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Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries #21
When Rogues Fall Out
Meet Mr Toke, a dubious connoisseur of fine antiques who deals in fabulous objets d'art and doesn't mind how he acquires them. From stealing bejewelled necklaces to rare antique clocks, Mr Toke cons a host of gullible individuals out of priceless heirlooms. But then he meets Mr Arthur Hughes and before long, the scam spirals out of control. Then there's the case of the murdered Inspector Badger. Will Dr Thorndyke be able to solve the crime with his legendary incisive rationale? 'When Rogues Fall Out' incorporates some wonderful conundrums to hoodwink and hinder the cleverest of crime readers.
- GenresMystery
266 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1932
7 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
R. Austin Freeman
579 books86 followersRichard Freeman was born in Soho, London on 11 April 1862, the son of Ann Maria (nee Dunn) and Richard Freeman, a tailor. He was originally named Richard, and later added the Austin to his name.
He became a medical trainee at Middlesex Hospital Medical College, and was accepted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
He married Annie Elizabeth Edwards in 1887; they had two sons. After a few weeks of married life, the couple found themselves in Accra on the Gold Coast, where he was assistant surgeon. His time in Africa produced plenty of hard work, very little money and ill health, so much so that after seven years he was invalided out of the service in 1891. He wrote his first book, 'Travels and Life in Ashanti and Jaman', which was published in 1898. It was critically acclaimed but made very little money.
On his return to England he set up an eye/ear/nose/throat practice, but in due course his health forced him to give up medicine, although he did have occasional temporary posts, and in World War I he was in the ambulance corps.
He became a writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. The first of the books in the series was 'The Red Thumb Mark' (1907). His first published crime novel was 'The Adventures of Romney Pringle' (1902) and was a collaborative effort published under the pseudonym Clifford Ashdown. Within a few years he was devoting his time to full-time writing.
With the publication of 'The Singing Bone' (1912) he invented 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). Thereafter he used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.
A large proportion of the Dr Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology.
He died in Gravesend on 28 September 1943.
He became a medical trainee at Middlesex Hospital Medical College, and was accepted as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.
He married Annie Elizabeth Edwards in 1887; they had two sons. After a few weeks of married life, the couple found themselves in Accra on the Gold Coast, where he was assistant surgeon. His time in Africa produced plenty of hard work, very little money and ill health, so much so that after seven years he was invalided out of the service in 1891. He wrote his first book, 'Travels and Life in Ashanti and Jaman', which was published in 1898. It was critically acclaimed but made very little money.
On his return to England he set up an eye/ear/nose/throat practice, but in due course his health forced him to give up medicine, although he did have occasional temporary posts, and in World War I he was in the ambulance corps.
He became a writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. The first of the books in the series was 'The Red Thumb Mark' (1907). His first published crime novel was 'The Adventures of Romney Pringle' (1902) and was a collaborative effort published under the pseudonym Clifford Ashdown. Within a few years he was devoting his time to full-time writing.
With the publication of 'The Singing Bone' (1912) he invented 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). Thereafter he used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.
A large proportion of the Dr Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology.
He died in Gravesend on 28 September 1943.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 21, 2015
This was brilliant, possibly the best Thorndyke I have read. The usual long opening to set up the crime, with a very plausible set of rogues, a nice link with the first of the long stories, The Red Thumb Mark, and a denouement that had me on the edge of my seat. And best of all, plenty of Polton, who is the hero of the day. Thoroughly satisfying.
September 19, 2025
Incredible attention to detail as usual from Freeman. Although it wasn't difficult to figure out the who and the why, I found it thoroughly enjoyable. I know that some people find Thorndyke's methods rather slow and boring and that he really is too good to be true but I don't. Plenty of good old Polton as well in this one.
Great for lovers of pure detection.
Great for lovers of pure detection.
August 20, 2023
"I understand, Jervis," said he, "your personal discomfort in contemplating this tragedy; the shipwreck of a life that started with so much promise and had such potentialities of usefulness and success. But it is a mistake to grow sentimental over the Nemesis that awaits the criminal. The most far-reaching mercy that can be exercised in social life is to safeguard the liberties of those who respect the liberties of others. Believe me, Jervis, the great purveyor of human happiness is not philanthropy, which seeks to soften the lot of the unworthy, but justice, which secures to the worthy the power to achieve their own happiness, by protecting them from the wrong-doer and the social parasite."
Such sententious moralising is not the only Victorian feature of this odd tale from 1932. One of the titular rogues rejoices in the pseudo-Dickensian name, Didbury Toke, and another, the bewigged,mysterious and villainous Mr. Hughes,is straight from the pages of Wilkie Collins.Add to this, murder in a railway carriage, poisoned cigars, a burglarious gas-fitter, ramblings in the vaults of a disused churchyard and some underground passages connected to a secluded country house,and one is not straying far from the environs of the 19th century sensation novel.
Contributing to the retrospective air are references to, and connections with, the case investigated in “The Red Thumb Mark” which was first published in 1907. Surprisingly modern, however,are some of the indefatigable and enterprising Polton’s devices such as a surveillance camera which is put to excellent use in the investigation. Polton also plays a crucial yet typically understated role in saving Thorndyke’s life.
