The Red Thumb Mark

I just read The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman. It's hardly a new mystery (except to me): it was written in 1907! I had downloaded a couple of Dr. Thorndyke collections for my Kindle because they were free. By coincidence, DorothyL is discussing the book this month so I decided to read the book next. It was a fun book. On the Kindle, it's tough to judge how long the book is but my sense is that it's a fairly short novel. Dr. Thorndyke is a doctor and lawyer who has practically invented the field of medical jurisprudence. The character is clearly influenced by Sherlock Holmes and we do have a Watson, a Dr. Jervis who is Thorndyke's sidekick. Jervis serves as our narrator. Like Conan Doyle, much of the mystery is because we are not let in on what Thorndyke thinks. Unlike Watson, Jervis is very intelligent. That would seem to make Dr. Thorndyke's keeping him in the dark nonsensical until we see Jervis blabbing secrets even while trying not to. A major difference between Conan Doyle and Freeman is that we are let in on all the clues and can solve the mystery ourselves.

The mystery is not very mysterious. I figured it out long before Jervis did. The clues are very obvious.

Despite this, I enjoyed the book. I liked all the characters. My favorite was Mrs. Hornby who is one of the best ditherers I've read about in a while. I enjoyed the picture of the British legal system in the early 20th century. It's one of the rare mysteries without a murder which is nice.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the very old mysteries.