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Dr. Thorndyke Mysteries #14
A Certain Dr. Thorndyke
A winding adventure that begins in an exotic, teasing location. Richard Austin Freeman introduces the reader to the delights of an extraordinary jewel heist. Hollis is a retired soap manufacturer, richer than Croesus, and some say mad. Obsessed with amassing precious stones and bullion, Hollis chooses a strong room to deposit his dazzling hoard. But when he discovers that he’s the victim of an elaborate and enigmatic robbery, even though the room was never broken into, Dr. Thorndyke is summoned to bring his unrivalled knowledge to bear on a remarkable mystery.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1927
26 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
R. Austin Freeman
599 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 7, 2019
While I quite enjoyed the second section, which involved Dr. Thorndyke and his investigation, the book as a whole felt like a short story which had been extended (perhaps due to pressure from the publisher?) to make it into a proper novel. I didn't dislike the first (and longer) section but it was unnecessary for the elucidation of the mystery.
January 24, 2021
A most strangely set out book as more than the first half is a Robinson Crusoe type of tale as James Osmond changes his name and flees for his home in England alighting on the African coast at a remote trading post. Lots of death and adventures into the jungle and he falls in love. A good enough "Boys own" tale in itself. Then, tacked on the end there is an investigation into an apparent robbery by the Doctor turned lawyer and forensic scientist Dr. Thorndyke.
This all left me unable to see past two separate stories and the two together became disjointed. The writing is an older style and at times quite difficult to follow. I thought 3 stars but moved back to two only.
This all left me unable to see past two separate stories and the two together became disjointed. The writing is an older style and at times quite difficult to follow. I thought 3 stars but moved back to two only.
February 11, 2025
A decent mystery that pretty much takes up the last 108 pages of this book. The first 134 pages seemed out of place at the time, but the author ties it altogether in the end. I was not a huge fan of part one. Because I trudged through that part of the book, I have to knock it down from 4 to 3 stars.
December 8, 2010
An unusually styled detective story.
***SPOILER***
We begin on the West Coast of Africa, following John Walker, aka John Osmond, on the run from Scotland Yard for a jewel robbery. Then he -- takes over a British colonial general store, buries its manager (who's died from black water fever), eludes the colonial police, overcomes a ship-board mutiny, falls in love with the female passenger, refuses mega-payment from the captain for 'only doing his job', refuses (for honorable reasons) to marry his lady-love, helps the British colonial police, inherits a modest fortune when the mutinied ship's captain dies, and discovers (through an old newspaper) that his innocence in the robbery has been publicly announced and he can return to England.
That's the first half of the book.
(And when written down like this, it sounds a lot more boring than it reads. lol)
The second half returns to the discovery of the jewel robbery, when the legal firm involved brings in higher counsel. This higher counsel insists on hiring Dr. Thorndyke, a lawyer-turned-Sherlock-Holmes, and we follow his precise, methodical investigations as he uncovers the true thief, and thereby clearing John Osmond (which we knew already). The second mystery -- why Osmond went on the lam for a crime he didn't commit -- is told in the final chapter.
Once Thorndyke starts to investigate, the reader spots the criminal pretty quickly, and at about the same time realizes Osmond's motive to leave England, but that doesn't detract from enjoying the read.
***
I first heard of the detective Dr. Thorndyke in Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime with Tommy and Tuppence, when they were imitating different detective styles -- and now I've read a real Thorndyke story. Fun! Also, the almost separate story-lines are reminiscent of the Holmes novellas 'The Valley of Fear' and 'The Sign of Four'; if you don't mind how they're constructed, I don't think you'll have a hard time with this book.
Final notes: my copy is a Hodder & Stoughton edition from the 1930s (I'm thinking they were a reprint company similar to Grosset & Dunlap in the USA), and, very faintly printed on the first fly-leaf is the name and address of a book-seller/stationer's located in Singapore!
I'm imagining ...
... The days are hot and humid in pre-WWII China. A well-dressed lady (looking remarkably like Bette Davis in THE LETTER) spends a week or two away from her husband's rubber-tree plantation on a trip into town. While shopping one day, she steps into her favorite stationer's and picks up a book, hoping to wile away an evening or two ....
***SPOILER***
We begin on the West Coast of Africa, following John Walker, aka John Osmond, on the run from Scotland Yard for a jewel robbery. Then he -- takes over a British colonial general store, buries its manager (who's died from black water fever), eludes the colonial police, overcomes a ship-board mutiny, falls in love with the female passenger, refuses mega-payment from the captain for 'only doing his job', refuses (for honorable reasons) to marry his lady-love, helps the British colonial police, inherits a modest fortune when the mutinied ship's captain dies, and discovers (through an old newspaper) that his innocence in the robbery has been publicly announced and he can return to England.
