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
11. The Adventure of the Reigate Squire (June 1893, Memoirs)
Containing one of my all-time favorite Holmes lines, “Now, I make a point of never having any prejudices, and of following docilely wherever fact may lead me…” (one that I used as an epigram in my own mystery novel, The Murders in the Endicott Hotel), The Adventure of the Reigate Squire is a lovable story that is made more endearing by seeing Watson’s plans for Holmes to convalesce thwarted at every turn.
Upon completing an exhausting case that took him across Europe in search of a swindler, Holmes is fatigued. Our good doctor and chronicler takes him for some fresh country air and relaxation at an old army friend’s house, one who is a bachelor, where news of a very peculiar robbery crops up, causing Holmes’ ears to prick. His instincts are dampened by the doctor’s wagging finger, however, and Holmes allows his professional self to be subdued. The next morning, however, when news of a murder appears, there is nothing that Watson or any other earthly force can do to stave Holmes off the case, and the detecting hound’s energy returns as he takes up the hunt again.
After entering a house with Malplaquet’s date (an 18th century battle in which the revered English General, the Duke of Marlborough, led England over France) over the door, Holmes tricks the Justice of the Peace into giving evidence against himself by writing the word “twelve”. Holmes then intentionally spills a water carafe and a bowl of oranges, and, while the others are cleaning up the mess, he slips away, finds the missing part of the note in Alec Cunningham’s dressing-gown pocket, and is strangled by the Cunninghams for his efforts. He then proceeds to elucidate to Watson, et al, as to how he solved the crime.
The Squire case is very well written, enjoyable from start to finish, with an air of mystery, strange enough in its manifestation to warrant entry into Watson’s chronicles, and readers are shown sufficient deduction and skill from Holmes to be impressed. It is really more than solid, and a good many mystery writers have never done better. Furthermore, there is little to detract from it. This is one of those stories that I return to when I am looking for a pleasant Holmes story to read, for there is a bit of mischief in Doyle’s writing when he stymies Watson time and again that makes the narrative amusing, while the mystery, clues, and solution are strong enough to keep me entertained, even though I know the plot’s resolution. Indeed, quintessentially Holmesian and worth many re-reads is The Adventure of the Reigate Squire.
