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Sir John Appleby #4
Stop Press
A fatal moment came when Mr Eliot ought to have stopped — and didn’t. After that there was no stopping.
Richard Eliot has written bestselling crime novels for years. Begun as means to fund his son’s education at Eton, his protagonist 'the Spider' started out as a cunning criminal and later evolved into an ingenious investigator. Despite the series success, Mr Eliot is tiring of his own invention and is looking forward to retiring. But there’s someone out there who doesn’t want him to stop…
When Eliot’s manuscripts start rewriting themselves overnight, it seems the Spider has stepped right off the page and into real life. He commits a crime only to provide an anonymous tip to solve the case. Things get even more bizarre when the Spider starts enacting plots that only ever existed in the author’s mind. Harangued within an inch of his sanity, Eliot calls in Inspector John Appleby to get to the bottom of this twisted game.
With the line between fact and fiction so tangled, will Appleby be able to unravel the mystery before the Spider strikes again?
Stop Press was originally published in 1939, and as The Spider Strikes in the United States. ‘Mr. Innes is in a class by himself among detective story writers.’ — Times Literary Supplement ‘Wickedly witty.’ — The Daily Mail ‘As farfetched and literary as Sayers’ — Cambridge Companion on Crime Fiction
Richard Eliot has written bestselling crime novels for years. Begun as means to fund his son’s education at Eton, his protagonist 'the Spider' started out as a cunning criminal and later evolved into an ingenious investigator. Despite the series success, Mr Eliot is tiring of his own invention and is looking forward to retiring. But there’s someone out there who doesn’t want him to stop…
When Eliot’s manuscripts start rewriting themselves overnight, it seems the Spider has stepped right off the page and into real life. He commits a crime only to provide an anonymous tip to solve the case. Things get even more bizarre when the Spider starts enacting plots that only ever existed in the author’s mind. Harangued within an inch of his sanity, Eliot calls in Inspector John Appleby to get to the bottom of this twisted game.
With the line between fact and fiction so tangled, will Appleby be able to unravel the mystery before the Spider strikes again?
Stop Press was originally published in 1939, and as The Spider Strikes in the United States. ‘Mr. Innes is in a class by himself among detective story writers.’ — Times Literary Supplement ‘Wickedly witty.’ — The Daily Mail ‘As farfetched and literary as Sayers’ — Cambridge Companion on Crime Fiction
520 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1939
60 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Michael Innes
125 books89 followersMichael Innes was the pseudonym of John Innes MacKintosh (J.I.M.) Stewart (J.I.M. Stewart).
He was born in Edinburgh, and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Oriel College, Oxford. He was Lecturer in English at the University of Leeds from 1930 - 1935, and spent the succeeding ten years as Jury Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.
He returned to the United Kingdom in 1949, to become a Lecturer at the Queen's University of Belfast. In 1949 he became a Student (Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford, becoming a Professor by the time of his retirement in 1973.
As J.I.M. Stewart he published a number of works of non-fiction, mainly critical studies of authors, including Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, as well as about twenty works of fiction and a memoir, 'Myself and Michael Innes'.
As Michael Innes, he published numerous mystery novels and short story collections, most featuring the Scotland Yard detective John Appleby.
He was born in Edinburgh, and educated at Edinburgh Academy and Oriel College, Oxford. He was Lecturer in English at the University of Leeds from 1930 - 1935, and spent the succeeding ten years as Jury Professor of English at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.
He returned to the United Kingdom in 1949, to become a Lecturer at the Queen's University of Belfast. In 1949 he became a Student (Fellow) of Christ Church, Oxford, becoming a Professor by the time of his retirement in 1973.
As J.I.M. Stewart he published a number of works of non-fiction, mainly critical studies of authors, including Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling, as well as about twenty works of fiction and a memoir, 'Myself and Michael Innes'.
As Michael Innes, he published numerous mystery novels and short story collections, most featuring the Scotland Yard detective John Appleby.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
March 28, 2019
Stop Press is a wordy monster of a county-house mystery--just the sort of baggy affair I love to read. Author Michael Innes's more serious alter ego, J. I. M. Stewart, is a favorite author, precisely for his flights of verbiage and play of idea. That said, the bloviatory approach works less well in the mystery genre, and as he went along in his career Innes got better at trimming and streamlining. He never aspired to the pith of noir, but eventually he got around to books that could be swallowed in a single sitting.
