Contagion

When a curious series of viral ailments take their toll on a particular hospital, Jack Stapleton seems the only person in the morgue who senses foul play. The viral strains are not only rare in occurrence but some of them dates back to centuries old. Is it a terrorist attack or the ploy of a fanatic? As Jack starts a crusade of his own, starting to investigate matters, he appears to have inadvertently shaken the hornet's nest. Attempts on his life becomes regular while Godsend help comes from unexpected quarters. Some loyal friends pay the price with their life while helping his cause. The mystery will be enjoyed to the core, yet the suspense when revealed, will appear so horrifying that it might seem an unnaturally forced theme. Also it may be also be said in the same breath that the compactness of the novel is a bit diluted as the criminals are unmasked.

Blindsight

A spine chilling mystery that will keep you glued to the pages till it is solved. The medical examiner Laurie Montgomery is baffled with a series of coccaine overdose cases in which she senses foul play but fails to convince the authorities to take precautions. Quite curiously, a series of apparently random killings take place almost simultaneously that keeps detective Lou Soldano search for clues to link a Mafia kingpin to the crimes. Lou and Laurie cross path while doing the autopsies and each starts to piece together their respective puzzles to solve their problems. As bodies pile up in the autopsy tables, it seems these two are the only persons to get to the bottom if they work as a team but for their quabbles that does the opposite. As the paid assassins increase the body count, threat looms large on the unsuspected. With the rival sects planning to overthrow the other in the crime world, the innocents pay the most. Exploiting an inherent folly of a medical benevolence, the criminals play mayhem for their goal. But what is the motive? It is upto the forensic investigators to uncover the truth and unmask the evil. It had been a reread for me but I again enjoyed the suspense part of which had been happily erased from my memory. Recommended for lovers of medical fictions it reveals a chilling truth that will make the heart shudder.

The Uttermost Farthing A Savant's Vendetta

A criminal anthropologist with a fame of comparative anatomist starts on a vengeance of his own to eliminate those whom he considers scums of society after his tragic lost of his beloved in a robbery gone astray. A horrifying yet gripping tale of vendetta that is made yet more horrid by the minute details of the procedures that lead the unsuspecting victims to their last breath keeps the suspense alive. But the most terrifying is not the killings but the fact that each is ingenuously preserved with records to serve as a model to research characteristic anatomy of criminals in general. The nature of the narrative is quite novel where the readers may predict the ultimate but here lies the signature style of Freeman where he keeps the interest from never going dull by the way he describes events after events culminating to what the readers actually hope to reach. An enjoyable fast paced read that will keep readers glued to the pages but never will find themselves on the edge of the seats.

The Mystery of 31 New Inn

When two apparently disconnected mysteries converge with mathematical precision to a single case the unique storytelling is a credit all by itself. Dr Jervis gets himself involved in a curious case of secret identity of a dying patient and after a while Dr Thorndyke is invited to a problem of a curious will of a dead man. With nothing but his acumen at his disposal, the legal expert with the medical background embarks to unearth both. While on the case of Dr Jervis a practical method of map building is presented where a person in a closed automobile can make out an approximate idea of where he is travelling with the help of a compass, a pen and a paper, a watch and with some hints of the sounds. The explanation is so clearly made that its applicability is established beyond doubt. Well, coming to the actual story it centres on two plots. The primary one is Jervis's apprehrnsion of foul play on a patient that he sees but cannot find the place all by himself. The other one is a curious will that, by a curious turn of coincidences, devoids the deserving of the sincere wishes of the deceased due to a redraft of the same. It remains upon the insight of the medico legal expert to solve the mysteries without a doubt. As these two incidents are slowly unfolding their truth threat comes on Jervis as an attempt on his life is made. So Thorndyke is forced to make the outdoor investigations mostly by himself while Jervis ponders on the cases staying indoors. As usual there is some help from the efficient Polton in fabricating certain gadgets required during the probings. But in this story there is some gaps in the sense it is never divulged how Thorndyke pinpointed on two witnesses who gave him some vital evidences. So though the story is precisely crafted but for this slight want of clarifications that are not given their due.

