I’ve never actually met today’s guest author, J.R. Lindermuth, but we’re both members of the Short Mystery Fiction Society—J.R. is a past Vice President—and he was kind enough to review Heartbreaks & Half-Truths: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense. He is stopping by today to talk about law enforcement in the 19th century, and how that relates to his historical mystery series. Take it away, J.R.
By Strangers Mourned is the fourth in my Sheriff Sylvester Tilghman mystery series set in a small rural community in Pennsylvania in the closing years of the 19th Century.
Some readers might imagine law enforcement officers in novels set in the contemporary period have a big advantage over characters like Syl who must plod along and solve crimes without all the technological advantages of the present era. After all, television and film have shown us how easy it is to unravel even the most perplexing mysteries with the aid of forensics, profiling and a lab capable of doing a DNA test overnight.
Admittedly, Syl isn’t a big fan of some modern conveniences. For instance, he prefers the telegraph over Mister Bell’s telephone. He sees the former as an instrument which allows communication between several points at rapid speed and a big improvement over sending messages by fast horse, homing pigeons, or the railroad. In contrast, he complains about difficulty in reaching the telephone operator when needed and problems in hearing the other party even in local calls. He does love his new Sears, Roebuck & Company mountain wagon which, drawn by his faithful roan, plows through the deepest spring or fall mud. He does take advantage of the speed and convenience of the railroad when it comes to travel outside his bailiwick.
As to those much vaunted advantages of the modern investigator, some are not so recent as you might think. Toxicology was first used as evidence in a trial in England in 1752 when a doctor testified a powder looked and smelled like arsenic. In 1850, a French scientist invented a way to detect poison in a victim’s body. Syl’s friend and neighbor Dr. Hiram Mariner is capable of conducting such tests for him. Fingerprint classification was created in 1823, though it wasn’t until 1896 a satisfactory fingerprinting system was developed. Because of a lack of handy databases, fingerprinting hasn’t so far been an advantage for Syl. Profiling dates to 1888 when Dr. Thomas Bond drew up history’s first for Jack the Ripper. DNA as a tool is still far in the future in the 19th century.
In truth, most crimes then and now are solved by tools which have always been available to lawmen, and these are what Syl utilizes. These tools include curiosity, knowledge of his community and its inhabitants, talking to people, assembling and cogitating information, intuition, and–often–a good streak of luck.
Syl will need all of these tools when he confronts a mysterious man named Bauer and a gang preying on young immigrant women in By Strangers Mourned.
The book is available in print and electronic format from the publisher, Amazon and other booksellers.
John,
An informative article. Congrats on your latest historical mystery.
Thanks for stopping by Jacqueline.
Thanks for providing this opportunity to talk about my book, Judy.
My pleasure, John.