We begin briefly at Oxford, with an undergraduate seeking an exeat so he can go home and look into some mysterious doings distressing his father, who is a wildly successful author of popular thrillers featuring a character called the Spider. It seems the Spider has developed an existence outside the pages of Mr. Eliot's novels and is wreaking some mischief at his creator's house and around the neighborhood. Young Timmy Eliot gets his exeat and down he goes to the family seat, dragging with him his tutor and an older student he extravagantly admires, the delightful Toplady. As it turns out, certain aspects of the mystery affect other dons and they direct their steps into the neighborhood as well, till it seems half the college is underfoot.
Once arrived, they find that Mr. Eliot--or, rather, his publisher, Wedge--has laid on a weekend house party for fans of the Spider novels as well as various characters who make their livings off Spider, Inc. Beyond these, Eliot also has a sister and a great aunt and a couple of uncles, making for an altogether packed house. Rounding out is a young woman with a name that makes fans of Michael Innes prick up their ears: Patricia Appleby--who turns out to be the kid sister of Innes's pet detective, John Appleby. So we know at least that at this house party there will ensue mystery enough for investigation.
If this sounds like too many characters, it is. I'm not sure why Innes felt the need to overpopulate the pages in this way, but the cast-of-thousands does get away from him to a certain extent. The delightful Toplady begins by being a considerable part of the story but then fades out of the picture save for the occasional courtesy, much to my regret. The same happens with several other characters. Some of them served a red-herring role, leading me into fruitless suspicions, but the same effect could easily have been achieved with a smaller cast.
That said, I enjoyed all the characters and had no difficulty remembering who was who. I also enjoyed their intellectual patter--an Innes/Stewart hallmark--which kept the slow pace of the plot from palling on me. This is the sort of verbal acrobatics I swoon over. But for those who aren't prepared to indulge idle philosophical and literary speculation in the midst of a mystery, this book will probably be a bit of a snooze. The skulduggery is mostly on the level of jejune pranks (punctuated with moments of cruelty to animals that nearly made me set the book aside for good), and as the pages tick by without a human death, one wonders whether it is necessary to care.
If you like country-house mysteries and the conversational flights of Englishmen with preposterously extensive powers of memory, this is worth a read. For me, it was a pleasure that was all about the journey, not the resolution.
We begin briefly at Oxford, with an undergraduate seeking an exeat so he can go home and look into some mysterious doings distressing his father, who is a wildly successful author of popular thrillers featuring a character called the Spider. It seems the Spider has developed an existence outside the pages of Mr. Eliot's novels and is wreaking some mischief at his creator's house and around the neighborhood. Young Timmy Eliot gets his exeat and down he goes to the family seat, dragging with him his tutor and an older student he extravagantly admires, the delightful Toplady. As it turns out, certain aspects of the mystery affect other dons and they direct their steps into the neighborhood as well, till it seems half the college is underfoot.
Once arrived, they find that Mr. Eliot--or, rather, his publisher, Wedge--has laid on a weekend house party for fans of the Spider novels as well as various characters who make their livings off Spider, Inc. Beyond these, Eliot also has a sister and a great aunt and a couple of uncles, making for an altogether packed house. Rounding out is a young woman with a name that makes fans of Michael Innes prick up their ears: Patricia Appleby--who turns out to be the kid sister of Innes's pet detective, John Appleby. So we know at least that at this house party there will ensue mystery enough for investigation.
If this sounds like too many characters, it is. I'm not sure why Innes felt the need to overpopulate the pages in this way, but the cast-of-thousands does get away from him to a certain extent. The delightful Toplady begins by being a considerable part of the story but then fades out of the picture save for the occasional courtesy, much to my regret. The same happens with several other characters. Some of them served a red-herring role, leading me into fruitless suspicions, but the same effect could easily have been achieved with a smaller cast.
