Night Ferry to Death

Inspector Henry Tibbett Mystery #17

by Patricia Moyes

While on an overnight ferry ride home from a vacation in Amsterdam, Scotland Yard chief superintendent Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy uncover a web of clandestine relationships that leads to murder

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, British Literature, Mystery Thriller, Female Authors, Marriage, Procedural

181 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Moyes was born in Dublin on 19 January 1923 and was educated at Overstone girls' school in Northampton. She joined the WAAF in 1939. In 1946 Peter Ustinov hired her as technical assistant on his film School for Secrets. She became his personal assistant for the next eight years. In 1960 she wrote the screenplay for the film School for Scoundrels starring Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, and Alastair Sim. She married photographer John Moyes in 1951; they divorced in 1959. She later married James Haszard, a linguist at the International Monetary Fund in The Hague. She died at her home on the island of Virgin Gorda (British Virgin Islands) on 2 August 2000.

Her mystery novels feature C.I.D. Inspector Henry Tibbett. One of them, Who Saw Her Die (Many Deadly Returns in the US) was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1971. She also wrote several juveniles and short stories.

Series:
* Inspector Henry Tibbett Mystery

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the mid 80s this book could almost be classified as a classic yet it did not seem terribly dated. Yes, technology has advanced and newer policing procedures might have moved the case along more quickly but in Night Ferry to Death solving the case still relied on understanding human nature - greed, shame - and social pressures. An enjoyable read and I will be looking for more in this series, unfortunately, mostly in used book stores.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic style short mystery. Instead of an isolated manor house, the first of several murders happens on a ferry. Inspector Tibbett and his wife Emmy are returning from the Netherlands and just happen to be in the sleeping lounge where a "Mr. Smith" is found murdered. From there the mystery deepens with plenty of false identities, red herrings and a classic reveal of who-done-it at the end. A nice little distraction.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Henry Tibbett and Emmy are returning from a trip to Amsterdam on the night ferry when, of course, a murder occurs. And naturally Henry finds himself having to investigate. Quite an enjoyable mystery with some surprise twists and a lot of devious goings on to do with the diamond trade.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"As passengers board the overnight ferry from the Netherlands to England, a frantic little man pleads for a cabin as if his life depended on it. But along with the rest of the angry travelers who had counted on first-class comfort and privacy, he is told that all the cabins are unexpectedly booked. His only choiuce is to sleep in a lounge with everyone else. The next morning, he'd dead.

"Returning from a vacation in Amsterdam, Chief Superintendent of Scotland Yard Henry Tibbett and his wife, Emmey, are among the passengers in the lounge. They discover that the man was murdered and the killer had to be one of their sleeping companions. The dead man, it turns out, was carrying diamonds stolen from a wealthy Dutch jeweler, but the gems cannot be found on board.

"What appears to be a simple case of incompetent criminals double-crossing each other is actually far more sinister. A desperate woman is driven to suicide. The person she claimed was her brother denies he has a sister. An old man drowns at a seaside resort. And someone has gone to such great lengths to break into the Tibbetts' Chelsea apartment that Emmy's life is in danger. Finally, Henry and Emmy must take one last trip on the night ferry, a voyage that proves even more shocking than the first."
~~front flap

A wel-written, well-crafted mystery. A bit too complicated for my tastes, but enjoyable anyway.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night Ferry to Death by Patricia Moyes is the 18th book of the Inspector Henry Tibbett police procedural mystery series set in late 20th-century London. Chief Superintendent at Scotland Yard, Henry takes a break between cases to travel with his wife Emmy to visit friends in the Netherlands. After a lovely week of sightseeing, Henry and Emmy return to England by overnight ferry. In the morning they discover a man was murdered on the ferry during the night. Henry suspects the murder is related to a robbery the previous day, but the stolen jewels are not found anywhere on board. When the local police don't make any headway in the case, Henry is called in to solve it. It turns out that an odd scene Emmy remembered from the washroom onboard ship holds important clues to the mystery. I like how Emmy's role is sometimes the key to solving these mysteries. It took persistence to solve the case; another of Henry's great strengths, not immediately apparent from his mild manner.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A change in vacation plans results in Henry and Emmie Tibbett returning home from the Netherlands on the Harwich-Hook night ferry. But for once there are no cabins to be had, and they must spend the night in sleeping chairs, along with a number of other passengers. In the morning, one passenger does not wake up, since he was murdered during the night. Naturally, Henry becomes involved in the ensuing investigation, and spots the clues that lead to the surprising solution — but not without help from Emmie. Very quick, enjoyable read. Recommended.

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my sixth Moyes mystery. Once again, she kept me interested and entertained. Next time my friend Tom offers me a book by Moyes I will be happy to read it.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a classic British cozy in the Agatha Christie vein, but less contrived and with slightly fewer stereotypes. Emmy Tibbett is cheerful, capable and unflappable; Henry is a clever detective and exceptionally good natured. The crimes, even the bloody ones, are fairly bloodless. The plot is full of coincidences and red herrings and ends with the obligatory come-to-Jesus meeting between the detective and the cast of usual suspects.

It's not a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon.

[Carolyn F.]

