Exceptionally good mystery. I knew the "who dun it" early on, but the "how" thoroughly escaped me even though the clues were all there. If today's mystery writers wrote this well, it wouldn't be so hard to find a good modern mystery.
This is my favorite of the mystery novels of R. Austin Freeman (so far!). It's really a fun read. Freeman wrote very much in the tradition of Conan Doyle, so reader who enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories, will almost certainly like Freeman's Dr. Thorndyke stories. Though Freeman's books are always good, this one stands out as a real Golden Age detective novel classic. I liked everything about it: the ancient Egyptian background, the very victorian romance, the puzzling mystery plot, the whole… (more)
This is my favorite of the mystery novels of R. Austin Freeman (so far!). It's really a fun read. Freeman wrote very much in the tradition of Conan Doyle, so reader who enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories, will almost certainly like Freeman's Dr. Thorndyke stories. Though Freeman's books are always good, this one stands out as a real Golden Age detective novel classic. I liked everything about it: the ancient Egyptian background, the very victorian romance, the puzzling mystery plot, the whole thing. While much of the unfolding of the investigation depends upon coincidence, and it is hard to imagine, in the end, a murderer going to quit that much trouble - never mind that! This is a ingenious and fun detective novel in the Sherlock Holmes tradition. Very enjoyable and highly recommended. In fact, I would say, if you read only one of the Freeman novels, let this be the one.
This early Thorndyke mystery is very cleverly constructed. As a puzzle it is worked out in satisfying detail—every clue explained and explained logically. No tricks are employed to deceive the reader. Along the way there are quite a few descriptive passages of London's Bloomsbury section as it was in 1902, a bit of romance, and many technical details of Egyptology and x-rays. Most of the streets mentioned are real streets in London today.
About Feedbooks
Feedbooks is an ebook retailer, designed with mobile reading in mind.
Subscribe to feed
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Read the blog
Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:56:11 +0200
Exceptionally good mystery. I knew the "who dun it" early on, but the "how" thoroughly escaped me even though the clues were all there. If today's mystery writers wrote this well, it wouldn't be so hard to find a good modern mystery.
Sat, 13 Feb 2010 02:44:47 +0100
This is my favorite of the mystery novels of R. Austin Freeman (so far!). It's really a fun read. Freeman wrote very much in the tradition of Conan Doyle, so reader who enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories, will almost certainly like Freeman's Dr. Thorndyke stories. Though Freeman's books are always good, this one stands out as a real Golden Age detective novel classic. I liked everything about it: the ancient Egyptian background, the very victorian romance, the puzzling mystery plot, the whole… (more)
This is my favorite of the mystery novels of R. Austin Freeman (so far!). It's really a fun read. Freeman wrote very much in the tradition of Conan Doyle, so reader who enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories, will almost certainly like Freeman's Dr. Thorndyke stories. Though Freeman's books are always good, this one stands out as a real Golden Age detective novel classic. I liked everything about it: the ancient Egyptian background, the very victorian romance, the puzzling mystery plot, the whole thing. While much of the unfolding of the investigation depends upon coincidence, and it is hard to imagine, in the end, a murderer going to quit that much trouble - never mind that! This is a ingenious and fun detective novel in the Sherlock Holmes tradition. Very enjoyable and highly recommended. In fact, I would say, if you read only one of the Freeman novels, let this be the one.
(less)Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:38:28 +0200
This early Thorndyke mystery is very cleverly constructed. As a puzzle it is worked out in satisfying detail—every clue explained and explained logically. No tricks are employed to deceive the reader. Along the way there are quite a few descriptive passages of London's Bloomsbury section as it was in 1902, a bit of romance, and many technical details of Egyptology and x-rays. Most of the streets mentioned are real streets in London today.