Joe Muller Detective by Auguste Groner

Last year (2011) I read The case of the lamp that went out by Auguste Groner featuring Austrian detective Joe Muller, a different kind of detective who cares not only about the victim but also the perpetrator. When I found four novelettes featuring Joe Muller in the public domain I downloaded the ebooks.

In 'The Case of the Golden Bullet', Professor Fellner, is found shot dead in a locked room. The autopsy reveals that Fellner was killed with a golden bullet. Muller uses disguise and solves the case. He is compassionate not towards the victim but towards the murderer.

In 'The Case of the Registered Letter', Babette Graumann approaches Joe Muller to save her nephew who had been wrongly arrested for a murder. There is lots of evidence incriminating Albert Graumann. But Muller believes in his innocence, how will he prove Albert's innocence? Muller uses the nature of the accused to show that he could not have committed the crime. This is an interesting story though I don't think quite possible. There is an important message too.

In 'The Case of the pocket Dairy found in snow', a working-man on his way home, finds a package, with instructions to hand it over to the nearest police sation. The package contains a woman's pocket diary that details her kidnap. Will Muller find her and rescue her before it is too late? The rescue forms the story.

In 'The case of the Pool of blood in Pastor's Study', the Pastor's study is filled with a pool of blood, Pastor's body is missing. Joe Muller is called to investigate, he finds strange circular pattern in the room and a lead. What are the circular patters? What happened to the body? He quickly solves the case.

Interesting stories but no twist or surprise. Muller is a detective with a heart rather than a thinking machine. Originally written in German, and translated and compiled in an omnibus in 1910. These ebooks can be found in Gutenberg.

The Case of the Lamp that Went Out by Augusta Groner

The case of the lamp that went out by Augusta Groner and translated by Grace Isabel Colborn was published in an Omnibus in 1910. The story takes place in Vienna. A man is found murdered in a quite street in Hietzing. The murdered man's watch and purse are missing. The motive of the murder seems to be robbery. Joseph Muller, the famous detective who does not have an impressive frame like Sherlock Holmes but is frail is called to investigate. Joseph Muller is very humble and "the kindest-hearted person in the world". The introduction provides a character study of Joe Muller. So that the story goes straight to the point without divulging much into his character and traits. How Muller goes about solving the case and "the lamp that went out" is interesting. And before you know the murderer is found. The story does not end there. Muller is in a dilemma should he reveal the identity of the killer. He is worried about the consequence of the murderer's imprisonment on his family and honour. A very different kind of detective than my favourites Holmes and Poirot. Probably like Father Brown? Can't say. It has been a good while since I read Father Brown. Time to read some GK Chesterton again.
I downloaded this book from Gutenberg. There is not much information about when the book was published. After some research I found that it was compiled in an Omnibus in 1910 so it should have been published before that. There seems to be some confusion about the authorship too. While the Gutenberg mentions Augusta Groner as the author and Grace Isabel Colborn as the translator. Manybooks and goodreads mention Colborn as the co-author. According to goodreads the book is republished in 2003 but I am surprised I couldn't find the original publishing year anywhere on the Internet. Overall, an interesting very quick read.