Mr. Pottermack’s Oversight

Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries #19

by R. Austin Freeman

Mr Pottermack is a law abiding, settled homebody who has nothing to hide until the appearance of the shadowy Lewison, a gambler and blackmailer with an incredible story.

It appears that Pottermack is in fact a run away prisoner, convicted of fraud and Lewison is about to spill the beans unless he receives a large bribe in return for his silence.

But Pottermack protests his innocence, and resolves to shut Lewison up once and for all. Will he do it? And if he does, will he get away with it?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective, British Literature, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller

302 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

About the author

Richard 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.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

A classic Golden Age detective novel of the "ludicrously elaborate and complex murder" variety, with the difference that this one is told from the perspective of the killer throughout, and endeavours to present his goings-on as perfectly reasonable in the circumstances. Mr Pottermack is highly sympathetic, and it's good fun to see it all happen from his side; the mystery for the reader is how the interfering twerp Thorndyke solved the crime, ie what Mr P's oversight was.

[Fiona MacDonald]

What a clever plot!! So charming as well. So lovely to know that even when terrible crimes are being committed, tea is still being served in the garden. Can’t wait to read more from this author, he’s magic at creating a bizarrely realistic and funny storyline.

[Andy Weston]

When preparing his garden for the arrival of a new sundial, quiet, Mr Pottermack, a single man of late middle age who has a quiet and unremarkable existence, uncovers a previously unknown well. The same day, he receives yet another demand for money from a man who is blackmailing him, and it’s only a matter of time before one problem is used to solve the other..

Austin Freeman is new to me, and having greatly enjoyed this, I will certainly be seeking more out from him.
It’s a great example of what different stuff can be written under the vast umbrella of the crime genre. After all, the title itself gives the culprit away, and indicates that he was unsuccessful.

There’s another thing that Freeman does that few of his trade manage, to write in several complete implausibilities, and yet manage to thrill and compel his reader rather than put them off.

Freeman very much has his own style, of the Victorian age in its tone (first published in 1930), almost lecturing the reader in its pitch, yet there is no question of the narrative being dated.
He provides the reader with a huge amount of minutiae as Pottermack carefully prepares and executes his various schemes, though again, rather than scare the reader away, this is engrossing, humorous at times, and just adds to the portrayal of a fascinating character.

Here’s a clip..

We do not need to share his agonies. It was a loathly business. The dismembered parts had to be inducted separately into their garments, leaving the ‘assembling’ for a later stage, and the sheer physical difficulty of persuading those limp, flabby, unhelpful members into closer-fitting articles of clothing was at once an aggravation and a distract from the horror of the task.

[Donna]

Quite a good story. It is said this is the first "reverse" mystery...like "Columbo" the reader knows the outcome and watches the detective figure it out.

My only complaint, and it's a mild one, is that it's a bit too long.

[Elizabeth]

*3.5 Stars* Fascinating psychology and amazing detail work that drew me in. For a detective with as little center stage time as Thorndyke, he was on another level of skill. I would have liked to see a little more of him at work, and sometimes the in-depth narration and rehashing of every single thing became a bit tedious, but still, I felt invested and wanted to see it through! And I appreciated the perfectly tied bow on top at the end, my preference for mysteries.

[Wyntrnoire]

Not one I'd recommend. Mr. Pottermack was less than one dimensional (and boring). The narrative was slow and plodding and filled (overstuffed) with tedious, unnecessary descriptions and explanations--often explanations of the descriptions?? An uninspired work that, perhaps, had a deadline to meet.

[Leslie]

Dr. Thorndyke has a small (but important) role in this entry in the series. While I generally don't care for 'mysteries' which are told from the point of view of the culprit, this one surprised me and thanks to the role played by Dr. Thorndyke, I was pleased by the ending.

[Jax]

A bit of a slog to get through with its painstaking detail. It may have ramped up the tension, although I think this tedious method of telling the story just made me anxious to get on with it! But I was pleasantly surprised that this did not go at all the way I thought it would.

[Lucy]

Absolutely brilliant. Freeman at his best, no worries about whodunnit, just psychology and forensics. A thoroughly good read showing Thorndyke at his most human.

[Amy]

3.5 stars. Reminded me of an O. Henry story as a mystery. Fun read overall but tended to get bogged down in the details.

[alexander shay]

I was presently surprised with this book. Freeman only narrates in the first person when the story is from the perspective of Jervis, Antsey, or that third guy whose name I can't remember. Whenever it's from Thorndyke's perspective or another character, it's in third person. This was no exception, and (unsurprisingly) Thorndyke was only in 3 or 4 chapters out of 18. Most of the book followed Mr. Pottermack and his life and the crime he was trying to cover up. He's a really good character and I quite enjoyed him and his ingenuity for the era. Of course, Thorndyke has to foil his plotting, as he must in every mystery. But considering Thordnyke's usual legal stance in cases, the ending quite surprised me and made me appreciate Thorndyke (and Freeman!) all the more.