That said, I enjoyed all the characters and had no difficulty remembering who was who. I also enjoyed their intellectual patter--an Innes/Stewart hallmark--which kept the slow pace of the plot from palling on me. This is the sort of verbal acrobatics I swoon over. But for those who aren't prepared to indulge idle philosophical and literary speculation in the midst of a mystery, this book will probably be a bit of a snooze. The skulduggery is mostly on the level of jejune pranks (punctuated with moments of cruelty to animals that nearly made me set the book aside for good), and as the pages tick by without a human death, one wonders whether it is necessary to care.
If you like country-house mysteries and the conversational flights of Englishmen with preposterously extensive powers of memory, this is worth a read. For me, it was a pleasure that was all about the journey, not the resolution.
March 30, 2015
This series of books are quite unlike any other classic-era crime novels, and this is a perfect example. They are elusive, allusive, complex, occasionally infuriating, almost surreal, funny and beautifully written. They are not to be consumed at a sitting - they have to be read carefully, partly because of the language and partly because any sentence could prove to be the key to the whole mystery. You quickly learn just to go with them, knowing that things will become clearer, even if only slightly, at some point. It is very clear that Innes was an English academic as they are full of lore and learning. Often, as in this case, it's not really about the solution to the "crime" (if you've read it then you will appreciate the use of inverted commas) but more the journey. Appleby is a great creation, who is clearly the cleverest person in even a room full of Oxford dons, a Sherlockian figure but without the showing off, but with the tendency not to explain his working out until the end or, even more frustratingly, dropping half hints as he goes along. This is a play on the classic country house murder mystery but a very individual one, with a cast crammed full of eccentrics. I enjoy these books without exactly knowing why. Give them a go, just don't expect an easy ride.
June 14, 2017
An early Michael Innis crime mystery with Inspector Appleby.
"Famous writer Richard Eliot has written numerous detective novels, featuring The Spider, a daring, clever criminal in earlier books, and an equally canny private investigator in later ones. But when he comes to life—first to burgle an odd neighbor, then to harass the Eliot family, and finally to attend his own “birthday party”—Inspector John Appleby is sent to investigate."
Full of Innis' characteristic literary and philosophical fun and banter. This has never been one of my favourites as the plotting is uncharacteristically stodgy in the middle part of the book. Possibly the longest of the books at 400+ pages. Maybe 100 pages too long.
So, only 4*.
"Famous writer Richard Eliot has written numerous detective novels, featuring The Spider, a daring, clever criminal in earlier books, and an equally canny private investigator in later ones. But when he comes to life—first to burgle an odd neighbor, then to harass the Eliot family, and finally to attend his own “birthday party”—Inspector John Appleby is sent to investigate."
Full of Innis' characteristic literary and philosophical fun and banter. This has never been one of my favourites as the plotting is uncharacteristically stodgy in the middle part of the book. Possibly the longest of the books at 400+ pages. Maybe 100 pages too long.
So, only 4*.
June 25, 2011
(I read the American edition of this book, called The Spider Strikes.) This certainly is not a book for everyone. While I loved it, you may hate it. It's the opposite of fast-paced, and it's full of mild academic wit and elaborate, allusive talk. A fondness for 18th century literature, especially Pope, is practically required. Still--if you've a taste for this kind of thing... Oxford don Gerald Winter is asked by student Timmy Eliot to come to his home, Rust Hall, to help Mr. Eliot, a popular novelist who has the odd idea that his popular character has come alive. Mr. Eliot has written 37 novels about the Spider, and now tricks are being played, with the Spider's signature appended. What's worse, the Spider seems to know about plot lines that Mr. Eliot considered and then rejected--without ever discussing or putting on paper. A widely assorted house party is at Rust Hall, including Timmy's sister's friend Patricia Appleby, who convinces her policeman brother John to attend as well. That's lucky, because in the neighborhood lurks the unspeakable Shoon, antiquarian and arms dealer, whose presence makes all the problems of Rust no joke at all.
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August 12, 2020Inspector Appleby is not really in a professional capacity in this mystery located at not one but two country houses, and his sister Patricia works at one of them and is becoming involved with the son at the other. One reason the book is relatively long is that many of the characters are academics who rarely say anything briefly or directly, a conversational ability admired by the narrator and by Appleby, who at one point thinks that one of them has “an altogether superior command of tenterhooks.” The narrator displays this command as well, putting off the promised murders as long as possible. While I can see that Stop Press might be an apt title, for a change I prefer the US title, The Spider Strikes, as more applicable to the whole story. Published in 1939 but thoroughly frivolous, even with one character known to be an arms dealer.
