The Crime at the 'Noah's Ark' - SPOILER thread

[Judy]

This is the spoiler thread for The Crime at the Noah's Ark. Spoilers can be freely posted here, as it is assumed that anyone reading this thread has finished the book.

[Susan]

I wondered, about halfway through, whether there weren't a cupboard of wellington boots somewhere that our intrepid sleuths could have borrowed. Wandering around the snow in slippers sounded pretty horrible to me!

[Judy]

Definitely, that sounds awful. I was also amazed by how many nights they seem to spend sitting up and keeping watch!

[Susan]

Yes, and always in different parts of the house. I think a floor plan would have been really useful - they were always saying they could see this staircase, or that door, and I became really confused about who was where...

[Judy]

What did anyone think of the solution to this? I remember the first time I read it I was impressed by the chauffeur in bed with lumbago being one of the villains - I thought I really should have spotted that, but it had completely passed me by!

I thought it was a bit of a swizz, though, that he and the other 2 culprits were all known to the police and in disguise... information not available to the readers, which really ought to be against the rules! But I enjoyed the book all the same.

[Rosina]

I did feel that so much information was withheld - not so much from the reader, as from those involved who were the PoV characters - that the end was a long-drawn-out exposition of the events of the previous chapters, which we (the readers) could not have hoped to unravel. The lack of plan of the house, and the constant confusion about windows and balconies and barns and cars, meant that I really didn't care that it was a character we had never met who dunnit.

[Susan]

I am with Rosina - I got totally lost with this book! People climbing in and out of windows, endless traipsing from one end of the house to the other, while people ran in at other ends, etc... I liked it, but I gave up trying to work it out.

[Sandy]

Interestingly I didn't feel lost, neither in the number of characters nor in the Inn's layout. I had a picture in my mind and it may not have been correct but it served the purpose. That said, I didn't really try to determine where everyone was, just who they were with. And I never suspected the guilty parties.

I'm glad we finally met the chauffeur with lumbago towards the end. I get annoyed when the villain appears out of nowhere.

[Zoe]

I did guess the murderer and that the women were involved with the theft of the jewels, but I didn't guess where they were hidden. I found it an enjoyable read,

[Judy]

Glad you enjoyed it, Zoe. I don't think I guessed any of those elements the first time I read this. Did anyone guess the hiding place of the jewels?!

[Marcus]

I guess nothing, as always:)

[Sandy]

Me neither. Nor do I play chess; Dr Constantine would enjoy showing off to me.

[Susan]

What did everyone think of Dr Constantine as a sleuth? He sat around and thought a lot, as befits a chess master, I suppose, but I didn't really feel we got to know him that well.

[Judy]

I thought he was quite pleasant, but he is kept at a bit of a distance - we get to know Stuart better. Did anyone notice any mention of how old Constantine was? I suppose I'm wondering if he is as old as Miss Marple.

[Marcus]

In the beginning, I suspected that Dr. Constantine was the thief, Susan. His interest in solving the mystery didn’t convince me. Maybe I thought this because I didn’t know the character (from others works of Molly Thynne).

[Mark Pghfan]

I thought the chauffeur was kept out of things too long to be a reasonable culprit. I did like the "unmasking" of the two women, though. The way they got to the hotel by Stuart was a nice touch. I did get lost with all the details of the actual robbery and the back and forth between the hotel and the barn.

[Sandy]

Marcus wrote: "In the beginning, I suspected that Dr. Constantine was the thief, Susan. His interest in solving the mystery didn’t convince me. Maybe I thought this because I didn’t know the character (from other..."

Ah, I knew he was innocent as the book is listed on GR as 'Dr Constantine #1' - good sleuthing on my part.

I enjoyed Constantine's character. He rather took the two younger men under his wing. I remember mention of white hair but, while he cited his age as a reason to not undertake onerous tasks, I did not feel he was feeble. Seems he went wherever he wanted to go and sat up just as many nights.

I also enjoyed the unmasking of the sisters and how much Stuart missed the younger, at least until the radical change at the trial.

[Susan]

If the 'sisters' were mother and daughter, I couldn't work out why they didn't just stay in those roles, rather than sisters. Surely, the age difference would have made that harder to pull off?

[Sandy]

Susan wrote: "If the 'sisters' were mother and daughter, I couldn't work out why they didn't just stay in those roles, rather than sisters. Surely, the age difference would have made that harder to pull off?"