[Scilla]

This is the best of the old mysteries which I've read. The plot is very clever and it is well told with some good descriptions. The background is gradually revealed keeping the reader interested. Mr. Pottermack, wrongly convicted for forgery of checks, has escaped from jail, made his fortune in the US and come back to England to find his fiance. The only one who is cleverer than Mr. Pottermack is Freeman's detective, Dr. Thorndyke.

[Karen]

Delightful! I was worried about Mr. Pottermack for a while there but Dr. Thorndyke comes through.

[adictalectora]

Interesante como todas las historias del doctor Thorndyke.
Leído septiembre 2022
Valoración 9/10.

[Najia]

Not a murder mystery but an inverted crime fiction. It took me a little time to get into it, but once I did i thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Aubrey]

One of the stranger mysteries I’ve read, and a fascinating one: you not only know whodunnit, the story is told largely from his point of view!
It started out a little slow, with all the detail about making shoe molds and such, that I was concerned the whole book would be in a similar vein. But once that part was done, the story took off and I really didn’t know how it would end. Rather satisfying and exciting.
Definitely recommend!

[Carissa]

This is probably my favorite inverted mystery thus far. What, you may ask, is an inverted mystery? An inverted mystery is when the reader knows from the beginning who has committed the murder, and then follows along as the detective solves the mystery. Columbo is probably the most famous example of inverted mysteries, although it is a television series. This inverted mystery is told from the perspective of both Mr. Pottermack, the murderer, and Dr. Thorndyke, the detective.

[Lisa Kucharski]

This story we begin with seeing events through the eyes of the criminal/victim. So you know, in essence what really happened and happens. Then Thorndyke is shown information and his curiosity is piqued. He begins his personal investigation and he can see very clearly what has been happening. The beauty of this story is the dance between the criminal, Thorndyke and well- everyone else’s view of reality the police and various witnesses. I won’t say how it ends. While this is in the mystery genre area, it is also a story of humanity – and how the justice system works or sometimes doesn’t work.

[Trevor Johnson]

To enjoy this book, the reader needs to overlook the fact that the events are highly implausible. The three main characters (apart from Thorndyke), after a previous connection some 15 years earlier, eventually end up living in the same small town; a co-incidence worthy of Thomas Hardy. It also has to be believed that it was possible to change one's appearance by simply growing a beard and wearing spectacles.

As other reviewers have said, Freeman goers into great (some might say unnecessary) detail about the actions taken by Pottermack to avoid detection. Personally, I carried on reading these descriptions out of curiosity to find out the end result; others may just give up and skip these.

Another aspect, which has also been mentioned is the language used, especially in the 'love scenes'; for example:-
"Dear friend," she said, "dearest Marcus, I would say yes, joyfully, thankfully, if only it were possible. I have given you my friendship, my most loving friendship, and that is all I have to give. It is impossible for me to be your wife."
To me, this could have been an extract from a Wilkie Collins novel, rather than one written in the late 1920s. To be fair to Freeman, it must be remembered that he was born in the mid-nineteenth century and he would have been in his late 60s when this book was written. He was therefore a Victorian with a style inherited from that age.

Having said all that, if these aspects can be tolerated, this is an enthralling story where Pottermack is a character deserving of sympathy and we are anxious to discover the nature of his 'oversight' and its result.

[Adam Wainwright]

An interesting tale. A bit far-fetched in places. Buying a mummy's body and presenting it as the dead man was a bit odd but it sort of works.

Again as mentioned very 'Columbo'-ish, however the majority of the book is written with an eye to Mr Pottermack as opposed to Dr Thorndyke who sort of waltzes in with correct answers, very much in a Sherlockian manner.

A satisfying read and one for people who sort of like 'The Martian' in a way. I also like the ending, most satisfying.

[Leszek]

This one took me a while to finish just because it was so unoriginal. Freeman simply remixed all his usual props. You get elements of all the previous Thorndyke cases: the reverse detective story formula, the blackmail-of-a-convict scheme, the role of a sequence of footprints, the Egyptian mummy that is mistaken for a murdered man, and – finally – the sickeningly naive and idealised romance.

Did Freeman run out of ideas?

[Miriam]

I liked this period piece. The only criticism I have is that the same information was repeated several times, albeit from different perspectives, but it could have done with some strict editing. The medical and forensic knowledge of the author makes the book especially interesting.

[P.]

Surely I was supposed to like this better than I did. Surely there are those who liked it just fine. I got thru it, this book of coincidence done royal. Then, in Freeman's books, without coincidence there'd be no incidents at all. The usual fine writing.

[Naticia]

Not my favorite installment in the series, as there really wasn't all that much to be surprised by, except perhaps for Thorndyke's final decision in the book.

[Mark Short]

A very enrertaining read told from the criminals pointbof view. Decent plot with strong characters.

[Kathy]

Interesting story, but it lagged.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Mr. Pottermack is a law abiding citizen. Then a blackmailer shows up; is Pottermack a runaway prisoner? These falsehoods must stop.

[Thor The Redbeard]

9/10

[Sue Foster]

Excellent story. A little long winded at the end with the summing up. But it was worth sticking with.

[Shona Lidgey]

Fabulous book! Read in one day because it was so compelling and clever. Great!