I read this in the 1990s and remember that Emmy had a travel bag always ready for a spur of the moment trip and that she had to use a public bathroom to get ready for bed. I thought I wish I had such an exciting life that I would have to use emergency vacation time and that I definitely would not want to share a bathroom with a bunch of people. No privacy! I enjoyed this book.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one's... a thing.

Like, Dude and Wife were supposed to go on vacation to (insert faraway destination I don't remember here and can't be bothered to look up), but Dude is sort of On Call and Somebody Else gets priority, and Wife is mad because they only get one Good vacation per year, and Dude suggests "What about Holland" and Wife is all "OH SHIT SON LET'S DO IT" so they get a ferry and crash with their Holland friends and the daughter is upset because she wants to bang a dude (not Dude) but they have weird Dutch semi-royalty and have to inbreed and her dude is English, so Dude and Wife suggest she stay with them in London once her uni starts and while she's there they could also invite the English boy wink wink and Daughter is ecstatic, and Dude and Wife go back on the ferry but they aren't able to get a private cabin because it was booked solid by some company so everyone else has to use the sleep cabin (auditorium full of lounge chairs) and one freaked out guy demands a room because it's like life or death but the purser can't do anything, so Freaked Guy reluctantly gets a sleep cabin ticket like Dude and Wife have to and they all meet some people and in the morning Freaked Guy is found dead and this is only the first two chapters!

And yet somehow that's all I really remember of it. I mean, I guess it was OKAY, since I DID finish reading, but I don't remember what happened...? I assume it was a good (enough) ending, though... usually if the ending is absolutely terrible, I remember that. Giving 4 stars vs. 3 as a benefit of the doubt.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another mystery I have read in the last few days that surprised me with the culprit and some other details I didn't see coming. Hey, I also learned somethings about the Netherlands. So it kept me surprised, I was educated about some things and it made me relive a trip I made 30 years ago.

The murder took place on a ferry between the Netherlands and Great Britain. The description of the boat and the procedures were very accurate, I can attest to because I used a very similar ferry when I made the same trip far longer than I like to think about. But it was a great trip, one of the best of my life, so another plus in the win column when it came to this story.

Henry Tibbett and his wife make a great couple and this is an enjoyable series to read.

[Panu Mäkinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ihastuttava Tibbettin pariskunta lähtee lomamatkalle Amsterdamiin tuttavaperheen luokse. Paluumatka Lontooseen ei kuitenkaan suju yhtä rattoisasti: Tibbettit eivät saa laivasta hyttiä, vaan joutuvat viettämään yönsä lepotuoleissa. Kaiken kukkuraksi yksi lepotuolimatkustajista heittää henkensä matkan aikana, ja touhukas rouva Tibbett joutuu tahtomattaan sotkeutumaan tutkimuksiin. Yölautta tuonelaan on ihana vanhan ajan, joskin aika moderni murhamysteeri.

[Calum Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

C+:

Don't make the mistake I did in expecting a high-concept, closed circle of suspects affair that's all set on the boat. Most of the action takes place in either London or Amsterdam and largely concerns diamond theft.

Disappointing, but holds the attention well enough and fairly short.

[Eddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting policier. A very short novel.

[Armelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, overly complicated story about a diamond heist and 3 subsequent murders.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

A skillfully plotted detective story in the classic manner makes for an enjoyable read in an old-favorite series, and it even has excursions to The Netherlands.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love this series.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

As close as someone can get to an Agatha Christie’s murder mystery.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characters So Interesting

And unique! The mystery, murders & deaths were unraveled by the Inspector in an entertaining adventure that really moved quickly!

[Lyle Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great "Who-Dun-It?"story. I'm enjoying the "Henry Tibbett" stories

[Cookie K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was an old fashioned style but well written. It kept my attention until the end. I will read more books by this author.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first mystery by Moyes I've read and I liked it a lot. I've garnered other Moyes novels and will be dipping into them soon for more of the Tibbetts.

This is a fine mystery with lots of procedural efforts to find the bad guy. The writing is solid with no excess. I was surprised that even a clue I noticed wasn't mentioned to convict the guilty. That is also meaning I knew who it was within the first 25 pages, which was disappointing. Though so much else happened, that I was perplexed as to what entirely was going on.

My only trouble is the heavy violence wrought by the cause of the mystery. Didn't seem to fit.

Still a great mystery and well well worth reading.

Bottom line: I recommend it. 9 of 10 points.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice older mystery with Detective Inspector Tibbit of Scotland Yard. These are fun to read for a break from the heavier stuff. I'm reading some of the old paperbacks that my mother had and may have read. She and my grandmother both enjoyed mysteries, so I guess it runs in the family!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice solid mystery that's an enjoyable easy read.

[Donovan Walling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moyes' Henry Tibbet mysteries are invariably delightful.

[Jameson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick read, short, capable, with smart likeable characters, somehow lacking magic.

[Dogsandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread my volume is 1986 so could have been then. Excellent English procedural --but does not meet my DLS acid test--not all key clues disclosed. Still very well written and enjoyable

[Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable mystery with a ending that keeps you guessing.

[John Bohnert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stolen diamonds and murder on a night ferry to England.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

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