The Eye of Osiris

"The Eye of Osiris" by R. Austin Freeman is a detective novel written in the early 20th century. The story introduces John Thorndyke, a medical jurist and enthusiast in forensic medicine, who captivates his students with intriguing real-world cases. At the center of the mystery is the disappearance of John Bellingham, an archeologist who vanished under curious circumstances, and the subsequent complications surrounding his estate due to an eccentric will that poses legal challenges for his family. At the start of the narrative, the scene is set in a medical lecture hall where Dr. Thorndyke discusses the perplexing case of John Bellingham, whose last known whereabouts were at his relative’s house, where he mysteriously disappeared. Students are drawn into the intricate legal ramifications that arise from his vanishing, compounded by the discovery of a scarab that adds another layer of mystery. As the story unfolds, readers encounter various characters, including Bellingham’s brother and daughter, who are embroiled in tense discussions about inheritance and the implications of Bellingham's will, hinting at familial tensions and the broader context of an unsolved mystery. The opening effectively engages readers with its blend of detailed character interaction, legal intrigue, and the promise of a deeper investigation into both personal and supernatural realms connected to Egyptian artifacts. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Dr. Richard Austin Freeman was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He invented the inverted detective story. This invention has been described as Freeman's most notable contribution to detective fiction. Freeman used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels. Many of the Dr. Thorndyke stories involve genuine, but sometimes arcane, points of scientific knowledge, from areas such as tropical medicine, metallurgy and toxicology.