A Silent Witness (1914)

Blurb:

My review:

This fourth exploit of Dr. Thorndyke, the last to be published between the outbreak of war in 1914 and 1922, is steadfastly entertaining in its account of the doings of a mutton-headed and rather impetuous young medico, very much a template for John Dickson Carr’s heroes, who stumbles upon disappearing corpses on Hampstead Heath and patients who die under mysterious circumstances in Jacob Street, and is nearly murdered for his troubles.  Despite the melodrama typical of the period and the extraordinary coincidences, many of the scenes are excellent, with just the right amount of the picturesque to suggest that touch of “Baghdad-on-Thames” common to Stevenson and Carr.  Where the book suffers is by comparison to the later D’Arblay Mystery, which reuses the plot to greater effect.  There are two surprising errors, the first on mirrors (p. 147 of the Stratus edition), and it does not stand to reason that only a professional criminal would wear gloves; by 1925, most readers were fully acquainted with the concept of fingerprints.

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