Fri 5 May 2017
Reviewed by William F. Deeck: MOLLY THYNNE – He Dies And Makes No Sign.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[5] Comments
William F. Deeck
MOLLY THYNNE – He Dies And Makes No Sign. Hutchinson, UK, hardcover, 1933. Dean Street Press, UK, trade paperback, 2016.
In the third and apparently final case of Dr. Constantine, he is asked to take steps to end the engagement of the son of the Duchess of Steynes. According to the Duchess, the young man has become engaged to a most unsuitable young woman, one who is an actress of sorts. Constantine meets her, finds her enchanting, and is then involved in the disappearance of her grandfather, a violinist. Unfortunately, when the grandfather turns up, he is in the unlucky circumstance of being a corpse.
One can see why this was the last in the series. It is wretchedly dull, the villain is obvious, and none of the characters are the least bit interesting. What Constantine is a doctor of is left unmentioned in this novel. Perhaps Thynne thought readers of the third book would have read the first two, in which she may, though I doubt it, have provided more detail. All we learn here is that Constantine is not an M.D., that he has just returned from the Continent where he took part in a chess tournament, and that only a dedicated masochist would care to read about him and his investigations.
Bio-Bibliographic Notes:
The Dr. Constantine series —
The Crime at the “Noah’s Arkâ€. Nelson, 1931.
Murder in the Dentist’s Chair. Hutchinson, 1932.
He Dies and Makes No Sign. Hutchinson, 1933.
Non-series mysteries by Molly Thynne —
The Red Dwarf. Nelson, 1928.
The Murder on the “Enriquetaâ€. Nelson, 1929.
The Case of Sir Adam Braid. Nelson, 1930.
All six have recently been reprinted by Dean Street Press, four for the first time in the US.
For a long essay on the life of the author, go here on Curt Evans’ “Passing Tramp” blog. Highly recommended!
May 5th, 2017 at 10:33 pm
I may buy the Dean Street reprints in spite of Bill’s review. The ones never published in this country are extremely hard to find.
May 6th, 2017 at 5:54 am
I remember having at least one of these – THE CRIME AT THE ‘NOAH’S ARK’ – when I was buying books over there, and possibly THE RED DWARF as well. It goes without saying that I never read them.
I like the offerings from the publisher, unfortunately.
May 6th, 2017 at 6:26 pm
Sounds as if reading this would be Murder in the Dentist’s Waiting Room instead of his office.
May 6th, 2017 at 9:27 pm
“Murder in the Dentist’s Chair” is available on-line:
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000122722
I tried to read this book. Found it very VERY remote from my taste.
My negative response resembles Deeck’s.
Still, this was just a first impression. Maybe there is good stuff in her books. The blogosphere has a number of reviewers who like her books.
May 7th, 2017 at 11:32 am
Thanks for the link, Mike. I’ve read the first 33 pages and while I think dentistry in that day and age is given an awfully bad rep, I found no reason not to keep on reading. In other words, so far, so good. Emphasis on “so far.”