Entertaining as this undoubtedly is there are a few annoyances. Superintendent Miller’s mulish persistence in sticking to fixed theories about the crimes persists long past the time when the reader has caught up with Thorndyke, and Scotland Yard’s Fingerprint Bureau is,unbelievably,unable to match the Doctor’s memory for prints in the matter of identifying the killer.
3.5 stars.
Such sententious moralising is not the only Victorian feature of this odd tale from 1932. One of the titular rogues rejoices in the pseudo-Dickensian name, Didbury Toke, and another, the bewigged,mysterious and villainous Mr. Hughes,is straight from the pages of Wilkie Collins.Add to this, murder in a railway carriage, poisoned cigars, a burglarious gas-fitter, ramblings in the vaults of a disused churchyard and some underground passages connected to a secluded country house,and one is not straying far from the environs of the 19th century sensation novel.
Contributing to the retrospective air are references to, and connections with, the case investigated in “The Red Thumb Mark” which was first published in 1907. Surprisingly modern, however,are some of the indefatigable and enterprising Polton’s devices such as a surveillance camera which is put to excellent use in the investigation. Polton also plays a crucial yet typically understated role in saving Thorndyke’s life.
Entertaining as this undoubtedly is there are a few annoyances. Superintendent Miller’s mulish persistence in sticking to fixed theories about the crimes persists long past the time when the reader has caught up with Thorndyke, and Scotland Yard’s Fingerprint Bureau is,unbelievably,unable to match the Doctor’s memory for prints in the matter of identifying the killer.
3.5 stars.
April 19, 2017
After reading the last one, I was hoping that Freeman would do some more experiments like that one, but it's back to the semi-old drawing board. Several chapters in the beginning following a character and the criminal. There's a bit of a twist in this one in that the events in the beginning and the case with Thorndyke seem totally unrelated at first, rather than the usual Thorndyke being hired on the case the reader already knows about, but you know they have to be linked somehow.
There are two murders in this book; one came as quite a shock to me. It's in the table of contents and is the Book II header so I figure no spoilers, but I was quite taken aback when Freeman killed Inspector Badger. Granted, I haven't really heard from him in the last several books but I remember him being quite a prominent character in a few of the books. And, for the first time ever, Freeman brings back a criminal from one of the previous books! That was unexpected as well, but it hints that Freeman is starting to step away from his formula, which I'm hoping he does. I've read 20 Thorndyke mysteries now and I only have 7 or so left, so changing it up a little can hardly hurt.
There are two murders in this book; one came as quite a shock to me. It's in the table of contents and is the Book II header so I figure no spoilers, but I was quite taken aback when Freeman killed Inspector Badger. Granted, I haven't really heard from him in the last several books but I remember him being quite a prominent character in a few of the books. And, for the first time ever, Freeman brings back a criminal from one of the previous books! That was unexpected as well, but it hints that Freeman is starting to step away from his formula, which I'm hoping he does. I've read 20 Thorndyke mysteries now and I only have 7 or so left, so changing it up a little can hardly hurt.
October 7, 2019
This book requires the reader to be familiar with the first book of the series, "The Red Thumb Mark". While the book in and of itself probably deserves a 3.5*, the connections to the previous case were enough to make me round up instead of down. Poltron, Dr. Thorndyke's assistant, has some snazzy devices in this one but, as always, Thorndyke's methodical method of examining evidence and checking his private hypotheses are what I like most about this series.
I do like Freeman's philosophy, voiced by Thorndyke at the conclusion of this book:
"Believe me, Jervis, the great purveyor of human happiness is not philanthropy, which seeks to soften the lot of the unworthy, but justice, which secures to the worthy the power to achieve their own happiness, by protecting them from the wrong-doer and the social parasite."
I do like Freeman's philosophy, voiced by Thorndyke at the conclusion of this book:
"Believe me, Jervis, the great purveyor of human happiness is not philanthropy, which seeks to soften the lot of the unworthy, but justice, which secures to the worthy the power to achieve their own happiness, by protecting them from the wrong-doer and the social parasite."
January 16, 2017
This was lots of fun. Even though it starts in the point of view of another character, the book soon brings us right back into the world of the characters we know: Jervis, Thorndyke, and Polton (lots of Polton, who also gets to save the doctor!). It also circles back to an earlier case in a very satisfying way.
Rogues has more action than some of the books just before it (I'm reading them in order of publication). It also has some good gadgets and discussion of forensics--which, of course, we expect from a Thorndyke book.
A good read!
September 9, 2019
Felt like a more mature version of Thondyke mystery, especially as we get to see how one criminal ends up making the decisions he did.
April 13, 2021
Mr Sudbury Toke discovers a diamond necklace inside a clock he has recently bought from a Mr Hobson. But when he meets Alfred Hughes his troubles start. Meanwhile Thorndyke is concerned with the murder of Inspector Badger.
An entertaining historical mystery
Originally published in 1932
An entertaining historical mystery
Originally published in 1932
December 26, 2010
The first book I read on my new Kindle.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews