While walking in Churchyard Bottom Wood, Dr Stephen Gray discovers a body. This turns out to be a Julius D'Arblay, a man which is discovered as been murdered. Gray asks that Thorndyke investigates.
An enjpyable mystery
Originally written in 1926 ( )

Although the first part of the book repeated a scenario from an earlier Thorndyke mystery (so familiar was it that I thought I had read this book before during the first few chapters!), the eventual solution to the mystery and several of its elements were unique. Thorndyke (& Freeman) performed at his usual high standard. ( )

Dr Thorndyke joins forces with Dr Stephen Gray in this intriguing mystery. Gray is out walking one day when he comes across the body of a man who has apparently drowned in a woodland pool. Soon afterward he discovers the dead man's daughter searching for him nearby. It seems that both man and daughter are sculptors and artists working in a studio not too far away. Gray befriends the girl and needless to say in stories of this period,falls in love with her. Thorndyke becomes interested in the case and together with his assistant Mr Poulton,eventually unravel the mystery.
This is a fine example of the work of R.Austin Freeman and is to be highly recommended to anyone interested in reading Crime Fiction at its best. My only slight criticism is that when Thorndyke finally explains,he takes sixteen pages to do so,and that when we already realize most of it already. ( )

My least favourite of the three Dr Thorndyke mysteries I have read, more due to the shallowness of the characters (particularly the lead female character) than any lack in the plot, which is as sinister and complex as ever. ( )