3.5*

This last entry in the Dr. Constantine series has a lot more action towards the end than I expected! Too bad that Thynne stopped writing mysteries with this one - I would have enjoyed reading more. ( )

This is the last of the three Dr. Constantine mysteries Molly Thynne had written and also her last published work. I honestly do not know what to make of Thynne's work. I cannot say I do not like them. I have read all three of her Dr. Constantine books, which I would not have done had I disliked them. I find that Thynne's books start off great. The murders are quite ingenious, the characters are fairly well-written, and her writing never less than enjoyable. However, it all peters out towards the end. In this book, for example, a character is used in its final pages, who had previously only been mentioned in passing. That character ends up being a part of the finale in a most haphazard way. The final denouncement in itself is unnecessarily convoluted. I suppose it is meant to thrill us, but I found it inordinately stretched things out and it tried my patience. After finishing the Dr. Constantine series, I think I understand why Molly Thynne's books were forgotten. While somewhat enjoyable to a long-standing Golden Age mystery fan, these are not books to be remembered in the long run. ( )

This last entry in the Dr. Constantine series has a lot more action towards the end than I expected! Too bad that Thynne stopped writing mysteries with this one - I would have enjoyed reading more. ( )