Final Proof
Publisher Description
This is a novel book. The final proof, a term in Printing, is the third proof; it is the first sheet printed immediately after the forme has been made ready and before the whole of the planned run for a work is printed. Whether a work turns out to have three or four proofs pulled, it is always the last of these which is called the final proof. The foreman of the print shop must pay great attention to ensure that all the errors marked on the previous proof have been completely corrected. The final proof must be like a first good sheet and be absolutely free of all errors; if it is not, another [proof] is required.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The Library of Congress Crime Classics series rescues another gifted author from obscurity with this collection of 12 stories set in the 1890s featuring PI Jack Barnes and his amateur sleuth friend, Robert Leroy Mitchel. Ottolengui (1861 1937), who was also a dentist, makes good use of his expertise in the best entry, the intriguing "The Phoenix of Crime." The autopsy of a male corpse retrieved from New York City's East River reveals that the dead man's face is marked by an unusual skin disease shared by Rufus Quadrant, a wealthy gentleman who died recently and was supposedly cremated. Members of Quadrant's family swear that the cremation definitely occurred, despite Quadrant's doctor's conviction that the body dragged from the water was his patient. The clever solution hinges on an early use of forensic dentistry. Other highlights include "The Nameless Man," in which Barnes is consulted by a man who doesn't know his own identity, and "A Frosty Morning," in which Mitchel must identify the thief of a banknote stolen in the midst of a will reading. Mystery fans devoted to logical deduction will welcome this reissue.
