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A remarkable collection of mysteries starring the brilliant Dr. Thorndyke Silas has diamonds in the heel of his shoe. He is a thief, but until the night he meets Oscar Brodski on the footpath near his house, he has never considered murder. A diamond dealer, Brodski's pockets bulge with more precious stones than Silas has ever dreamed of, and they will be his with one swift, violent act. Silas does the deed and arranges the diamond dealer's body to make the death look accidental. He has show more provided for every contingency--except for the arrival of a doctor named Thorndyke. In this collection of stories, the reader knows the killer's identity long before the ingenious medical detective enters the scene. These are brilliant early examples of open mysteries, in which the question is not whodunit--but how will he get caught? This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices. show lessTags
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3.5*
This short story collection contains 5 stories:
The Case of Oscar Brodski
A Case of Premeditation
The Echo of a Mutiny
A Wastrel's Romance
The Old Lag
As the preface explains, with the exception of the final story ("The Old Lag"), these stories were written to show that "The reader's curiosity is concerned not so much with the question "Who did it?" as with the question "How was the discovery achieved?" ... Would it be possible to write a detective story in which from the outset the reader was taken entirely into the author's confidence, was made an actual witness of the crime and furnished with every fact that could possible be used in its detection? Would there be any story left when the reader had all the facts? I believed that there show more would..."
Nowadays, this type of crime story is not uncommon but Freeman was the first to show that it could be commercially successful with "The Case of Oscar Brodski". While I had a good time reading all the stories, I must admit that my personal taste is for the more traditional approach as shown by the fact that I liked "The Old Lag" the best of the 5. show less
This short story collection contains 5 stories:
The Case of Oscar Brodski
A Case of Premeditation
The Echo of a Mutiny
A Wastrel's Romance
The Old Lag
As the preface explains, with the exception of the final story ("The Old Lag"), these stories were written to show that "The reader's curiosity is concerned not so much with the question "Who did it?" as with the question "How was the discovery achieved?" ... Would it be possible to write a detective story in which from the outset the reader was taken entirely into the author's confidence, was made an actual witness of the crime and furnished with every fact that could possible be used in its detection? Would there be any story left when the reader had all the facts? I believed that there show more would..."
Nowadays, this type of crime story is not uncommon but Freeman was the first to show that it could be commercially successful with "The Case of Oscar Brodski". While I had a good time reading all the stories, I must admit that my personal taste is for the more traditional approach as shown by the fact that I liked "The Old Lag" the best of the 5. show less
Columbo before Columbo. A fascinating 'modern' attempt to look first at the reasons why people commit crimes and the ways in which their elaborate attempts to evade justice can be negated. Not Austin's best writing but a very interesting development in the burgeoning detective novel genre/template.
This short story collection contains 5 stories:
The Case of Oscar Brodski
A Case of Premeditation
The Echo of a Mutiny
A Wastrel's Romance
The Old Lag
As the preface explains, with the exception of the final story ("The Old Lag"), these stories were written to show that "The reader's curiosity is concerned not so much with the question "Who did it?" as with the question "How was the discovery achieved?" ... Would it be possible to write a detective story in which from the outset the reader was taken entirely into the author's confidence, was made an actual witness of the crime and furnished with every fact that could possible be used in its detection? Would there be any story left when the reader had all the facts? I believed that there show more would..."
Nowadays, this type of crime story is not uncommon but Freeman was the first to show that it could be commercially successful with "The Case of Oscar Brodski". While I had a good time reading all the stories, I must admit that my personal taste is for the more traditional approach as shown by the fact that I liked "The Old Lag" the best of the 5. show less
The Case of Oscar Brodski
A Case of Premeditation
The Echo of a Mutiny
A Wastrel's Romance
The Old Lag
As the preface explains, with the exception of the final story ("The Old Lag"), these stories were written to show that "The reader's curiosity is concerned not so much with the question "Who did it?" as with the question "How was the discovery achieved?" ... Would it be possible to write a detective story in which from the outset the reader was taken entirely into the author's confidence, was made an actual witness of the crime and furnished with every fact that could possible be used in its detection? Would there be any story left when the reader had all the facts? I believed that there show more would..."
Nowadays, this type of crime story is not uncommon but Freeman was the first to show that it could be commercially successful with "The Case of Oscar Brodski". While I had a good time reading all the stories, I must admit that my personal taste is for the more traditional approach as shown by the fact that I liked "The Old Lag" the best of the 5. show less
A book famous under its original title (The Singing Bone) because Freeman first tells the story of the crime from the criminal's POV and then retells it from the detective's (as told by his Watson, Dr. Jarvis) . Personally, I usually skip the criminal's part and just read the Jarvis versions as straight detective stories.
Interesting: ancient history
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Author Information
178+ Works 3,057 Members
Richard Austin Freeman enjoyed a prolific career that saw him gain qualification as pharmacist and surgeon, pull off a diplomatic coup along the Gold Coast of Africa, work for Holloway Prison and become a formidable man of fiction. For the first twenty-five years of his writing career, Freeman was to dominate and remain unrivalled in the world of show more detective fiction, introducing the well-loved and highly memorable Dr Thorndyke. Through the creation of this character, Richard Austin Freeman continues to be read as an extremely popular addition to the world of the mystery novel. show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Singing Bone
- Original title
- The Singing Bone: Detective Stories
- Alternate titles
- The Adventures Of Dr Thorndyke
- Original publication date
- 1912
- People/Characters
- John Thorndyke
- First words
- A surprising amount of nonsense has been talked about conscience.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The remarkable evidence guven above was not heard at the trial, nor did Thorndyke's name appear among the witnesses; for when the police searched Woodthorpe's rooms, so many incriminating articles were found (including a pair of fingerprint stamps which exactly answered to Thorndyke's description of them) that his guilt was put beyond all doubt; and society was shortly after relieved of a very undesirable member.
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- Members
- 97
- Popularity
- 332,913
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.53)
- Languages
- English, Estonian, Italian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 22
- ASINs
- 9