That's the first half of the book.
(And when written down like this, it sounds a lot more boring than it reads. lol)
The second half returns to the discovery of the jewel robbery, when the legal firm involved brings in higher counsel. This higher counsel insists on hiring Dr. Thorndyke, a lawyer-turned-Sherlock-Holmes, and we follow his precise, methodical investigations as he uncovers the true thief, and thereby clearing John Osmond (which we knew already). The second mystery -- why Osmond went on the lam for a crime he didn't commit -- is told in the final chapter.
Once Thorndyke starts to investigate, the reader spots the criminal pretty quickly, and at about the same time realizes Osmond's motive to leave England, but that doesn't detract from enjoying the read.
***
I first heard of the detective Dr. Thorndyke in Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime with Tommy and Tuppence, when they were imitating different detective styles -- and now I've read a real Thorndyke story. Fun! Also, the almost separate story-lines are reminiscent of the Holmes novellas 'The Valley of Fear' and 'The Sign of Four'; if you don't mind how they're constructed, I don't think you'll have a hard time with this book.
Final notes: my copy is a Hodder & Stoughton edition from the 1930s (I'm thinking they were a reprint company similar to Grosset & Dunlap in the USA), and, very faintly printed on the first fly-leaf is the name and address of a book-seller/stationer's located in Singapore!
I'm imagining ...
... The days are hot and humid in pre-WWII China. A well-dressed lady (looking remarkably like Bette Davis in THE LETTER) spends a week or two away from her husband's rubber-tree plantation on a trip into town. While shopping one day, she steps into her favorite stationer's and picks up a book, hoping to wile away an evening or two ....
August 9, 2013
Just finished this Thorndyke book. I was kind of thrown for a loop at first because it didn't start off like the others I've read.
This one has been split into two separate stories. The first part of the book is about Jack Osmond, who has fled England for some, as of yet, unknown reason. It chronicles his time in West Africa, which is his chosen place of hiding.
The second part of the book is about Thorndyke and his being called upon to solve a puzzling crime. A crime that, on the face of it, seems to have been impossible to achieve.
Through Thorndyke's scientific endeavors, the 2 stories become joined.
I liked this arrangement of the story. It was nice to have more back story of the person accused of the crime. I also liked the fact that you didn't know at all what it was that Osmond was accused of doing. That made me want to keep reading the story all the more because I just HAD to know!
I know these old detective novels aren't for everyone, and I really didn't think they'd appeal to me either. I'm glad I took the chance and downloaded the first Thorndyke novel (how could I pass up free, right!?). If you've never read one, try it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised- just like I was.
This one has been split into two separate stories. The first part of the book is about Jack Osmond, who has fled England for some, as of yet, unknown reason. It chronicles his time in West Africa, which is his chosen place of hiding.
The second part of the book is about Thorndyke and his being called upon to solve a puzzling crime. A crime that, on the face of it, seems to have been impossible to achieve.
Through Thorndyke's scientific endeavors, the 2 stories become joined.
I liked this arrangement of the story. It was nice to have more back story of the person accused of the crime. I also liked the fact that you didn't know at all what it was that Osmond was accused of doing. That made me want to keep reading the story all the more because I just HAD to know!
I know these old detective novels aren't for everyone, and I really didn't think they'd appeal to me either. I'm glad I took the chance and downloaded the first Thorndyke novel (how could I pass up free, right!?). If you've never read one, try it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised- just like I was.
April 19, 2017
3.5 stars
This was a very unexpected read. I remember one of the previous novels starting out in third person and describing the events of the crime so the reader could better follow Thorndyke in his process. This one took that a step further, devoting half the book to the suspected criminal, and half to Thorndyke solving the crime. You never learn what Osmand actually did for a crime in his half of the book, only that he ran away from something and how he ends up avoiding being chased and arrested for it. A lot of it went over my head because it happened on a boat; so parts of the ship and the slang were meaningless for me. The second half doesn't bring up Osmand until the very end, and the reader is let in on about 75% of Thorndyke's thought processes. I thought this made the summary at the end redundant initially, but there are some things that Freeman didn't put in, requiring Thorndyke to further explain them. A very interesting format since it didn't focus on the actual crime itself in any way.
This was a very unexpected read. I remember one of the previous novels starting out in third person and describing the events of the crime so the reader could better follow Thorndyke in his process. This one took that a step further, devoting half the book to the suspected criminal, and half to Thorndyke solving the crime. You never learn what Osmand actually did for a crime in his half of the book, only that he ran away from something and how he ends up avoiding being chased and arrested for it. A lot of it went over my head because it happened on a boat; so parts of the ship and the slang were meaningless for me. The second half doesn't bring up Osmand until the very end, and the reader is let in on about 75% of Thorndyke's thought processes. I thought this made the summary at the end redundant initially, but there are some things that Freeman didn't put in, requiring Thorndyke to further explain them. A very interesting format since it didn't focus on the actual crime itself in any way.