February 24, 2023
Feb 2023 reread:
Even having read this book before, it was still more perplexing than was enjoyable. Even Appleby's explanation at the conclusion of the book was a bit hard to follow....
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A non-murder mystery but too convoluted! This 4th entry in the Appleby series rivals The Daffodil Affair for one of the most bizarre mysteries I have ever read.
Even having read this book before, it was still more perplexing than was enjoyable. Even Appleby's explanation at the conclusion of the book was a bit hard to follow....
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A non-murder mystery but too convoluted! This 4th entry in the Appleby series rivals The Daffodil Affair for one of the most bizarre mysteries I have ever read.
December 29, 2015
Interesting addition to the surprisingly literary series. Lots of quotes and references and interesting dialogue.
December 22, 2024
Superior to Secret Vanguard. An Olde Country Estate filled with a closed round of suspects with plenty of reasons to disrupt and kill.
* * *
[….] Winter, meditating in increasing irritation the riddle of the Spider’s prescience, found himself directed to the middle-sized table along with the Master, Dr Bussenschutt. A moment later they were joined by Benton, the senior tutor from whom Timmy’s exeat would have to be obtained. No arrangement, Winter reflected, could have been more dismal. Benton believed that Bussenschutt drank. Bussenschutt knew this. Bussenschutt affected to believe that Benton had an out-of-the-way vulgar accent, and he was in the habit of consulting undergraduates from remote parts of the country in an effort to identify it. This Benton knew. Bussenschutt had once overheard Benton say that Winter thought that Bussenschutt was the very type of the scholar who has never mastered his Latin grammar; and this had confirmed Bussenschutt in his conviction that Winter was, intellectually at the least, dishonest. Winter and Benton disliked each other, as a matter of mere instinct. And on mere instinct they both disliked Mummery, whose table was now levitating stealthily nearer. Mummery, in a moment of some little unrestraint, had once apostrophized Bussenschutt as a hoary-headed and toothless baboon and Bussenschutt, declaring that nothing could be more unacademic that such language, had preached a powerful sermon against Mummery on the text The name of the wicked shall rot. It was the business of all four men to work closely together on the production of a learned journal called Comity.
[….] The human vocabulary is limited and can be arranged only in a finite number of ways. The combinations must eventually exhaust themselves. Consider’ – said Winter – ‘an observer from a planet with somewhat different habits from ours prowling about and watching writers at work.’
[….] The human species is absurdly dependent on the eye, a fact which creates the subtle hierarchy of tailors and milliners.
[….] once upon a time his sort had been kept safely in Canada on two pounds a week.
[….] ‘I have known little matters of this sort – disconcerting, but by no means tragic – resist elucidation until a four hundredth consultation.’ [Dr. Chown’s] eye grew abstracted, as if he were contemplating an invisible slot-machine of gigantic proportions.
* * *
[….] Winter, meditating in increasing irritation the riddle of the Spider’s prescience, found himself directed to the middle-sized table along with the Master, Dr Bussenschutt. A moment later they were joined by Benton, the senior tutor from whom Timmy’s exeat would have to be obtained. No arrangement, Winter reflected, could have been more dismal. Benton believed that Bussenschutt drank. Bussenschutt knew this. Bussenschutt affected to believe that Benton had an out-of-the-way vulgar accent, and he was in the habit of consulting undergraduates from remote parts of the country in an effort to identify it. This Benton knew. Bussenschutt had once overheard Benton say that Winter thought that Bussenschutt was the very type of the scholar who has never mastered his Latin grammar; and this had confirmed Bussenschutt in his conviction that Winter was, intellectually at the least, dishonest. Winter and Benton disliked each other, as a matter of mere instinct. And on mere instinct they both disliked Mummery, whose table was now levitating stealthily nearer. Mummery, in a moment of some little unrestraint, had once apostrophized Bussenschutt as a hoary-headed and toothless baboon and Bussenschutt, declaring that nothing could be more unacademic that such language, had preached a powerful sermon against Mummery on the text The name of the wicked shall rot. It was the business of all four men to work closely together on the production of a learned journal called Comity.
