The Red Thumb Mark

Description

The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman is one of the best detective stories in the history of the genre and also the very first novel to introduce Dr. John Thorndyke, one the greatest, sharpest detectives of all times.

The story of The Red Thumb is about the investigation carried out by Thorndyke to clear the name of a young man accused of stealing precious diamonds from a vault. The only evidence that directs the attention of the police towards the young gentleman is a red thumb mark found on the crime scene, but Thorndyke does not take anything for granted and carries on with the investigation, even though the evidence looks uncontestable at first sight. The story is spiced up with some romance as well, making it all much more exciting and it features a method that Freeman claims to have invented himself: he presents the crime itself and identifies the perpetrator at the beginning, most of the novel being taken up by the story of the investigation that revealed the identity of the person who committed the crime.

The novel is excellent not only from the perspective of the plot, but also of the character that makes it all happen: the detective. Thorndyke is not simply an ingenious detective. He is also an amateur scientist who uses his extensive knowledge of forensics and several other natural sciences to reveal the truth. The methods and the approach he uses have been frequently compared to those of the other grand detective master, Sherlock Holmes, but Thorndyke is more disciplined and less artistic than Holmes – perhaps these are the features that make him easier to understand that Conan Doyle’s world-renowned character.

The Red Thumb is the first in the line of almost 30 novels and 5 collections of short stories featuring the brilliant detective – if you loved this novel, you will certainly like the other stories as we.
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