The Red Thumb Mark (1907) by R. Austin Freeman

The first Dr. Thorndyke mystery story. Reuben Hornby is accused of stealing diamonds from the safe of his uncle-his employer and benefactor. The sole evidence-damning evidence at that-is a paper dropped by the robber, bearing a fresh and bloody thumbprint. The thumbprint of Reuben! Richard Austin Freeman (11 April 1862 - 28 September 1943) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr. Thorndyke. He claimed to have invented the inverted detective story (a crime fiction in which the commission of the crime is described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator, with the story then describing the detective's attempt to solve the mystery). Freeman used some of his early experiences as a colonial surgeon in his novels.