Sensacja
R. Austin Freeman
Angelina Frood, a striking young ex-actress, has gone missing and her new friend Dr. Strangeways, a good-hearted young doctor and the narrator of the story, is determined to find out what has happened and along the way enlists the assistance of Dr. Thorndyke. The local police Sergeant is hot on the trail, as items of clothing and jewellery belonging to Angelina are discovered. Theres serious trouble ahead, but fortunately Dr. Thorndyke, the great medico-legal expert, will take a keen interest in the young womans troubles, through the championship of Dr. Strangeways. This novel deals with some very modern themes: domestic violence, gender inequalities, drug addiction and advanced methods of forensic science as practiced by Dr. Thorndyke.
Charles Dickens
As in many of Dickenss greatest novels, the gulf between appearance and reality drives the action. Set in the seemingly innocuous cathedral town of Cloisterham, the story rapidly darkens with a sense of impending evil. Charles Dickenss final, unfinished novel is in many ways his most intriguing. A highly atmospheric tale of murder, The Mystery of Edwin Drood foreshadows both the detective stories of Conan Doyle and the nightmarish novels of Kafka. Though The Mystery of Edwin Drood is one of its authors darkest books, it also bustles with a vast roster of memorable-and delightfully named-minor characters: Mrs. Billikins, the landlady; the foolish Mr. Sapsea; the philanthropist, Mr. Honeythunder; and the mysterious Datchery. Several attempts have been made over the years to complete the novel and solve the mystery, but even in its unfinished state it is a gripping and haunting masterpiece.
R. Austin Freeman
The Penrose Mystery, fist published in 1936, is definitely up to the high standard of the wonderful Dr. Thorndyke series. Penrose is an eccentric old man in possession of some dazzling gems, which he wont insure. When Dr. Thorndyke is alerted to a burglary at his house, a scrap of paper is found with the word lobster on it along with two Latin words. Meanwhile, Penrose has fled in panic after a car accident. The police believe hes gone into hiding to avoid a manslaughter charge after a hit-and-run accident. Finding him is a forlorn hope, theres so little to go on. But Thorndyke has a way of seeing significance in the merest bits of dirt inside a tire or oddments in a pocket... Polton, Dr. Thorndykes lovable lab assistant, has an important presence in the plot, less this time for his remarkable technical skills than for his fondness for fixing antique clocks.
James Fenimore Cooper
In The Pilot (1824), James Fenimore Cooper invented a new literary genre: the sea novel. Bold, vigorous, original, it is a tale of high adventure that vividly captures the majesty and power of the seafaring life. Cooper drew on his direct knowledge of ships and sailors to present a truer picture of life on the sea than had ever before achieved in literature. As a boy of seventeen he had experienced the life of a common seaman, learned the craft of sailing, encountered terrifying storms, was chased by pirates, and watched the impressment of crew members by a British man-of-war.The Pilot is loosely based upon stories of John Paul Joness daring hit-and-run tactics during the Revolutionary War. The shadowy hero, modeled on Jones, leads a squadron of the infant American navy in a series of raids on the English coast, braving fierce storms and the guns of hostile warships, yet never revealing his identity. In this novel Cooper introduced the character of the old salt, the seasoned deckhand happy only aboard ship.
John Buchan
Edward Leithen is a young British lawyer who learns that one of his Oxford contemporaries, Charles Pitt-Heron, has just disappeared. Leithen learns from Pitt-Herons wife that he has been forced to flee. But a series of strange events that follow Pitt-Herons disappearance convinces Leithen that he is dealing with a sinister secret society. His suspicions begin to center on a wealthy, well-known, and intelligent businessman, who reveals himself to Leithen as an ardent anarchist. The barrister finds himself the target of many watchers, and then, as his understanding of the conspiracy involving the Power House grows, he is trapped and chased unrelentingly. The Author, despite being very busy in Public Service, wrote over fifty books during his life but his particular talent was for writing fast-moving adventure stories. The Power-House, a good example of this genre, was published in 1916.
R. Austin Freeman
Originally written in 1907, The Red Thumb Mark opens the series by R. Austin Freeman featuring Dr. Thorndyke, who is a sort of Sherlock-Holmes type character. A single fingerprint is found at the scene of a crime. When the police are able to identify that fingerprint, the case seems closed. But Dr. Thorndyke, the detective/barrister/medical doctor who takes on defense of this suspect, thinks he can disprove the prosecutions case, based on that same fingerprint. It does not take Dr. Thorndyke to figure out who the criminal is. It is up to Dr. John Thorndyke, and his new assistant Dr. Jervis to prove the young mans innocence before hes found guilty and hanged. The mystery in this wonderful detective tale is who the lovely heroine is in love with. The answer may surprise you.
The Secret Agent. A Simple Tale
Joseph Conrad
Mr Verloc, the secret agent, keeps a shop in Londons Soho where he lives with his wife Winnie, her infirm mother, and her idiot brother, Stevie. Verloc is part of a group of anarchists who believe in overthrowing the government and who also function as somewhat ineffective terrorists. The group mainly produces anarchist pamphlets called F.P. (The Future of the Proletariat) and hold private meetings among themselves. The agent is secretly employed by a foreign embassy, probably Russia, to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. The Secret Agent is a a story set earlier (1886) telling an allegory of terrorists and anarchists based in Edwardian England. The complicated plot is masterful, the prose sophisticated, and the characterizations full and engrossing. The death of an innocent is heartrending. Joseph Conrad is often considered the best writer of the 19th century.
R. Austin Freeman
This novel is an excellent example of the inverted detective story, a modern form that R. Austin Freeman is credited with inventing. You know from the beginning who the guilty party is, but watching Dr. Thorndyke figure it out is amazing. And watching the perpetrator think that he is getting away with his crime, while watching Dr. Thorndyke close in on him is well-done literary irony. The fun comes not from being baffled, but from watching Thorndykes mind at work and observing his scientific methods which include, in this case, geology, petrology, psychology, marine biology, handwriting analysis, and chemical analysis. The crime takes place in a yacht off the coast of Penzance in Cornwall, where a circle of friends are vacationing. The victim is a boorish, overbearing, dishonest brute with money. The murderer is a likable, gentlemanly, talented artist of modest means. Every one likes the murderer, including Dr. Thorndyke.