"The Mystery at Number 31, New Inn"

For this week's Classic Mysteries podcast, we return to the gaslit streets of Edwardian London and the scientific and legal detective work of Dr. John Thorndyke. He was the creation of R. Austin Freeman, the author of "The Mystery At Number 31, New Inn," first published in 1911 (although written several years before in novella form). Dr. Thorndyke went on to become a star detective of the early Golden Age.

The story begins as a romantic thriller: a young doctor is called to the bedside of an unknown patient, brought there in a closed carriage and without knowing the true identities of anyone involved. After a series of adventures, he enlists the help of Dr. Thorndyke, who is already puzzling over a problem which soon proves to be related to the first, involving a strangely mis-written will. There are cryptic clues - my favorite is an elaborate cuneiform inscription which proves to be hanging upside-down in the home of a central character.

It's a solid, well-constructed mystery, featuring Dr. Thorndyke, who became a favorite among mystery readers through much of the first half of the 20th century. You can listen to the full review here.

A footnote: I see from the cover of the edition linked here (which is the one I possess) marks it as a book suitable for Young Adults. While I'd be the last to argue against that, I do have to wonder what today's teens-to-college crowd, nurtured on CSI and such, would make of the pace and methods of Edwardian detectives...