February 18, 2018
The first part of this book is a classic adventure romance, full of danger and excitement with a strong, clever hero saving himself and others over and over again. The second part brings us back to England and Dr Thorndyke, and because the protagonist is still in Africa we actually get to see Dr Thorndyke's methods and thinking process, making the 'bad guy' obvious but still leaving some surprises for the end. I wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to the Dr Thorndyke series, but it is one now of my favorites.
October 20, 2011
I do enjoy Thorndyke mysteries, but this is an odd one. The first half of the book is taken up with the entertaining (but largely irrelevant and most implausible) exploits of Osmond in Africa. Only in the later chapters does Thorndyke actually appear - at which point he naturally proceeds to clear everything up with characteristic thoroughness.
January 19, 2017
A very good one, even if the format is a bit odd, even for Freeman. While faithful readers are used to Thorndyke's erratic appearances this is quite a delayed one and by the time he does arrive it's all over but the shouting. I especially enjoyed the first half and the adventures of the main characters, as well as the spot on description of the Gulf of Guinea coast.
December 21, 2019
This was a book of two halves as the first half was kind of after the affair and was set in an African coastal village and the second half was why the main character, John Osmond, had gone there. They are clever books these ones, but always a little drawn out with explanations of how Thorndyke does his investigations and the science behind them. Still I've got a few left to read!
May 22, 2014
Very odd, but very readable, two books in one, really, rather badly sewn together in the last chapter. Written with the usual verve and wit of this author, but I think I prefer his more integrated works.
April 2, 2019
Literally a book of two halves. A very entertaining adventure story followed by a satisfying mystery.
May 14, 2021
This is probably the best volume of the first fourteen of the series. As Freeman is want to do he has created a different style for this novel. The book is presented in two sections, the first is about the principle character and how he ended up in Africa in an isolated village on the Bight of Benin. (The title of the book has nothing to do with the story.) While there his companion dies and he takes on the other's life and name. He meets a woman, falls in love and determines to head home.
The crime that Osmund, the protagonist, is accused of turns out to be specious. After stopping a mutiny on a coastal schooner, he returns to the Village. A local marshal has come to arrest him, but seeing that he has "died" reports so to England. When the Captain of the mutinied ship dies he leaves Osmund a fortune. Now freed from the crime (and independently wealthy) he thought was hanging over his head, he decided to go back to England. What he didn't know was that he had been found innocent of the crime as the result of an inquiry by Dr Thorndyke.
Using scientific method and an investigation that was detailed and based on looking at the minutia of the supposed theft, Thorndyke was able to find what had happened and brought the actual thief to justice. Once again Thorndyke is able to prove that just because everyone makes a decision based on coincidental information, he always looks for the actual 'habeus corpus' information.
(This would have been a five star book except that Freeman took the easy way out near to the end of the story by using a 'mcguffin' to prove his point.)
The crime that Osmund, the protagonist, is accused of turns out to be specious. After stopping a mutiny on a coastal schooner, he returns to the Village. A local marshal has come to arrest him, but seeing that he has "died" reports so to England. When the Captain of the mutinied ship dies he leaves Osmund a fortune. Now freed from the crime (and independently wealthy) he thought was hanging over his head, he decided to go back to England. What he didn't know was that he had been found innocent of the crime as the result of an inquiry by Dr Thorndyke.
Using scientific method and an investigation that was detailed and based on looking at the minutia of the supposed theft, Thorndyke was able to find what had happened and brought the actual thief to justice. Once again Thorndyke is able to prove that just because everyone makes a decision based on coincidental information, he always looks for the actual 'habeus corpus' information.
(This would have been a five star book except that Freeman took the easy way out near to the end of the story by using a 'mcguffin' to prove his point.)
November 21, 2020
I had never heard of R Austin Freeman or Dr Thornkdyke until several months ago, but I have now read 17 of his short stories and eight Thorndyke novels. This one just blew me away. The author had spent years in West Africa and the first half of this book read like a swashbuckling "Mutiny on the Bounty" type adventure and love story, and the second half was Thorndyke figuring things out. This was a wonderful story.
February 6, 2021
John Osmond has escaped from England as there is a warrant for his arrest. We read tales of his adventures in Africa in Part 1. Meanwhile Dr. Thorndyke has been employed to prove Osmond's guilt.
The first Part is more of a adventure story while the second half is an enjoyable historical mystery.
Originally published in 1920
The first Part is more of a adventure story while the second half is an enjoyable historical mystery.
Originally published in 1920
December 24, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews