The Thinking Machine at Work
About this audiobook
“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
About the author
Jacques Futrelle (1875–1912) was a journalist and mystery writer best known for his short detective stories featuring Professor Augustus SFX. Born in Georgia, his writing career began when he took a job at the Atlanta Journal. By the twentieth century he was a respected novelist, his best known works being The Thinking Machine on the Case, The High Hand, and The Diamond Master. He was one of more than 1,500 people to perish when the Titanic sank.
Paul Boehmer attended his first Shakespearean play while in high school; he knew then that he was destined to become the classically trained actor he is today. Graduating with a master's degree, Paul was cast as Hamlet by the very stage actor who inspired his career path. A nod from the Universe he'd chosen aright! Paul has worked on Broadway and extensively in regional theater. Coinciding with another of his passions, sci-fi, Paul has been cast in various roles in many episodes of Star Trek. Paul's love of literature and learning led him by nature to his work as a narrator for audiobooks, his latest endeavour. Paul is married to the love of his life, Offir, and they live in Los Angeles with their two midnight-rambling tomcats, Dread and David.
Stefan Rudnicki is an award winning audiobook narrator, director and producer. He was born in Poland and now resides in Studio City, California. He has narrated more than three hundred audiobooks and has participated in over a thousand as a writer, producer, or director. He is a recipient of multiple Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as a Grammy Award, a Bram Stoker Award, and a Ray Bradbury Award. He received AudioFile’s award for 2008 Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Along with a cast of other narrators, Rudnicki has read a number of Orson Scott Card's best-selling science fiction novels. He worked extensively with many other science fiction authors, including David Weber and Ben Bova. In reviewing the twentieth anniversary edition audiobook of Card’s Ender's Game, Publishers Weekly stated, "Rudnicki, with his lulling, sonorous voice, does a fine job articulating Ender's inner struggle between the kind, peaceful boy he wants to be and the savage, violent actions he is frequently forced to take." Rudnicki is also a stage actor and director.
Gabrielle de Cuir is a Grammy-nominated and Audie Award-winning producer whose narration credits include the voice of Valentine in Orson Scott Card’s Ender novels, Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Tombs of Atuan, and Natalie Angier’s Woman, for which she was awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Earphones Award. She lives in Los Angeles where she also directs theatre and presently has several projects in various stages of development for film.
