Just a nice story again, some fun palling around of Holmes and Watson, talking about husbands throwing their false teeth at their wives.
I like how many of these stories are non-murdery too, lower stake mysteries, well, I say lower stakes, it's obviously a dreadfull thing to do to a person even just emotionally without the money angle and the guy is a real villainous snot.
I really think these kind of mysteries make a lot of sense to do as a private detective story, the kind of inter-personal mysteries that don't require police and ultimately tell a small personal story about the characters subject too it.
Really alligns well with the idea that for Holmes it's just about the mystery not the importance of the case, even if Holmes considers this mystery trivial.
A classic Holmes "good job on being so wrong, Watson" line here:
Pon my word, Watson, you are coming along wonderfully. You have really done very well indeed. It is true that you have missed everything of importance, but you have hit upon the method, and you have a quick eye for colour.
My first glance is always at a woman's sleeve.
Uhuh, whatever you say, Holmes, me too.
Once only had I known him to fail, in the case of the King of Bohemia and of the Irene Adler photograph, but when I looked back to the weird business of the Sign of Four, and the extraordinary circumstances connected with the Study in Scarlet,
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Since they solved the case, but there is no happy resolution as there is nothing they can do about it to convice Miss Sutherland does this technically count as a noir detective story? :P
Although, noir Detectives usually resign themselves when there actually is nothing they can do about it, forget it this is Chinatown and all, they don't just give up because she's a woman or whatever. I mean come on Holmes, I was hoping he'd provide some resolution the law couldn't, he does that in a story later on, not just go "she'll never believe us, peace."
James Windibank really is an odious little shit, he could at least try to tell the mother and the daughter or showed them proof somehow. Columbo would've totally tricked the guy in to revealing himself in front of both of them.
But besides that, I think this really is an almost perfect little Sherlock Holmes story even if it's not the best or most memorable? If that makes sense? Like all the elements are there, the back and forth between Holmes and Watson is very nice, Holmes is really in his element, the nature of the mystery is quite good imho if the resolution is not.
Ooh, I also love that there just inside their home for pretty much this whole story.
