This early work by Richard Austin Freeman was originally published in 1928 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'As a Thief in the Night' is one of Freeman's novels of crime and mystery. The first story featuring his well-known protagonist Dr. Thorndyke - a medico-legal forensic investigator - was published in 1907, and although Freeman's early works were seen as simple homages to his contemporary, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he quickly developed his own style: The 'inverted detective story', in which the identity of the criminal is shown from the beginning, and the story then describes the detective's attempt to solve the mystery.

Dr. John Thorndyke is a medical jurispractitioner, originally a medical doctor, he turned to the bar and became one of the first, in modern parlance, forensic scientists. His solutions are based on his method of collecting all possible data (including dust and pond weed) and making inferences from them before looking at any of the protagonists and motives in the crimes. Table of Contents: Introduction Meet Dr. Thorndyke Novels The Red Thumb Mark The Eye of Osiris The Mystery of 31 New Inn A Silent Witness Helen Vardon's Confession The Cat's Eye The Mystery of Angelina Frood The Shadow of the Wolf The D'Arblay Mystery A Certain Dr. Thorndyke As a Thief in the Night Mr. Pottermack's Oversight Pontifex, Son and Thorndyke When Rogues Fall Out Dr. Thorndyke Intervenes For the Defence: Dr. Thorndyke The Penrose Mystery Felo De Se? The Stoneware Monkey Mr. Polton Explains The Jacob Street Mystery Short Stories Percival Bland's Proxy The Missing Mortgagee 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 The Case of Oscar Brodski A Case of Premeditation The Echo of a Mutiny A Wastrel's Romance The Old Lag The Case of the White Footprints The Blue Scarab The New Jersey Sphinx The Touchstone A Fisher of Men The Stolen Ingots The Funeral Pyre The Puzzle Lock The Green Check Jacket The Seal of Nebuchadnezzar Phyllis Annesley's Peril A Sower of Pestilence Rex v. Burnaby A Mystery of the Sand-Hills The Apparition of Burling Court The Mysterious Visitor The Magic Casket The Contents of a Mare's Nest The Stalking Horse The Naturalist at Law Mr. Ponting's Alibi Pandora's Box The Trail of Behemoth ...

Harold Monkhouse is found dead from arsenic poisoning, The inquiry begins and Barbara Monkhouse is soon the prime suspect. What ensues is a roller coaster ride into crime fiction at its best as the truth of the fateful night eludes even the best of detective minds.

From stealing bejewelled necklaces to antique clocks, Toke cons a host of gullible individuals out of priceless heirlooms. But then he meets Hughes and the scam spirals out of control. Then there's the case of the murdered Inspector Badger. Will Dr Thorndyke solve the conundrums which hoodwink and hinder the cleverest of crime readers?

Harold Monkhouse is usually such an uncomplaining patient so when his brother Amos calls in one night, what he doesn't expect is to see him at Death's door. Suspicions aroused, he demands an urgent second opinion. And when Harold is later found dead from arsenic poisoning, Amos is left in no doubt that foul play is afoot. The inquiry begins and Barbara Monkhouse is soon singled out as the prime suspect. What ensues is a roller coaster ride into crime fiction at its best as the truth of the fateful night eludes even the best of detective minds. Could it be a simple case of wife poisoning husband - or is it just possible that another shadowy figure stole into Harold's room, as a thief in the night, to rid the world of an innocent man?

Richard Austin Freeman (1862-1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He introduced 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. Many of the Dr. Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine and toxicology. Table of Contents: Dr. Thorndyke Novels The Red Thumb Mark The Eye of Osiris (The Vanishing Man) The Mystery of 31 New Inn A Silent Witness Helen Vardon's Confession The Cat's Eye The Mystery of Angelina Frood The Shadow of the Wolf The D'Arblay Mystery A Certain Dr. Thorndyke As a Thief in the Night Mr. Pottermack's Oversight Pontifex, Son and Thorndyke When Rogues Fall Out (Dr. Thorndyke's Discovery) Dr. Thorndyke Intervenes For the Defence: Dr. Thorndyke The Penrose Mystery Felo De Se? (Death at the Inn) The Stoneware Monkey Mr. Polton Explains The Jacob Street Mystery (The Unconscious Witness) Other Novels The Golden Pool: A Story of a Forgotten Mine The Unwilling Adventurer The Uttermost Farthing (A Savant's Vendetta) The Exploits of Danby Croker The Surprising Experiences of Mr. Shuttlebury Cobb Flighty Phyllis

The D'Arblay Mystery is the tenth volume in the Dr. Thorndyke series of Victorian-era forensic mysteries and one of the best. It has a solid and intricate plot, plenty of suspense, strong and sympathetic characters, and actual detection work--not always a necessary element for early mystery novels. Includes an introduction by Karl Wurf.

Bruce Murphy's Encyclopedia of Murder and Mystery is a comprehensive guide to the genre of the murder mystery that catalogues thousands of items in a broad range of categories: authors, titles, plots, characters, weapons, methods of killing, movie and theatrical adaptations. What distinguishes this encyclopedia from the others in the field is its critical stance.

The Case of the White Footprints is a murder mystery set in Margate. A lady has been found dead in her room in a boarding house. At first glance it looks like a clear case of suicide, but then the two doctors attending the death spot a set of white footprints in paint on the red linoleum of the floor. As the house is currently being repainted, and the window-sills were still covered in wet paint, it is clear that the woman has been murdered by someone who entered and left through the window. Moreover, the footprints have some strange peculiarities. They are bare footprints...and on both feet it appears that the little toe is missing. When Dr. Thorndyke is called onto the case these extraordinary footprints lead him immediately to the track of the murderer.