The Mystery of 31 New Inn

R. Austin Freeman is known as the creator of Dr. John Thorndyke, one of the best and most successful fictional detectives in English literature and The Mystery of 31 New Inn is known as one of Freeman\'s best stories.The Mystery of 31 New Inn is an old-fashioned, classic detective story. It starts with a doctor being called to visit one of his patients. He is taken to his patient in a strangely closed carriage and is sworn to secrecy prior to entering the room of the patient. He manages to help his patient, but there have been so many suspicious things that surrounded the night call that he goes home and contacts Thorndyke.Soon, another mystery comes into the picture as well, this time concerning the death of a man who seems to have left two, seemingly very similar, but in fact very different wills. Thorndyke and the doctor, his helper now have two cases to investigate and it is anyone\'s guess whether they are able to elucidate both. The Mystery of 31 New Inn is R. Austin Freeman\'s second novel, but it already reveals the mature storytelling and the captivating style that make Freeman\'s works so popular. Thorndyke always uses logic and rational thinking to solve the mysteries he is facing and he is trying to make his sidekick use the same method, too. They eventually solve the mysteries, but not before wasting a bit of time following red herrings and getting into all sorts of adventures.What makes Freeman\'s stories, including this one, even more interesting is the scientific background described in so much detail - the reader learns not only about the benefits of using logic to disentangle difficult situations, but also about optics, medicine and other sciences related to the investigations, so Freeman\'s books are not only entertaining, but educative as well.