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Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries #23
For The Defence: Dr. Thorndyke
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.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1934
16 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
R. Austin Freeman
609 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 22, 2015
I love the way R Austin Freeman writes, and I love Dr Thorndyke, but this one only gets 4 stars because THERE IS NO POLTON. Shame! It's one of his mysteries that isn't a mystery, the only puzzle is exactly how the good doctor will extricate the idiotic Andrew. Who is a very likeable and sympathetic character, which is what keeps one reading to the end. And the bobbin-lace making landlady is a delight.
December 5, 2019
This 21st entry in the Dr. Thorndyke series wasn't a mystery at all. I guess it could be called a suspense or better yet a crime novel. Though Thorndyke enters the story rather late and the reader doesn't get to see him doing much investigating, it was entertaining to see him at work in the courtroom. The main character, Andrew Barton, was a complete imbecile and while at first I could understand his motivations, he quickly lost my sympathy & is one of the main reasons this book only gets 3* from me.
October 22, 2011
One of the things I really like about Thorndyke stories is that the reader is often well aware of the facts of the case - but there is still a great deal of fun to be had in seeing how Thorndyke will prove the truth and disprove any falsehoods. This is a nice example, with a protagonist who panics, makes a series of silly decisions, and eventually requires Thorndyke to dig him out of the mess.
April 19, 2017
Similar to the last book, I was intrigued to start and became less enthused the more I read. The death in this one is the most gruesome, even more so than the decapitated head in a suitcase in the last one that had been the most awful murder I had encountered thus far in the series. There is not much description given, but even in today's horror movies I don't know how much can beat out having your head squashed into a bloody pancake by a giant solid object falling on it.
The initial premise of Andrew trying to figure out how to deal with cousin Ronald was interesting enough. The 'murder' was not surprising. And I know there would subsequently be no story if Andrew had not made (at least some of) the decisions he had, but every single choice he made was awful! Freeman was a good writer in the sense that he provided sufficient motive for Andrew to make the decisions he did, so you can't call Andrew an outright moron exactly. But it was painful to read, and the involvement of Thorndyke near the end felt rather anti-climatic to me. There were no plot twists, not even one, like there usually is, and I could smell the ending from a mile away. It was boring.
I've read 4 Thorndyke novels back to back now, so maybe I need a break again--and I will be taking one. But Freeman is starting to lose his charm for me. I hope at least one of the last 5 remaining books will have that originality that I enjoyed when I first came across him.
The initial premise of Andrew trying to figure out how to deal with cousin Ronald was interesting enough. The 'murder' was not surprising. And I know there would subsequently be no story if Andrew had not made (at least some of) the decisions he had, but every single choice he made was awful! Freeman was a good writer in the sense that he provided sufficient motive for Andrew to make the decisions he did, so you can't call Andrew an outright moron exactly. But it was painful to read, and the involvement of Thorndyke near the end felt rather anti-climatic to me. There were no plot twists, not even one, like there usually is, and I could smell the ending from a mile away. It was boring.
I've read 4 Thorndyke novels back to back now, so maybe I need a break again--and I will be taking one. But Freeman is starting to lose his charm for me. I hope at least one of the last 5 remaining books will have that originality that I enjoyed when I first came across him.
July 17, 2011
This might technically be a mystery, but since it's in the perspective of the suspect, Andrew Barton, you know the explanations of what really happened all along. It was interesting to see how he got himself into a huge predicament; his decisions gave rise to a solid case of circumstantial evidence against him. He should have been more smart, but he was literally scared out of his wits. I enjoyed this for the most part, but it is somewhat of a let down when you come to the end already knowing all the facts. He was a likeable character, though, and it was relieving to see him get back to a peaceful life.
March 18, 2011
Dr. Thorndyke is the CSI of his day. Most of the book is taken up with the account of how an innocent man gets himself thoroughly entangled in what looks like the certainty that he will be hanged, either for the death of a man he saw only once, or amazingly, for his own death! But, of course, Dr. Thorndyke is able to extricate him from this awful situation and triumph yet again.
December 31, 2023
This is not a typical Thorndyke book - it's neither a classic murder nor an inverted mystery. Instead, it's a kind of comedy of errors, as Andrew Barton finds himself trapped in a ridiculous web of his own making, from which only one man can apparently extricate him. Some of the plot is implausible, the final courtroom scene is a bit pedestrian, and Mr Barton behaves like a "perfect old donkey" (in his wife's words) - but this was still an entertaining read, and shows that R Austin Freeman, at his best, was a true innovator of the genre.
July 6, 2019
A very different Thorndyke novel and very enjoyable for that.
December 11, 2021
Almost at par with Sir Arthur Connon Doyle
May 12, 2021
A series of wrong turns means that painter Andrew Barton has assumed the identity of his cousin Ronald. But this leads to more problems. Can he escape this tangled web of his own doing.
An entertaining historical mystery
Originally published in 1934
An entertaining historical mystery
Originally published in 1934
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews