As a Thief in the Night

As a Thief in the Night is one of Freeman's novels of crime and mystery. The first story featuring his well-known protagonist Dr. Thorndyke - a medico-legal forensic investigator - was published in 1907, and although Freeman's early works were seen as simple homages to his contemporary, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he quickly developed his own style: The 'inverted detective story', in which the identity of the criminal is shown from the beginning, and the story then describes the detective's attempt to solve the mystery.

Harold Monkhouse is usually such an uncomplaining patient so when his brother Amos calls in one night, what he doesn’t expect is to see him at Death’s door. Suspicions aroused, he demands an urgent second opinion. And when Harold is later found dead from arsenic poisoning, Amos is left in no doubt that foul play is afoot. The inquiry begins and what ensues is a roller coaster ride into crime fiction at its best.

Richard Austin Freeman (11 April 1862 – 28 September 1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He claimed to have invented the inverted detective story (a crime fiction in which the commission of the crime is described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator, with the story then describing the detective's attempt to solve the mystery). Freeman used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.