Molly Thynne (1881–1950)

It’s popular as of late to reprint mysteries from the Golden Age, especially British ones, by authors few have ever heard of. They are very hit and miss generally, but for mystery lovers, it’s worth the try because you might run across a “new” author to read. This one falls somewhere in the middle for me. While I won’t be seeking out any more of aristocrat Molly Thynne’s mysteries, I do think there will be those who very much enjoy them.

I was really excited when I began this book show more because it had a nice setting and atmosphere and an interesting crime. It was moving along nicely, keeping me interested while they were on water, but once they got off the boat, it ran aground for me. Suddenly it was as though the mystery had been forgotten, and for long sections it read like a drawing room romance. Some of what happened during these sections did eventually tie in with the eventual denouement, but it seemed so tedious and prolonged — not to mention yawn inducing — that by the time the rescue of a kidnapped woman took place, the only excitement felt by this reader was that the book was finally coming to an end.

Some of what happened, once it is revealed to the reader, is quite implausible. While that’s not a problem if it’s well done and entertaining — Cornell Woolrich comes to mind — in this case I was simply bored, and barely made it through this. To the author's credit, this is very well written, and if Miss Thynne had shaved off a hundred pages, and kept the narrative moving at the same pace which draws you in at the beginning, this would have been a real find for me. As it is, I’ll hesitate to try another one in this series, for fear the detective will once again disappear for long stretches of drawing room tedium.

I'm still giving this three stars because the opening had me hooked, and it is, as I mentioned, well written. And because others less enamored of movement within a narrative, might not be as bored as I was, and enjoy it more than I did. show less

Chief Inspector Shand travels on the Enriqueta from Argentina to England when a man is strangled on board and there is no trace of the murderer. Back in London, the reader follows Lady Dalberry, a widow who also was a passenger on the ship and who travels to England to meet the family of her deceased husband for the first time - especially the young, new Lord Dalberry and his friend Carol, an heiress who is about to come of age. But Lady Dalberry also has connections to an Argentinian man show more who seems more than shady, and soon a whirlwind of criminal activities, deceptions and ploys is about to start.

I must admit that I was disappointed when I realized that only the beginning of the novel is set on the ship. The real story starts in London and has nothing to do with the Enriqueta, and the murder that happens on board is only a minor part of the plot. The story revolving around the Argentinian criminal in London did not interest me that much and seemed to drag on. Still, I liked the characters a lot - especially Carol and Lord Dalberry - and the story is well written. I enjoy Molly Thynne's style that is quite literary at times, and how she portrays life in the 1920s. The novel is more fast-paced towards the end which made up for some lengthy chapters in the middle. show less

"The Draycott Murder Mystery" by Molly Thynne was originally published as The Red Dwarf in the UK.

Young farmer John Leslie comes home to his farm one stormy night and finds a luxuriously clad woman who has been shot in his sitting room. He calls the police and, as he has no alibi, he is soon the main suspect and brought to London. However, his aristocratic fiancée as well as the circle of upper class friends she moves in are convinced of his innocence and set out to prove it.
There are show more quite a lot of characters, but the reader mainly follows Allen Fayre, who has recently returned from India and has too much time on his hands, so he cannot help himself but try to support the star lawyer who has taken on the case at the fiancées bidding.
I enjoyed this story very much because I liked the characters and the story, and it is well written. The style is quite literary. The author was aristocratic herself, and apart from the whodunit she paints a vivid portrait of the 1920s in the English countryside as experienced by her class. She wrote five more crime novels and I am looking forward to reading them in the future. show less

The Crime at Noah’s Ark by Molly Thynne is a British mystery novel that was first published in 1932. Set during a snowstorm at Christmas, a number of people have taken shelter at a quiet country inn called Noah’s Ark. Although inconvenienced, little did they suspect they would become involved with a murder and a theft.

I enjoyed the setting and the mystery, although it wasn’t long before I figured out “whodunit”. Although the book is only 218 pages, this felt like a much longer show more book. The cast is limited but nevertheless, the descriptions of and about them seemed endless. There was a lot of fumbling around in the dark and red herrings are generously strewn about as the story grew rather convoluted before all was explained.

This was my first book by this author and I would certainly give her another try. The characters were varied and interesting and the dialogue between them was very well done. The Crime at Noah’s Ark is a fine example of a closed house mystery and had me feeling slightly claustrophobic as there was a long of running up and down the dark stairways and long passages of the old inn. show less