The Red Thumb Mark

In a league of contemporaries (Sherlock Holmes and Craig Kennedy), Dr. John Thorndyke is certainly the dean of the omniscientist sleuth. A MYSTERIOUS THUMB PRINT. If ever a young man found himself in a tight situation, Reuben Hornby did on the morning he walked into Dr. Thorndyke's office in company with his lawyer. Here were the facts as they were outlined to the specialist in medical jurisprudence. Two weeks before the visit to Dr. Thorndyke, a parcel of diamonds had been removed from the office safe where Mr. Hornby worked, while the keys were in the possession of John Hornby. There were two drops of blood on the bottom of the safe and one or two bloody smears on a piece of paper which bore also the very clear imprint of a thumb which corresponded exactly with Reuben Hornby's thumb. There follows the unfolding of the mystery. This is the first volume in the Dr. Thorndyke Series.