial problem. A man has been shattering plaster busts of Napoleon. The first was shattered in Morse Hudson’s shop, and two more, sold by Hudson to a Dr. Barnicot, were smashed after the doctor’s house and branch office had been burgled. In both cases, nothing else was taken during the break-in. Holmes knows that Lestrade’s theory about a Napoleon-hating thief must be wrong as the busts in question all have came from the same mould. Why is he breaking them? But soon things turn deadly…
The story begins with an intriguing premise but soon I realised this was becoming a rehash of The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle. Where that story became a nicely festive wild goose chase, this story didn’t quite have the same charm to it. The fact that both revolve around a precious gem stolen from a rich aristocrat meant that the Six Napoleons fell rather flat.
Tomorrow it is The Adventure of the Three Students…