Mr Pottermack's Oversight [Hardcover]

R.Austin Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1969

Mr Pottermack is a law abiding, settled homebody who has nothing to hide until the appearance of the shadowy Lewison, a gambler and blackmailer with an incredible story. It appears that Pottermack is in fact a run away prisoner, convicted of fraud and Lewison is about to spill the beans unless he receives a large bribe in return for his silence. But Pottermack protests his innocence, and resolves to shut Lewison up once and for all. Will he do it? And if he does, will he get away with it?

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This man Austin Freeman is a wonderful performer' -- Raymond Chandler

This man Austin Freeman is a wonderful performer -- Raymond Chandler --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

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. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Lythway P.; New edition edition (December 1969)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0850460751
• ISBN-13: 978-0850460759
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb Detective Writing!, April 25, 2004

By 

Jon G. Jackson "j_dog_jackson" (Santa Rosa, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mr Pottermack's Oversight (Paperback)

Probably my favorite of the Thorndyke novels. This one is truly superb in every way! It's a classic example of Freeman's "inverse" mystery style...where we first see the crime as it occurs, then watch Thorndyke investigate it. As with all of the Thorndyke books, it's a period piece, very much set in its era (early 20th century). Austin Freeman, via Thorndyke, pretty much invented scientific "Crime Scene Investigation". By current standards, the science can sometimes be dated, and the pace of the novels much more leisurely than any mystery of our own era. These are not contemporary thrillers. But, Freeman's use of language is truly remarkable. He is easily one of the most gifted mystery writers I've ever found, old or new. Simply put, Freeman was a *great* writer! This novel, in particular, will not disappoint.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who done it? Will he get away with it?, April 1, 2004

By 

Celia A. Sgroi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr Pottermack's Oversight (Paperback)

Richard Austin Freeman introduced the world to the "inverted detective story." From the beginning, the reader knows "who done it," and the fun is finding out whether the perpetrator will be caught.

In this novel, the sympathetic, engaging and enterprising Mr. Pottermack commits the perfect crime, only to discover that a perfect crime is the last thing in the world he wants. Then Mr. Pottermack comes up against the legendary Dr. John Thorndyke, physician and lawyer, the dean of scientific detection, who seems to know far too much about what Mr. Pottermack did on a night when there was nobody around to see him. Will Dr. Thorndyke celebrate another triumph? Or will Mr. Pottermack avoid detection and finally find happiness? It's worth the read to find out!

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent example of Freeman's strengths and weaknesses, December 11, 2010

By 

Hal Jordan "A reader" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Mr Pottermack's Oversight (Paperback)

I am a great fan of R. Austin Freeman. As many people know, Freeman invented the "inverted" detective story in which -- as in the Columbo TV series -- the murder takes place at the beginning of the story and the chief interest then becomes the detective's homing in on the person the reader knows to be guilty. Although Freeman argues in his introduction to "The Singing Bone," his collection of inverted short stories, that this approach is some ways superior to the conventional approach, he didn't actually use it very often. I believe this is one of only two novels in which he employed it. Overall, this is an excellent story, well paced and showing Thorndyke at his best. It has some drawbacks, however. The scientific analysis that Thorndyke employs can often be a bit far-fetched, maybe never more so than in this story. The means by which Thorndyke is put on the trail of Pottermack is quite implausible. Which is to say, the chances that Pottermack's "oversight" would have caused his crime to be detected are about 1,000,000 to 1. Nevertheless, anyone who likes classic British mysteries should find this novel to be very enjoyable.