The Eye of Osiris

The case starts with the disappearance of a man suddenly with evidences found to indicate his presence in at least two places last but nobody seems to have a clear idea of where he visited last really. This seems to be a problem with his relatives due to the oddity in his will which makes it necessary he be found. The case becomes more complicated when after about a couple of years some human bones are found in several places that resembles the structure of the disappeared but there is not enough to have a definite idea. Also slowly doubt creeps in minds of people about foul play and subtle accusations stray publicly. So it remains upon the forensic expert to come to the rescue which he does but the twist remains that keeps him in the audience seat.
A story with mystery but with a romantic perspective that may sometime feel a little too much for a detective tale. The element of classics prevail dominant throughout and forensics only fill in the necessary gaps. But the slow yet steady rhytm characteristic of a serious crime drama remains always. Though the narrative is like any other of the series centering more on howdunit rather than whodunit but the surprise will surely be why done it in this case which is splendidly realistic yet horribly peculiar.

A Silent Witness

A curious case presents itself starting with a vanishing deadbody that continues with a series of attempts in the life of a person without any apparent motive. But convenient coincidences pile up to ascertain the importance of something which seems to make sense only to the expert. Narrated from the perspective of Jardine, the story flows with a slow but sure rhythm that fascinates the readers as mystery unfolds while the solution too is hinted in more than one instances. Unlike the usual narrator Dr. Jervis, the beauty of the story lies in Jardine's revelations of not only Dr. Thorndyke's skills but also his own maturity that had in store some surprises for him. The forensics of the case are equally surprising and shows the analytical mind's supremacy in establishing the truth that is literally dug out from the ashes. The ever enthusiastic Polton plays his part with his versatility ranging from kitchen to laboratory while Dr. Jervis freshens the mood while particiapting in the adventure. Thus a fine story, woven at the time when the instruments of science were not so developed as today, fascinates the readers with the extent of innovation within the boundary of technology that achieves the apparently impossible.

The Case of the White Footprints

Though I've been a fan of Throndyke's for quite some time but this short story fell really short of expectations. Showcasing Dr. Jervis in a prominent role, the clumsy clue left by a careful murderer made the story rather lame. How the crime was actually committed? How the criminal actually made his way in? The convenient evidence put forward at the right time? Some redundant sneer at coloured people.... all these made the narrative not a good mystery story.

John Thorndyke's Cases

Eight curious cases each more peculiar than the preceding one but in no way less absorbing has been arranged in this compilation according to

• The Man with the Nailed Shoes
• The Stranger's Latchkey
• The Anthropologist at Large
• The Blue Sequin
• The Moabite Cipher
• The Mandarin's Pearl
• The Aluminium Dagger
• A Message from the Deep Sea

With precise methods and an eye towards detail, the forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke solves cases that baffles the ordinary minds. Criminals are never spared and the innocent are saved as Thorndyke produces evidence that leads to the ultimate truth. Told from Dr. Jervis' perspective, the short stories are made even more realistic by H.M. Brock's fantastic drawings that breathes life to the story. But the most important facet of the writing is that, though categorised under mystery fictions, but attention is given to the way the evidences are collected and the truth is obtained. Thus analytical aspect of the stories make them league apart from ordinary medical mystery novels. The philosophy of Dr. Thorndyke, not only on the importance of evidence, but also on the way it is being sampled remains a guideline for the analytic mind. Each story, albeit a fiction, is both entertaining and intellectually satisfying.

The Red Thumb Mark

I’d read about Dr. Thorndyke in one of the Bengali translations - most probably by Hemendra Kumar Roy, at an very early age, but had remembered the distinct class of the style which was a kind of reverse detection and Richard Austin Freeman, the creator seemed to have pioneered it. Though I love mystery stories of the straight type but as I aged, this had still lingered in my memories as was evident when I came across one of his collections from the cyber world. Soon after this, I also found this novel. I’m glad that this was a type of straight detective novels where the perpetrator of crime was unveiled at the very last. Slightly monotonous at places but gradually racing to its climax, the criminal was obvious from the middle. Infact it was so obvious that I started to doubt the innocent persons as to be the evils. But having said that it must also be said that this obviousness to the villain does not, in any way, diminish the beauty of the story as the technique of the crime, when explained, as well as certain other technical aspects gives much food for thought and the mystery evolves not in the actual crime but the way it was committed. Finally, it must also be said that the old Victorian touch to the story offers a relief from the current mystery stories that are more adventurous than brainstorming.