I’ll be uploading rankings of Sherlock Holmes stories from my new book, Wherever Fact May Lead Me: A Ranking of the Sherlock Holmes Stories, every day till we reach the best story. After that, I’ll share my ranking of the best villains in the Holmes canon. You can find the rankings on my website, and you can buy a copy of the book on Amazon.
Ranking the Sherlock Holmes Stories
33. The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter (August 1904, Return)
A moving and melancholy mystery, The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter is one that is saved from utter cheerlessness by the mischievous, amusing way in which Holmes handles Lord Mount-James, as well as by the appearance of the handsome dog, Pompey, whose faultless tracking of an aniseed scent leads Holmes and Watson to an isolated cabin amid wildflower laden fields. The story is one that is rife with pathos, yet it refrains from being mawkish or overly sentimental, while the good doctor, Leslie Armstrong, is the character in the canon who retreats most quickly from the shadows of suspicion into the brilliant beams of loyalty and honesty. The Missing Three-Quarter begins with a rather enigmatic message that emphasizes how Sherlock’s powers of study are not all-encompassing; he is completely clueless as to the fame of one of England’s most famous amateur athletes, for sport does not fall into Holmes’ bailiwick. The story progresses rather quickly, leading readers first to the Bentley Hotel (constructed in 1880, eight years before the famed automotive engineer, Walter Owen Bentley, was born), then off to Cambridge where we meet Dr. Armstrong.
The case turns out to be one of those in which no crime is committed, and, to The Missing Three-Quarter’s credit, it shows that not every mystery needs a murder, or—more extreme yet—a serial killer. Rather, what makes mystery literature work is the same as what makes all literature work: quality characterization, atmospheric setting, believable and invigorating dialogue, and an enthralling plot. That the tone of the Holmes stories is so often polite, in accordance with the Victorian standards of the day, is more helpful than otherwise; and that the entirety of the Holmes canon can thrive for more than a hundred years without relying on the gratuitous use of curse words to flimsily indicate strong emotion, is a feather in the cap of those who inhabit polite society. Thus some things, such as the elements that make up good storytelling, never truly seem to change. We see these elements predominate the Holmes canon, and we find them present here in The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter.
