The Collected Mysteries of R. Austin Freeman

Book excerpt: Richard Austin Freeman (1862-1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He introduced the inverted detective story; a crime fiction in which the commission of the crime is described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator, with the story then describing the detective's attempt to solve the mystery. Many of the Dr. Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine and toxicology. Table of Contents: Dr. Thorndyke Novels The Red Thumb Mark The Eye of Osiris (The Vanishing Man) The Mystery of 31 New Inn A Silent Witness Helen Vardon's Confession The Cat's Eye The Mystery of Angelina Frood The Shadow of the Wolf The D'Arblay Mystery A Certain Dr. Thorndyke As a Thief in the Night Mr. Pottermack's Oversight Pontifex, Son and Thorndyke When Rogues Fall Out (Dr. Thorndyke's Discovery) Dr. Thorndyke Intervenes For the Defence: Dr. Thorndyke The Penrose Mystery Felo De Se? (Death at the Inn) The Stoneware Monkey Mr. Polton Explains The Jacob Street Mystery (The Unconscious Witness) Other Novels The Golden Pool: A Story of a Forgotten Mine The Unwilling Adventurer The Uttermost Farthing (A Savant's Vendetta) The Exploits of Danby Croker The Surprising Experiences of Mr. Shuttlebury Cobb Flighty Phyllis