[….] The human vocabulary is limited and can be arranged only in a finite number of ways. The combinations must eventually exhaust themselves. Consider’ – said Winter – ‘an observer from a planet with somewhat different habits from ours prowling about and watching writers at work.’
[….] The human species is absurdly dependent on the eye, a fact which creates the subtle hierarchy of tailors and milliners.
[….] once upon a time his sort had been kept safely in Canada on two pounds a week.
[….] ‘I have known little matters of this sort – disconcerting, but by no means tragic – resist elucidation until a four hundredth consultation.’ [Dr. Chown’s] eye grew abstracted, as if he were contemplating an invisible slot-machine of gigantic proportions.
June 26, 2023
Beware this Kindle version of Stop Press. There are many, many, many subtle typos artfully woven throughout the lovely prose of Mr. Innes: “of” instead of “to,” “be” instead of “he,” “mathematics” instead of “mathematician,” “to being” instead of “to be," an “i” for an “I,” a dropped “s” on a plural are only some examples, and the list goes on and on. Subtle. Maddening. As I read on, the typos seemed to diminish, but my suspicions mounted. Things still occurred, such as “must” for “most,” and my favorite, “introductino.”
“Is this a contest?” I wondered. Are good little Goodreaders asked at the end how many typos they were able to spot? Will a prize be given to the cross-eyed reader able to spot them all, or even come close? Or is Innes himself behind it, the “joker” responsible for the mischief we’re reading about in the book? With Innes, you get the feeling this just may be so.
“Of course, what is the point of any of it?” you may ask.
I have been a fan of Innes since I was young, but that was when I preferred writers who were obscure. I mean in the way that they were very complex, but also in the way that they were hard to come by. Now, that’s all changed. He’s not my secret or my guilty pleasure anymore, and I’m very pleased to see that other readers really like him too. He always was impossible. He always was a good companion. Very prolific. His later books are much simpler, but I really prefer the earlier ones. I recently read “Appleby’s End,” and was disappointed. Ah, well. I’ll still seek out the Scottish Don.
This one is a treat, but I don’t know quite how to describe his appeal. Lovely style, of course, and extremely inventive. Much smarter than me. Many allusions I don’t grasp. (For this one, I barely know who Alexander Pope is.) Characters are more like ideas or shadows or types, although human behavior, no matter how odd, is aptly described. Very funny. School holiday stuff. Let your freak fly! Nothing is quite graspable, or sure. Not knife sharp at all; rather amorphous, but fun. Loves to send his characters out in the rain, for instance, when a car is sitting there available, or on bizarre trips of an adventurous physical kind. People inexplicably fall in love. No reason. He’s in full control of the riot. There’s usually more than one solution at the end, though this book had a perfectly clear late paragraph explaining all.
Greatest compliment for a mystery: You can reread Stop Press and enjoy it immensely, again and again.
WARNING: bad shocks of animal cruelty occur a few times. Short, atypical, but upsetting.
“Is this a contest?” I wondered. Are good little Goodreaders asked at the end how many typos they were able to spot? Will a prize be given to the cross-eyed reader able to spot them all, or even come close? Or is Innes himself behind it, the “joker” responsible for the mischief we’re reading about in the book? With Innes, you get the feeling this just may be so.
“Of course, what is the point of any of it?” you may ask.
I have been a fan of Innes since I was young, but that was when I preferred writers who were obscure. I mean in the way that they were very complex, but also in the way that they were hard to come by. Now, that’s all changed. He’s not my secret or my guilty pleasure anymore, and I’m very pleased to see that other readers really like him too. He always was impossible. He always was a good companion. Very prolific. His later books are much simpler, but I really prefer the earlier ones. I recently read “Appleby’s End,” and was disappointed. Ah, well. I’ll still seek out the Scottish Don.
