The Thinking Machine at Work

“Logic will solve any problem; not most of them, but any problem.” —The Thinking Machine

Professor Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, with the help of his friend Hutchison Hatch, solves a variety of mysteries using cold, hard logic. No matter how twisted the trail of clues or how clever the perpetrator, Professor Van Dusen, aptly dubbed “The Thinking Machine,” reminds us that “two and two make four, not some times, but all the time.” So when a woman begs a surgeon to amputate part of her finger or when a pearl necklace disappears from a woman’s neck at a party or when a man presents the court with his “perfect” alibi, The Thinking Machine methodically investigates all of the (logical) possibilities.

In fact, the author’s own wife, May Futrelle, set out to stump her husband’s talented detective with an unsolvable mystery of her own, in which a lonely traveler takes a wrong turn and ends up in a mysterious house. Was she successful? Discover for yourself in this original audio compilation produced by Skyboat Media for Blackstone Publishing.

Full contents:

Introduction – read by Paul Boehmer“Problem of Dressing Room A” – read by Stefan Rudnicki“Problem of the Perfect Alibi” – read by Paul Boehmer“The Problem of Cell 13” – read by Stefan Rudnicki“Problem of the Superfluous Finger” – read by Paul Boehmer“Problem of the Cross Mark” – read by Paul Boehmer“Problem of the Stolen Bank Notes” – read by Paul Boehmer“Problem of the Green Eyed Monster” – read by Paul Boehmer“My First Experience with the Great Logician” – read by Stefan Rudnicki“The First Problem” – read by Paul Boehmer“Problem of the Missing Necklace” – read by Paul Boehmer“Problem of the Souvenir Cards” – read by Paul Boehmer“The Tragedy of the Life Raft” – read by Paul Boehmer“Problem of the Deserted House” – read by Paul Boehmer“The Grinning God, Part I: Wraiths of the Storm” – read by Stefan Rudnicki with Gabrielle de Cuir“The Grinning God, Part II: The House That Was” – read by Paul Boehmer