Customer Reviews

The vanishing man: A detective romance

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Parts of a body are found in various places in England. A man has vanished. Is there any connection between the two?

As the story progresses, one wants to tell the omniscient scientist collecting data that he should check the DNA. But. of course, DNA was unknown at the time. Instead, he uses the technology of the day and brilliantly solves the mystery.

Interesting too is that people really haven't changed much since this was written, only customs.

I agree with the previous reviewers. It was an interesting book, and I'm glad I read it.

This is the third time I have tried to post a review for this wonderful book. I could hardly put it down. It is a wonderful period fiction piece. A mystery that keeps you turning the pages and beautifully written. I loved it!

I downloaded this book to see how the Kindle app worked on my iTouch. Didn't expect much for a free book. First of all, I'm thrilled with the Kindle app and how it has worked, but found myself totally engrossed in this delightful read. As one reviewer has commented, I too, loved the "no sex, no violence, no swearing" (or something like that) aspect of this book. It is informative to read the customs of those days and period pieces typically help me remember how very far our technology has progressed in such a short time.

I would gladly read more writings by this author.

I like mysteries. As mysteries go this was entertaining. Of course, it was a little dated and politically incorrect in so many places. However, none of that bothers me. PC chabges with time.

Because of the timeperiod/style it's written in, there is a LOT of unnecessary repetition of the "facts of the case" almost as if it were originally written as a serial and not a single novel. Other than that, this story had a Sherlock Holmes type character (NOT the protagonist!), a charming budding romance, Egyptology, and a host of details that put you right in the midst of the era.

Published originally in 1913 as the `Eye of Osiris', this detective thriller was a good read. A prominent Egyptologist goes unaccountably missing after a visit to one of his friends. He leaves a will almost impossible to execute in accordance with his apparent wishes. As dismembered parts of a skeleton begin to turn up close to the missing man's haunts, a young physician tries to put the pieces together with the aid of his friend and mentor John Thorndyke, a forensic pathologist with an investigative bent. A tender love interest adds detail to the richly woven tapestry of middle class life in Edwardian England.

I enjoyed this book, going went back to it eagerly over the course of a week. A physician himself, the author works scientific details into the story that fascinate the modern reader with snapshots of the state of the art, CSI-style, a hundred years ago. Though the structure is unusual and the language and phraseology are inevitably dated, the story mostly climbs over these obstacles and, just occasionally, the prose can be memorable.

It's been a long time since I've read a mystery book that I didn't want to put down but this is one of those! Loved the final twist.

No profanity, no sex, a good plot and well written. All in all a "good read".

I am a big fan of the classic mystery writers: Sayers, Marsh, Tey being my personal favorites, the Big League of writers, IMHO

Well, now I have a new favorite: Freeman. . This story was well written, intriguing, and had a classic, interesting ending. Lovely character development that most the latter day writers just don't "get".

Am very much looking forward to downloading Freeman's entire bibliography. Always such a rare pleasure to find an excellent new writer. And this downloaded nicely onto the iPad kindle app. No glitches whatsoever.

Kudos to those who, I believe, volunteer to make these old books available for free. You guys rock!

I really enjoyed this book. Not only was it free for Kindle, but it's a really entertaining mystery. It starts a little slow, but once you are into it, you have to keep on reading :)