Dalrymple's Equation

"Dalrymple's Equation" by Paul W. Fairman is a science fiction murder mystery written in the mid-1950s. The book revolves around the strange case of a young man found dead in a bar under suspicious circumstances, leading two homicide detectives to unravel the mystery. The intriguing plot combines elements of police work with a mathematical approach to problem-solving, introduced by a mysterious character named Tennyson Dalrymple, who claims to have come from another planet. The story unfolds when detectives Kennedy and Donovan are called to investigate the suspicious death of Arthur Davis, whose drink contains arsenic. Their investigation leads them to a bartender named Timothy Garver, who insists he is innocent. Unexpectedly, Dalrymple appears, claiming that he can solve the case using a mathematical equation. As the detectives reluctantly engage with Dalrymple, he presents a complex series of symbols that ultimately reveal that the poison was inadvertently added to the drinks by Garver, who was unaware it was lethal. The case, however, becomes more sinister as they discover connections to attempted murder. After solving the initial mystery, the story takes a twist as Dalrymple, now a suspect for possible future crimes, leaves the detectives to question if he is more than just a clever eccentric—touching on the implications of his true identity and intentions, leaving the detectives and readers with lingering questions about his abilities and origins.