The only reason I can think of is to make them both seem too old to be a suspect.

A better reason: they may have worried that the police had sent out bulletins for a mother-daughter team, knowing they were in Britain.

[Susan]

Yes, they were obviously quite good at their disguise and being actually taken to the hotel by our main character, meant he disregarded them as suspects.

[Mark Pghfan]

Sandy, I like your second reason very much!

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Mark Pghfan wrote: "I thought the chauffeur was kept out of things too long to be a reasonable culprit. I did like the "unmasking" of the two women, though. The way they got to the hotel by Stuart was a nice touch. I ..."

Yes, I agree with that - & with whoever said the "post-mortems" went on waaaay too long (nearly 20% of the book!)

But Thynne did a really good job with characterisation & dialogue. I certainly want to read more by her.

[Susan]

I had mixed feelings about this book, to be honest, Carol. I did enjoy it, but I don't think I will be rushing to read more. It was good, but not great.

[Mark Pghfan]

Christmas Carol: You are right about the "post mortem". I was reading this on my Kindle and when the perps were identified, I was only 80% through the book. I expected some trick, a la Christie, where there would be a final twist. But there was none...

[Marcus]

I agree with you, Carol. The characterization and dialogues were nice and, IMO, constituted qualities of the book. I’ll certainly consider another readings of Molly Thynne’s books. She didn’t write so many mysteries, I guess.

[Carol She's So Novel꧁꧂]

Marcus wrote: "I agree with you, Carol. The characterization and dialogues were nice and, IMO, constituted qualities of the book. I’ll certainly consider another readings of Molly Thynne’s books. She didn’t write..."

Only six. & she wrote a novel when she was younger. I haven't been able to find out why she stopped writing.

[Pamela]

Just finished this, it did get a bit bogged down in the staying up all night and rushing round the corridors, but it was good fun and it picked up pace at the end. I liked Soames and Stuart, thought they were well developed characters. I would read more from Thynne, she is very readable on the whole.

[Mark Pghfan]

I liked Stuart, but I was suspicious of Soames... Turns out, for no reason.

[Pamela]

Mark Pghfan wrote: "I liked Stuart, but I was suspicious of Soames... Turns out, for no reason."

I was briefly suspicious of him at the start, but soon decided he was OK. I found him very amusing.

[Jill]

I quite liked Soames. I thought he was more grounded than the others Obviously had, had more experience of life as lived by the ordinary person.

[Hilary (A Wytch's Book Review)]

I found this rather enjoyable and the "sisters" were great, I was thinking about this and as this is set shortly after the Great War I was thinking about Victorian families where you could have siblings born 15 to 20 years apart meaning the age difference between them wouldn't have seemed odd (the eldest child being helped by the youngest).

[Leslie]

Susan wrote: "Yes, and always in different parts of the house. I think a floor plan would have been really useful - they were always saying they could see this staircase, or that door, and I became really confus..."

Agreed! I would have loved to have a plan as I have some difficulty visualizing these sorts of things.

I enjoyed this even though it wasn't a festive "Christmas mystery". I had previously read & enjoyed another of this series, Death in the Dentist's Chair, not realizing that it was part of a series. In a way, that colored my reading of this one, as I knew that Constantine was not the culprit and made me value his opinion more than I might have if I had read this one first.

I suspected the Adderley 'sisters' once it was discovered that the cars' tires were slashed after Miss Agnes went in there the night before, though I never suspected that they weren't sisters! I had a few qualms about Soames & Melnotte (? the 'gigolo') but put them aside when Constantine clearly indicated he didn't suspect them (see my comment above).

As I mentioned in my review, I also liked the local constable -- I thought that his portrayal was spot on. He was a good village copper but guarding the inn on his own was too much; I appreciated the fact that Thynne avoided the ploy of having him inviting an amateur/possible suspect into the investigation even though he clearly needed help. As much as I enjoy Wimsey & Parker and Poirot & Japp, not to mention many other later 'collaborations' in cozy mysteries, it isn't really reasonable for a policeman to take civilians into their confidence.

The romance between Mrs. Ourkney Cloude and young Romsey took me by surprise as for some reason, I had formed the idea that she was Lord Romsey's first wife!! Obviously I misread or misinterpreted her age.

[Susan]

Some interesting points there, Leslie. I agree with you that, although it was set over Christmas, it was not really a 'festive' mystery and a floor plan would have been much appreciated!