This one is a treat, but I don’t know quite how to describe his appeal. Lovely style, of course, and extremely inventive. Much smarter than me. Many allusions I don’t grasp. (For this one, I barely know who Alexander Pope is.) Characters are more like ideas or shadows or types, although human behavior, no matter how odd, is aptly described. Very funny. School holiday stuff. Let your freak fly! Nothing is quite graspable, or sure. Not knife sharp at all; rather amorphous, but fun. Loves to send his characters out in the rain, for instance, when a car is sitting there available, or on bizarre trips of an adventurous physical kind. People inexplicably fall in love. No reason. He’s in full control of the riot. There’s usually more than one solution at the end, though this book had a perfectly clear late paragraph explaining all.
Greatest compliment for a mystery: You can reread Stop Press and enjoy it immensely, again and again.
WARNING: bad shocks of animal cruelty occur a few times. Short, atypical, but upsetting.
January 27, 2016
Good to find author who has a command of the English language and uses it.
March 14, 2019
The plot was good, being a non-murder mystery, but I find this author rambles so much. This made for a long read which was really too long to really hold my attention. I'm pretty much glad it is over, although I have learnt some new words. I still think his first was the best (Death at the President's Lodging).
The characters in this book were quite a mixture, but not very likable so I did find myself not bothered about the outcome
The characters in this book were quite a mixture, but not very likable so I did find myself not bothered about the outcome
April 17, 2022
I find Michael Innes hit and miss in plot and style and characters. This one largely missed on all three. The plot itself might have worked if reduced to bare bones and told in a less florid prose style. As it is, it rambles. A few characters, including Appleby, his sister and the to-be-protected Eliot, almost reach the point of engaging the reader. They don’t quite make it, impeded as they are by the static of a huge cast of potential suspects or victims.
Disappointing - and highly indulgent.
Disappointing - and highly indulgent.
November 14, 2024
Landed gentry, Mr. Ellis, supports a bevy of indigent relatives and hangers-on with the royalties from his long-running series of suspense novels featuring a super-criminal turned detective, The Spider. But now The Spider seems to have escaped the books and is playing ever more sinister and dangerous pranks.
I love trying to parse Innes' erudite and allusive prose. The satirical humor is effective, catty, and vicious. Unfortunately, the resolution isn't entirely satisfactory, with one major character acting in an uncharacteristic and unjustified way. Still, I enjoyed most of the ride.
I love trying to parse Innes' erudite and allusive prose. The satirical humor is effective, catty, and vicious. Unfortunately, the resolution isn't entirely satisfactory, with one major character acting in an uncharacteristic and unjustified way. Still, I enjoyed most of the ride.
December 17, 2018
Escenarios muy bien ambientados, un montón de personajes, intriga menor sin muerto, conversaciones cultas y un sentido del humor tan refinado que pocas veces tiene gracia. Todo muy inglés. Me han sobrado por lo menos 200 páginas.
September 16, 2023
A triumph of sustained tedium. Innes wields a beautiful turn of phrase, yet Appleby’s only notable achievement across 17+ audiobook hours of pointless, pontificating conversations, plumping out of superfluous characters and mendacious touting of murder in the offing, is to stay awake.
July 14, 2018
The ending is so annoying...
December 23, 2020
Complicated plot. Two endings with plausible solutions. The final one is presumably the correct one ... some dense reading, particularly at first, but then when it speeds up it does become gripping.
January 3, 2021
The entire Appleby series is one of my favorites.
March 7, 2022
If I ever needed to be sure I wasn't a fan of Michael Innes "Stop Press" confirmed. At no point did I find this book holding my attention and Innes' style is not for me.
March 19, 2022
Tedious
Want to read
January 10, 2025How much wordy satiric academic erudition is too much? Right now, this much. I’ll get back to this someday.
March 5, 2017
An author thinks his creation, The Spider, has come to life when things keep happening which bear a strong resemblance to events detailed in the books. Richard Eliot’s son, Timmy and one of his tutors pay a visit to the rambling country house in which the author and his relatives live. At nearby Shoon Abbey an eccentric millionaire is also hosting a house-party and Eliot’s visitors are invited. Locals also are involved. John Appleby is invited by his sister Patricia, who has a job working for the owner of Shoon.
