The Adventure of the Copper Beeches
Ratings14
Average rating3.9
This short story contains two of my favourite Holmes quotes of all time:
“Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore it is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should dwell.”
and ...
“Data!data!data!” he cried impatiently. “I can't make bricks without clay.”
Another wonderful short story. Our main character, detective Sherlock Holmes solves a fiendish puzzle. The story involves Violet Hunter. She receives a job offer from a man called Rucastle and consults Holmes. The job is for a governess but is subject to several unusual conditions. This includes cutting her hair short. The wage is high at £120, and she decides to accept the position. Holmes tells her to contact him if she needs to. Some strange occurrences, including the discovery of a sealed-off wing of the house, forces her to do so. Holmes discovers that the wing once housed a prisoner.When Holmes, Watson and Hunter enter, it is empty. Accused of freeing the prisoner, who was the daughter of Hunter's employer, the dog is on them. Luckily, it doesn't attack them but kills the Rucastle instead. Its then revealed that Hunter was hired to impersonate her employer's daughter. This was so that her fiancé would believe she was no longer interested in seeing him. But the daughter had escaped and the pair later married.Watson notes that Holmes was drawn to Hunter. Yet, to his disappointment, Holmes does not show any interest in Miss Hunter after the mystery concludes.
I recommend this tale to all readers that appreciate a well written mystery.
