Dec 23: Rope’s End, Rogue’s End - SPOILER Thread - by E.C.R. Lorac (1942)

[Susan]

Welcome to our December 23 group read of Rope’s End, Rogue’s End Book 21 in the Robert Macdonald series this was first published in 1942.

Wulfstane Manor, a rambling old country house with many unused rooms, winding staircases and a maze of cellars, had been bequeathed to Veronica Mallowood and her brother Martin. The last time the large family of Mallowoods had all foregathered under the ancestral roof was on the occasion of their father’s funeral, and there had been one of those unholy rows which not infrequently follow the reading of a will. That was some years ago, and as Veronica found it increasingly difficult to go on paying for the upkeep of Wulfstane, she summoned another family conference - a conference in which all four of Veronica's brothers attend. However, at the end of the uncomfortable visit there is a death and it is up to Inspector Macdonald to uncover the truth about what happened.

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

[Susan in NC]

Really elaborate plot, but Macdonald’s explanation at the end helped immensely. I really thought for awhile there Martin and the scary sister were behind it all…

[Susan]

Again, though, we have a house taking centre stage. Everyone wanting the estate.

We recently read The Little Stranger on 20th Century as part of our Big Houses theme and it was almost a relief when the daughter said she wanted to leave and couldn't really stand the house.

So often, in GA crime, as we saw in our last Georgette Heyer, there is this family fighting over who inherits and this was another house that the family - or those members still living in it - could not really afford.

[Jill]

I did like this and found it to be quite complicated but a good plot. It wasn't until the end that actually spelt it out, that I saw the significance of the title.

[Susan]

Yes, it was a good title, wasn't it?

[Frances]

I found the explanation and the denouement quite satisfying, but yes it was an overly complicated plot and mystery. The crumbling manor house is just too sad-they really shouldn't exist, the class system that perpetuates that (and I do notice a certain sneering about the servants, when what an awful job working in that house with those employers must have been) is unfair, but the houses themselves do have a beauty and grandeur that makes their crumbling quite poignant. I like inspector MacDonald, although I do get him a bit mixed up with Catherine Aird's detective that some of us are reading in series.

[Joanne]

I thought this was overwritten and just a clever puzzle at best. I read the messy e-book edition, which didn't help. While plowing through multiple pages of a character describing in crazy detail the mansion's interior, I gave it all up and jumped to the last chapter and read the ending. I'm wondering if Lorac broke a few Detection Club rules with presentation of false evidence and almost having a twins situation. I did like MacDonald and will probably try yet another Lorac book in future, despite not liking this one.

[Judy]

I've finished rereading this - I remembered the culprit from a previous read but not the whole complicated set-up, which I still find confusing even second time around.

I don't think this is as good as most of the Lorac books have read - as others have said, the constant scanning errors in the etext don't help, but I also don't think the story is as interesting as her plots usually are.

Veronica/Ronnie is a good character though, and I think Lorac lays good red herrings with her deep voice, height etc, making her another possibility to have been disguised as one of her brothers! I also agree that the old house is very atmospheric.

[Judy]

Joanne wrote: "I'm wondering if Lorac broke a few Detection Club rules with presentation of false evidence and almost having a twins situation. ..."

Very interesting point! We do see through the killer's eyes at one stage, which is against the first "rule" : "The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow."

The twins rule says: "Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them." I'm not sure if this is broken or not - I think we have heard that the brothers look alike but maybe not that they are alike enough to work as doubles.

Then again, I believe all the Detection Club members happily broke the rules at one time or another!

[Joanne]

Good points about the "rules," Judy. I am also glad to hear that Lorac usually had stronger plots.

[Sandy]

Not my favorite Lorac and I only gave it two stars. Not only did I not believe the murder method would work (a problem I often have with locked room mysteries) but I thought the brothers' elaborate plan far-fetched. Even Veronica, the most sympathetic character, annoyed me as I felt she was overly protective of her twin and had no valid reason for hiding him.

[Judy]

I didn't even really understand the murder method, Sandy - it seemed hard to believe it would work, I agree. My 3rd star was really for Macdonald as I enjoyed his character in this book.

[Susan in NC]

Judy wrote: "I didn't even really understand the murder method, Sandy - it seemed hard to believe it would work, I agree. My 3rd star was really for Macdonald as I enjoyed his character in this book."

Same here - I never understand elaborate murder methods, though, and tend to skim over the descriptions, because I can’t visualize it. I do like Lorac’s descriptions of whatever countryside she’s writing about, and her characters, even if they’re unlikeable. But I do admire Macdonald and his crew.

[Pamela]

I enjoyed this, even though I agree the plot was rather complex. I couldn’t visualise the fishing rod bit at all, I thought it would be too bendy!

I really liked the Gothic feel of the crumbling house, but Ronnie was giving me Morticia Addams vibes!

[Susan in NC]

Pamela wrote: "I enjoyed this, even though I agree the plot was rather complex. I couldn’t visualise the fishing rod bit at all, I thought it would be too bendy!

I really liked the Gothic feel of the crumbling h..."

Oh, yes, thank you! She was creepy-I couldn’t telll if it was a red herring to keep us on edge, or she was going to kill Macdonald and stuff him in the cellar with her brother!

[Michaela]

Probably the weakest Lorac I have read so far. The solution seemed far-fetched and the whole setting depressing.

[Rosina]

I thought the murder plot was rather complicated - relying far too much on other people not cottoning on to the imposture - but that is normal in these Golden Age stories. I felt the hunt through the underground passages didn't really fit, except to make it easier, in the end, to prove the killer's guilt.

[Susan_MG]

Joanne-I haven’t read The Ropes End and if I do it will be quite a while as I have a lot of titles before that one. I am checking out this thread though and noticed your comment about the detection rules. Today I read the introduction to School of Hard Knox where the “rules” are specified. I’ve been thinking about them as they are a concept I never considered. I’m not surprised this group can apply them to their current reading.