When Robert Anstey, KC happens upon a robbery and murder it is only natural that his employer, Dr. John Thorndyke, should be called in to solve the case. That it should require such a famous forensic expert is evident as the crime presents a puzzle. The objects of the theft were baubles of no intrinsic value. The one real clue soon proves worthless. It will require all of Thorndyke's skill and knowledge to find the murderer, and in the process protect the life of a young woman who is the only witness. To catch the criminals he must decode a mystery a century and a half old and solve the puzzle of... The Cat's Eye This classic book was handcrafted by Resurrected Press. Resurrected Press is dedicated to bringing high quality classic books back to the readers who enjoy them. These are not scanned versions of the originals, but, rather, quality checked and edited books meant to be enjoyed
Mr. Pottermack had thought of everything. He had disposed of the body in a place where no one would ever find it. He carefully, and ingeniously created a false trail to lead attention away from himself. He had even managed, though with some element of luck, to make it appear as if the dead man had been miles away days after he had died. He had thought of everything, everything except for the idle curiosity of the one man in all of England that could undo him, that noted expert in Medical Jurisprudence, Dr. John Thorndyke. But will even that renowned scientist be able to spot . . .Mr. Pottermack's Oversight
Daniel Penrose, an eccentric collector of antiquities and jewelry has gone missing. The police position is that he is on the run because of his involvement in the death of an elderly woman while driving intoxicated on sherry. Dr. John Thorndyke, noted expert in forensic medicine and medical jurisprudence, is not so sure. There is the matter of the odd bit of prehistoric pottery found in the coat pocket of the missing man. And the attempted burglary of a collection of antique jewelry that may just be stolen. More importantly there is the question of Penrose's father estate of one hundred fifty thousand pounds, the old man having died since Penrose went missing without apparently leaving a will. With almost nothing in the way of physical evidence, Throndyke must solve . . .The Penrose Mystery
A German folk story tells of a peasant who fashioned a flute from the bone of a murdered man but when he tried to play it, it burst into a song identifying the murderer. In this collection of seven cases, that eminent lecturer on medical jurisprudence, Dr. John Thorndyke, makes bones, and blood, fingerprints, and tobacco sing out to proclaim the guilt or innocence of those involved. Using techniques as rigorous as they are scientific, Dr. Thorndyke, the original forensic detective, proves the scourge of the criminals of Edwardian England in...The Singing Bone
A daring daylight art theft from a crowded museum, a secret document centuries old, and a hidden treasure, these are the elements of the title story in this collection of tales by R. Austin Freeman. Though best known for his famous forensic sleuth, Dr. John Thorndyke, Freeman also on occasion wrote stories featuring other characters. In addition to
These are two short stories from the collection THE GREAT PORTRAIT MYSTERY: "PERCIVAL BLAND'S PROXY" and "THE MISSING MORTGAGEE", wherein the brilliant medical investigator, Dr. Thorndyke, solves murderous crimes. Percival Bland was an uncommon criminal. He knew that his continual passing of counterfeit banknotes would eventually catch up with him, so he had a plan--precautions against the inevitable catastrophe. We can understand why he has created an alternate persona, Robert Lindsay, using disguises and renting two places of residence. No one seems to notice that he and his "cousin" Robert never are at their respective homes simultaneously, nor are they at home when the other visits, nor does anyone see the resemblance of their facial appearance under the makeup. But why does he buy human bones at auction? The lot was described in the catalog as "a complete set of human osteology" but they were not an ordinary "student's set," for the bones of the hands and feet, instead of being strung together on cat-gut, were united by their original ligaments and were "of an unsavoury brown colour." What does he want with those moldy bones? He has a nefarious plan, but it does not fool Dr. Thorndyke. After Dr. Thorndyke solved the case of Percival Bland, the doctor was called in by a life insurance company to investigate another case. There was apparently no doubt that Thomas Elton, a friendless, poverty-stricken artist, had fallen from the top of the overhanging cliff onto the beach. Now, one would suppose with the evidence of this fall of about a hundred and fifty feet, the smashed face and broken neck, there was not much room for doubt as to the cause of death. But Thorndyke indeed has his doubts
When Andrew Drayton, a collector of jewelry, is found stabbed to death and the young woman who tried to stop the murderer is wounded, Dr Thorndyke is called in to investigate. But although the scene of the crime seems awash with the fingerprints of the attacker, there may be good reason why the police can't trace the killer. But not only are the facts of the case proving to be vexing but the discovery of a secret chamber and its sinister contents help to reveal that this is no ordinary murder and no ordinary murderer is behind it.
Commenting upon one of my earlier novels, in respect of which I had claimed to have been careful to adhere to common probabilities and to have made use only of really practicable methods of investigation, a critic remarked that this was of no consequence whatever, so long as the story was amusing. Few people, I imagine, will agree with him. To most readers, and certainly to the kind of reader for whom an author is willing to take trouble, complete realism in respect of incidents and methods is an essential factor in maintaining the interest of a detective story. Hence it may be worth while to mention that Thorndyke's method of producing the track chart, described in Chapters II and III, has been actually used in practice. It is a modification of one devised by me many years ago when I was crossing Ashanti to the city of Bontuku, the whereabouts of which in the far interior was then only vaguely known.
In writing the following story, the author has had in view no purpose other than that of affording entertainment to such readers as are interested in problems of crime and their solutions; and the story itself differs in no respect from others of its class, excepting in that an effort has been made to keep within the probabilities of ordinary life, both in the characters and in the incidents. Nevertheless it may happen that the book may serve a useful purpose in drawing attention to certain popular misapprehensions on the subject of finger-prints and their evidential value; misapprehensions the extent of which may be judged when we learn from the newspapers that several Continental commercial houses have actually substituted finger-prints for signed initials. The facts and figures contained in Mr. Singleton's evidence, including the very liberal estimate of the population of the globe, are, of course, taken from Mr. Galton's great and important work on finger-prints; to which the reader who is interested in the subject is referred for much curious and valuable information. In conclusion, the author desires to express his thanks to his friend Mr.
This is the story of Andrew, a handsome artist living with his beautiful wife. Andrew witnesses a man being shot one night by two masked assailants and on the advice of his wife, decides to remain silent about what he has seen. But when a meeting with his cousin Ronald proves to be fatal, Andrew finds himself suspecting foul play, as Ronald lies crushed on beach sands. And soon, Andrew is a suspect himself.
