"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;The wrong shall fail,The right prevail,With peace on earth, good-will to men."- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Christmas Bells, 1863)
Molly
Thynne was one of the long-lost, forgotten mystery novelist from that
luminous era, the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, but her neglected body of
work has recently been exhumed by the Dean Street Press and this
consisted of half a dozen mystery novels – three of them standalones and the
remaining ones are part of a short series. All three of those concern the
exploits of an elderly Greek chess maven named Dr. Constantine.
I previously reviewed the excellent Death
in the Dentist's Chair (1932) and He Dies
and Makes No Sign (1933), but the series commenced with The Crime at
the Noah's Ark (1931), which is subtitled "A Christmas Mystery."
They were released in the twilight of this year’s summer and late August was a
bit too early for a Yuletide mystery, but the holiday season is now steadily
approaching. Well, that and I already reviewed three Christmas mysteries last
month: J. Jefferson Farjeon's Mystery
in White (1937), Winifred Peck's Arrest
the Bishop? (1949) and a short story, entitled "The
Christmas Bear," by Herbert Resnicow.
So I wanted to resume my reading of these
wintry tales in an attempt to eliminate as many of these seasonal-themed
mystery novels and anthologies from my TBR-pile as possible, because we're only
six weeks removed from Christmas Day. Let's get this snowball rolling!
The Crime at the Noah's Ark is Thynne's fourth mystery novels, but the first one to feature her
series-characters, Dr. Constantine and Detective-Inspector Arkwright, who
crossed paths in a spacious, rambling and old-fashioned establishment – a remote
inn called the "Noah's Ark." However, the inspector appeared fairly late in the
story. So this is the only reference to Arkwright in this review.
A far more important character is Angus
Stuart, a rising author with a bestseller to his name, who decided to enjoy the
spoils of his success by spending the Christmas holiday at an expensive, seaside
resort. Unfortunately, the never-ending snowfall threw a spanner in the works. The
snow was so persistent that even "the children grew tired of snowballing"
and "the most confirmed among the sentimentalists began to grumble,"
but, day after day, "the drifts rose higher and higher in the country lanes"
– a week before Christmas the roads showed signs of becoming so blocked that it
threatened the plans of holiday-makers. And this was certainly the case for
Stuart.
Stuart is one of those holiday-makers who
failed to reach his intended destination and ended up in a remote, snowed-in inn,
the "Noah's Ark," which is well known to hunters and, if it weren't for the
heavy snowfall, would've been filled to capacity. So there's enough room to
provide a warm shelter for stranded travelers and there’s an interesting collection
of characters housed underneath its roof.
First of all, there are two sisters, Amy
and Connie Adderley, who were stranded in the snow, but Stuart saved them from
their difficult position and drove the sisters (alongside their chauffeur) to
the inn. Other guests already there include the Romsey clan, which are
represented by Lord Romsey and his three adult children: Victoria, Angela and Geoffrey.
Another guest from the upper crust of society is the widow of a rich American
banker, Mrs. Van Dolen, who is known for the number of husbands she tried and as
the owner of an emerald girdle. She is accompanied by her secretary, Miss
Hamilton. Mrs. Orkney Cloude is an attractive and "an exceptionally charming
lady," but turns white as a sheet when she sees Lord Romsey. Major Carew is "a proper bounder" and a drunk who will be at the root of some of the
problems at the inn. Trevor is an accountant's clerk and very, very shy. Felix
Melnotte is a gigolo (i.e. dancer) who was suppose to ply his trade at
the resort, Redsands, where Stuart was planning to spend the holiday. Finally,
there's Soames, a commercial traveler, and Dr. Constantine, who are both enthusiastic
chess players. So they spend some of the dark, cold evenings hunched over a chessboard
and locked into a battle of wits.
 |
| The Dr. Constantine from the movie adaption of The Murder on the Orient Express |
Well, the severe winter weather has
condemned these people to spend Christmas together and Dr. Constantine observes
that they're "as completely isolated from the outside world as the
inhabitants of the original Noah's Ark," but I found the snowy encirclement
of the inn to be reminiscent of a large snow-globe – which is regularly shaken
and rocked by strange, nighttime disturbances. A masked figure has been seen in
one of the long, dark passages on the first night and this caused some
commotion, but this incident proved only to be a prelude.
Major Carew's drunkenness culminates in
an altercation with Miss Hamilton and Trevor, who jumps to her defense, is
given "a crimson nose." So they decide, for everyone safety, to lock
Major Carew up until he's sober again, but that same night a rope is seen
dangling from his bedroom window and everyone assumes he escaped to the balcony
below – resulting in a midnight search of the premise. During this search, they
discover that someone ransacked Mrs. Van Dolen's room, while she was sleeping, and
took her emeralds. They also find the body of the major tucked underneath a
blanket in his bed: his fractured head resting a blood-soaked pillow. The
hostelry was abound with bloody murder and thievery!
 |
| Thynne's best? |
However, as contradictory as it may sound
(especially coming from an unapologetic classicist), but the violent death of
Major Carew is a cosmetic imperfection of the plot. He should've had a bad
heart, due to his bad lifestyle, which then gave out during the confrontation
with the murderer. If you've read the book, you know it would fit the situation
(and the simple plot) a whole lot better, because now the culprit seems stupid
for leaving a battered corpse behind. Particularly when you learn the fate of
this person in the last chapter.
Otherwise, the plot is pleasantly busy and
has a plethora of plot-threads, which the largely sedentary Dr. Constantine
calmly untangles and these include hidden relationships, background stories and
several secret identities – which go hand-in-hand with the nightly prowls. And
while I would not rank The Crime at the Noah's Ark alongside the
excellent Death in the Dentist's Chair, it's miles ahead of He Dies
and Makes No Sign. A worthy addition to the stack of Christmas-themed
mystery novels so many of us loves to read (and re-read) around this time of
year.
So if you're sick and tired of endlessly
re-reading Agatha
Christie's Murder for Christmas (1938) and Ngaio
Marsh's Tied Up in Tinsel (1972), you might want to consider adding The
Crime at the Noah's Ark to your yearly reading list for November/December. Or
check this list
that I need to update one of these years.
I did like this one, but I kept wishing for a floor plan!
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