So, notebook here is just a notebook.
(To me, it always takes some time to switch to that time, despite the fact that in the UK laptops are more commonly used :D)
There is no detail about the inspector’s notebook (what I gave you is the first its mentioning in the novel), but perhaps, you’re right. Nothing else to suppose…
Maybe that time Scotland Yard’s inspectors had some special notebooks and readers were/are well aware of that. But not me.