[Judy]

Some great points there, Leslie. I have a feeling I thought the same about Mrs Orkney Cloude first time round, so maybe her age isn’t clearly indicated? I also agree it’s a refreshing change that the policeman doesn’t immediately start working together with the amateur detective.

[Sandy]

I thought the local copper did as well as could be expected under the circumstances. The local innkeeper was the only person he would trust.

I also got the impression Mrs Cloude was older than she was but never knew why she was so upset at seeing Lord Romsey. There must have something in her description about "timeless beauty" ... I don't remember now.

[Roman Clodia]

Finished! And pleased with myself for spotting the 'sisters' immediately. I think recent Christie readings with the group put me onto them as the jewel thieves (view spoiler)[respectable Miss Dove in A Pocket Full of Rye, the sisters in The Perfect Housemaid (hide spoiler)] plus so many people stating that the women were above suspicion was itself suspicious. I never guessed the chauffeur, though. And I loved the feminine hiding place - though that raised questions again of the girdle if it could be comfortably hidden in a jar.

I can't imagine a stray group of travellers today coming together in that way with all the night time vigils and chases.

[Elinor]

I began suspecting the sisters around the 70% mark, the tires event did give me hint because I thought someone would ask her whether the tires were normal or cut when she went in the barn, but it wasn't even considered... then her sister sickness became suspicious, but I first I thought "what if the older sister is actually a guy in disguise ??" ^^
As for the driver, I did felt a tiny bit cheated because the focus was such on the "non-domestics" that those where kind of out of it. (I feel like I'm not clear at all, sorry about that)

[Roman Clodia]

Elinor wrote: "but I first I thought "what if the older sister is actually a guy in disguise ??"

Ha, Elinor, that briefly crossed my mind too - I thought she could have been the man in the mask! Funny, I was immediately suspicious when Connie took to her bed and was hardly seen again, but let the same clue about the chauffeur pass me by. Maybe because, as you say, he seemed so peripheral.

[Sandy]

Elinor and RC you both did better than I; it never bothered me that those two got to hide out in their bedrooms.

[Susan]

I must admit I suspected everyone, but never really worked it out. I was, as RC says, equally suspicious of the chauffeur, but then it rarely turns out to be anyone other than a guest in these types of books.

[Paperbackreader]

I do feel that the chauffeur was kept out of our sight for way to long. Suspected Soames a bit. I did not feel engaged with the character of Dr. Constantine. He seemed kind of distant. I didn't really care for his randomly deciding who is above suspicion and who is not. Also, all the nocturnal vigils and traipsing on snow was at times a bit much. But I am a sucker for golden age mysteries and also for mysteries set in isolated places where people are trapped for some reason. In the end, I ended up enjoying the book more than I thought I would.

[Judy]

Interesting comments, Paperbackreader - I agree that the chauffeur was kept out of sight for a long time! I quite enjoyed Dr Constantine, but that's a good point about him deciding who can and can't be suspected without ever really explaining why. Glad you enjoyed it. I'd like to go on and read the other Dr Constantine stories.

[Susan]

I agree that we never really engaged with Dr Constantine. I would be interested to see if he figures more prominently in future books.

[Paperbackreader]

Agreed. I would like to read more of the Dr. Constantine mysteries. There are at least two more in the series, Death in the Dentist's Chair and He Dies and Makes no Sign.

[Susan]

I think I downloaded them all free, as they kept cropping up, so they lurk - with the many unread books - somewhere in the cloud, ready to be downloaded onto my kindle :)

[Sandy]

I've downloaded the next two Dr. Constantine's and am looking forward to reading them as I enjoyed his characterization. I agree, however, that we don't get to know him nor how his mind works. He was more of an intelligent observer.

[Lorraine]

Because of the holidays I'm a little late finishing but thoroughly enjoyed the romp and the characters in this mystery. I don't think Thynne is in the same league as Christie but she's still a must read from the golden age. I love the idea of being marooned by snow in an inn at Christmas time. Thought it a wee bit of a cheat for the chauffeur to have done it, wasn't given enough page time but it didn't spoil the whole. More Thynne

[Sandy]

I agree with more Thynne. I've got others for free.

[Jill]

Sandy wrote: "I agree with more Thynne. I've got others for free."

Yes I'd like to read the other Dr Constantine books too.

[Susan]

I think I preferred Thynne to the Annie Haynes. There was an element of farce, in all the running around and hopping in and out of windows, but it has aged better.