Will there be a murder? Are all the strange happenings just someone’s idea of a practical joke? Can Appleby prevent mayhem or is it too late? I found this an interesting and complex read and I find Michael Innes’ books really keep a reader on their toes. There are literary and classical references galore and people speak in erudite and elliptical language. The clues are all there but you really have to keep your wits about you to try and identify who is the guilty party.
If you’re willing to work hard at it there is entertainment to be had from this series and they are classics of the crime writer’s art. The series can be read in any order and as standalone novels but many will prefer to read them in the order in which they were published – this is the fourth book in the series.
Will there be a murder? Are all the strange happenings just someone’s idea of a practical joke? Can Appleby prevent mayhem or is it too late? I found this an interesting and complex read and I find Michael Innes’ books really keep a reader on their toes. There are literary and classical references galore and people speak in erudite and elliptical language. The clues are all there but you really have to keep your wits about you to try and identify who is the guilty party.
If you’re willing to work hard at it there is entertainment to be had from this series and they are classics of the crime writer’s art. The series can be read in any order and as standalone novels but many will prefer to read them in the order in which they were published – this is the fourth book in the series.
September 16, 2013
I'm progressing through the Appleby mysteries by Michael Innes and wonder at myself for picking up yet another one. I don't love these stories, but there is something about them that keeps me coming back for more. In this one, I don't think the Inspector Appleby character has yet settled into being one for which the reader has some understanding, appreciation or admiration. I liked him better in later stories (after he gets married).
This one, too, has many, many literary allusions that just float over my head, and it takes some attentive listening to get the ones I would know as they are quickly tossed in. Again, Innes has some very weird things happening, so that I almost feel like this is a modern fantasy in another earth-like world rather than a mystery set in England. I got a little impatient with this one, so perhaps it could have been edited down to be a shorter presentation. Still, I liked the story and didn't feel as lost with the various characters as some of Innes' other writings make me feel.
This one, too, has many, many literary allusions that just float over my head, and it takes some attentive listening to get the ones I would know as they are quickly tossed in. Again, Innes has some very weird things happening, so that I almost feel like this is a modern fantasy in another earth-like world rather than a mystery set in England. I got a little impatient with this one, so perhaps it could have been edited down to be a shorter presentation. Still, I liked the story and didn't feel as lost with the various characters as some of Innes' other writings make me feel.
March 19, 2017
Here’s a take on novelist's inner world and its dark cellars with bizarre chimeras lurking in the less frequented nooks.
The entertainment value varies quite a bit from chapter to chapter and, oddly enough, has nothing to do neither with the mystery being strenuously unraveled, nor with the curious menagerie of eccentric personages passing in front of the reader in a languid round dance.
Apparently, Innes is used to treat his characters as mere vessels for various quotations, though deliciously elaborate and festively abundant. One could only wish he was generous enough to bestow some passion on them to make these impeccably eloquent automatons more emphatic.
The entertainment value varies quite a bit from chapter to chapter and, oddly enough, has nothing to do neither with the mystery being strenuously unraveled, nor with the curious menagerie of eccentric personages passing in front of the reader in a languid round dance.
Apparently, Innes is used to treat his characters as mere vessels for various quotations, though deliciously elaborate and festively abundant. One could only wish he was generous enough to bestow some passion on them to make these impeccably eloquent automatons more emphatic.
August 3, 2013
Innes is a wordsmith who uses convoluted sentences and words with obscure meanings which make his book interesting on a different level. He uses literary references like others use conversations. The book was hard to follow but enjoyable for a change of pace. Thank heaven for a good recap of the plot and mystery in the pages near the end of the book because i got lost in all the obfuscation.
January 20, 2017
An Appleby book is sure to be chock full of literary references. Wordy and long, but not unenjoyable.
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April 27, 2018This was a struggle to finish.
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May 3, 2018There's no way I can rate this one: Either it's a 5 (brilliantly complex, rich with literary and philosophical elements and quotations, a very clever and personal book by a well-regarded Oxford don) or it's a 1 (because the qualities alluded to in the former suggested rating caused the actual reading to become, um, somewhat laborious). Reading this often felt like pushing through a very overgrown jungle, having to sweep extended, poetical descriptions and equally extended, discursive, speculative, metaphysical conversations out of the way. The characters were quite interesting, though sometimes it felt as if Innes were just toying with some of them.
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