The Red Thumb Mark: 1 (Dr. Thorndyke) - Tapa blanda

John Hornby is the proud owner of a dazzling diamond business and when his nephews go into business with him, they are determined to be given their full share of responsibility. A consignment of diamonds is entrusted to the nephews who place their precious hoard in a safe overnight. But come the morning, the diamonds are missing and incredibly, the safe has been left untouched, all except for two blood smeared thumb prints and the inevitable presence of a mysterious Mr X. In one of Freeman’s finest, will Dr Thorndyke, the erudite master of insight solve the enigma of the red thumb mark?

R. Austin Freeman is the doyen of the scientific division of detective writing, is best known for his character Dr John Thorndyke. A close and careful investigator and the outstanding medical authority in the field of detective fiction, R. Austin Freeman not only tested the wits of the reader but also inspired many modern detective forensic methods. Much of his long life was spent as a physician and surgeon at the Middlesex Hospital, London. He also held posts in West Africa and later was a medical officer at Holloway Prison. The most famous of the Edwardian detective writers, he rescued the detective story from "thrillerdom" and made it acceptable to a more discerning class of reader.