Sensacja
R. Austin Freeman
The Eye of Osiris, published in 1911, was the second of R. Austin Freemans many Dr. Thorndyke mystery novels. Here the great expert in medical jurisprudence will encounter the mysteries of ancient Egypt without ever leaving London. The cast of characters is rich in Egyptologists. A wealthy old man, John Bellingham, collector of Egyptian antiquities, has disappeared without a trace. His brother is also an Egyptologist, as is his niece and the lawyer who executed his will. Circumstances strongly suggest that the old man is dead, and innocent people may be accused of murder. Happily Dr. Thorndyke gets involved quite by chance. The plot is tremendously clever, and the denouement a total surprise. The great strength of the novel lies in the plotting which is ingenious enough and complicated enough to satisfy any fan of the puzzle-style of mystery story.
The Golden Pool. A Story of a Forgotten Mine
R. Austin Freeman
This novel begins with Robert Englefield, a young Englishman, taking on a job with a vessel sailing for northern Africa. Once there, Englefield is placed in the position of running the store through which the captain sells and trades his goods. As Englefield spends more and more time at this outpost on the African coast, he hears stories a legendary mine in the interior of Africa where the priests capture unwary travelers and blind them to prevent escape. Purely out of curiousity, Englefield finally decides to go looking for this mine in spite of the obvious dangers presented to a white man traveling in the rural African interior. Once Englefield departs and inevitably runs into trouble, the story finally takes on some suspense and unpredictability.
The Great Portrait Mystery and Other Stories
R. Austin Freeman
A daring daylight art theft from a crowded museum, a secret document centuries old, and a hidden treasure, these are the elements of the title story in this collection of tales by R. Austin Freeman. Though best known for his famous forensic sleuth, Dr. John Thorndyke, Freeman also on occasion wrote stories featuring other characters. In addition to The Great Portrait Mystery, this collection features four more of these tales which show a more whimsical and humorous side of the author, dealing in turn with a bewitched curate, thieves whose clever plans go adrift, a haunted lawyer, and a poor bricklayer on whom fortune smiles in a strange fashion. This collection of seven short stories includes two featuring Dr. John Evelyn Thorndyke, a fictional detective in a long series of novels and short stories by British author R. Austin Freeman (1862-1943).
John Buchan
Sir Richard Hannay, retired mining engineer, lives a comfortable suburban life outside London, but feels old age and stodginess coming on and longs to have his mettle tested again. He gets his chance when a promise he made years ago in Rhodesia, to protect the son of an old acquaintance from a sinister conspiracy, and the action moves rapidly from England through the Scottish Borders to the Island of Sheep in the remote Norlands, where Hannay and his friends turn at last to confront their enemy. In this, his final adventure, Buchans hero Richard Hannay becomes embroiled in one of the most hazardous escapades of his life. This novel contains what all of Buchans yarns contain: peril, action, heroism, dastardly villains, powerful manly friendships, a hint of romance, references to the classics, British pluck in the face of danger, can-do youngsters, picturesque country folk...
R. Austin Freeman
R. Austin Freemans mysteries are often divided into two parts, the first dealing with events leading up to a murder, followed by Dr. Thorndykes investigation. In this case, the first part, about a beautiful woman who poses as a serious artist, then disappears, is delightful. It details the friendship between Thomas Pedley and Loretta Schiller. The second part is written in the first person with Jervis, Thorndykes assistant, being the narrator as usual. A peaceful, pleasant afternoon in the woodland scene of Linton Green is disturbed when a brutal murder takes place. But thanks to an unseen witness, the killer may be caught, and the witness turns out to be a blessing in disguise. This is the story of Thomas Pedley, a gifted artist who paints what he sees from memory.
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens is a story of selfishness, greed, and hypocrisy. The central character is old Martin Chuzzlewit, whose selfishness and cynicism, combined with his great wealth, cause him to mistrust everyone around him. Also a major character in the story is his relative, Mr. Pecksniff, an accomplished hypocrite, who covers his avarice with a mask of smooth piety and humility. Martin Chuzzlewit is a picaresque novel, which follows the genre convention of depicting the humorous adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits and corrupts society. As in most picaresque novels, the primary objective is social satire or criticism.
The Man Who Was Thursday. A Nightmare
G.K. Chesterton
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare was written by G.K. Chesterton and published in 1908. Ostensibly about a secret policeman investigating anarchists, it becomes a surreal and philosophical novel. It is a metaphysical thriller, and a detective story filled with poetry and politics. Gabriel Syme is a poet and a police detective. Lucian Gregory is a poet and a bomb-throwing anarchist. Syme infiltrates a secret meeting of anarchists and becomes Thursday, one of the seven members of the Central Anarchist Council. He soon learns, however, that he is not the only one in disguise, and the nightmare begins...The Man Who Was Thursday has a Mission plot, although the final confrontation with the Antagonist is rather a bizarre one.
R. Austin Freeman
Second in the Dr. Thorndyke mystery series set in London around 1900. Thorndyke is a lawyer and medical doctor who reasons out mysteries. This involves a young doctor friend who Thorndyke hires as his assistant whose strange case involving a mysteries man and couple who are caring for him and an inheritance case brought to Thorndyke. A classic English mystery with the detective, Dr. Thorndyke, solving what appears to be two disparate mysteries. One is an apparent suicide with a disputed will; the other is one of his sidekicks (Dr. Jervis) odd case of an apparent poisoning. Despite the twists and turns, the mysteries are solved.