Freeman, R Austin: The Mystery of 31 New Inn. V1. 10 Mar 2011
 

Richard Austin Freeman (11 April 1862 London - 28 September 1943 Gravesend) — known as R. Austin Freeman — 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) and used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.
A large proportion of the Dr Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but often quite arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology.

When a Doctor is called to the bedside of a mysterious sick man by the name of Graves, a strange and sinister plot involving poisoning is uncovered. But who is this Graves; a man well travelled who seems to have such a fear of doctors? And who is the villainous Mr Weiss into whose care Graves has been assigned? Doctor Thorndyke is summoned to help solve the mystery of the thirty-first new inn.