Read Series: Sir John Appleby
by Author Michael Innes
An Awkward Lie (2001)
Sir John Appleby's son, Bobby, assumes his father's detective role in this baffling crime. When Bobby finds a dead man in a bunker on a golf course, he notices something rather strange—the first finger of the man's right hand is missing. A young girl approaches the scene and offers to watch the b...
Lament for a Maker (1984)
When mad recluse Ranald Guthrie the laird of Erchany, falls from the ramparts of his castle on a wild winter night, Appleby discovers the doom that shrouded his life, and the grim legends of the bleak and nameless hamlets, in a tale that emanates sheer terror and suspense.
The Secret Vanguard (2001)
Successful minor poet, Philip Ploss, lives a peaceful existence in ideal surroundings, until his life is upset when he hears verses erroneously quoted as his own. Soon afterward, he is found dead in the library with a copy of Dante's Purgatory open before him.
Death At The Chase (2001)
When master sleuth, Appleby, leaps over a stile during a country stroll, he is apprehended by an irate Martyn Ashmore, owner of the land on which Appleby has unwittingly trespassed. But when the misunderstanding is cleared up, eccentric, aged Ashmore reveals that he is in fear for his life. Once ...
Death At The President's Lodging (2001)
Inspector Appleby is called to St Anthony's College, where the President has been murdered in his Lodging. Scandal abounds when it becomes clear that the only people with any motive to murder him are the only people who had the opportunity - because the President's Lodging opens off Orchard Groun...
Operation Pax (2001)
A two-bit con-man is thrown in at the deep end as a desperate hunt takes place in Oxford in this gripping tale, the thrilling climax of which takes place in the vaults of the Bodleian Library.
Hare Sitting Up (2001)
When a germ-warfare expert goes missing, his twin brother impersonates him as a cover-up, but for how long can this last? Inspector Appleby is sent on a series of wild goose chases, which take him to a preparatory school, to the estate of an eccentric earl, and to a remote Atlantic rock, before a...
Appleby Talking (2001)
Arbuthnot is paying for a rash decision. He recently married a beautiful but slightly amoral girl whose crazy antics caught his rather cynical professional interest. His wife has taken a lover, Rupert Slade, and Arbuthnot wants nothing more than to see him dead, but the last thing he expected was...
Appleby's Other Story (2001)
During a walk to Elvedon House, palatial home of the Tythertons, Sir John Appleby and Chief Constable Colonel Pride are stunned to find a police van and two cars parked outside. Wealthy Maurice Tytherton has been found shot dead, and Appleby is faced with a number of suspects - Alice Tytherton, f...
Carson's Conspiracy (2001)
Businessman Carl Carson decides to make a dash for South America to escape the economic slump, leaving his home and his barmy wife. But he has a problem: if his company were seen to be drawing in its horns, it wouldn't last a week. His solution is his wife's favorite delusion—an imaginary son, na...
The Weight Of The Evidence (2001)
Meteorites fall from the sky, but seldom onto the heads of science dons in redbrick universities; yet this is what happens to Professor Pluckrose of Nestfield University. Inspector Appleby soon discovers that the meteorite was not fresh and that the professor's deckchair had been placed underneat...
The Bloody Wood (2001)
An assorted party of guests have gathered at Charne, home of Charles Martineau and his ailing wife, Grace, including Sir John Appleby and his wife, Judith. Appleby's suspicions are soon aroused with the odd behaviour of Charles, and the curious last request of Grace - who desires that upon her de...
There Came Both Mist And Snow (2001)
Stunning Belrive Priory, consisting of a mansion, park, and medieval ruins, is surrounded by the noise and neon signs of its gaudy neighbors—a cotton mill, a brewery, and a main road. Nevertheless, Arthur Ferryman is pleased to return for a family Christmas, but is shocked to discover that his co...
The Daffodil Affair (2001)
Inspector Appleby's aunt is most distressed when her horse, Daffodil - a somewhat half-witted animal with exceptional numerical skills - goes missing from her stable in Harrogate. Meanwhile, Hudspith is hot on the trail of Lucy Rideout, an enigmatic young girl has been whisked away to an unknown ...
Appleby At Allington (2001)
Sir John Appleby dines one evening at Allington Park, the Georgian home of his acquaintance Owain Allington, who is new to the area. His curiosity is aroused when Allington mentions his nephew and heir to the estate, Martin Allington, whose name Appleby recognises. The evening comes to an end but...
Appleby's End (2001)
Appleby's End was the name of the station where Detective Inspector John Appleby got off the train from Scotland Yard. But that was not the only coincidence. Everything that happened from then on related back to stories by Ranulph Raven, Victorian novelist - animals were replaced by marble effigi...
Appleby And The Ospreys (2001)
Clusters, a great country house, is troubled by bats, as Lord and Lady Osprey complain to their guests, who include first rate detective, Sir John Appleby. In the matter of bats, Appleby is indifferent, but he is soon faced with a real challenge - the murder of Lord Osprey, stabbed with an ornate...
Sheiks And Adders (2001)
When half of the guests at a charity masquerade fˆte at Drool Court turn up dressed as sheiks, it must be more than pure coincidence. One of them is the real thing, however, and Sir John Appleby, master detective, discovers that he is in grave danger. When one of the pseudo-sheiks if murdered, Ap...
The Gay Phoenix (2001)
Charles and Arthur Povey set out on a boating adventure. Charles is the rich brother who can afford to keep a yacht and Arthur is the less affluent brother with the sailing skills. His skills prove useless, however, when they run into a storm which leaves the boat mast-less and one brother dead (...
Appleby's Answer (2001)
Rather a tiresome man. But it does seem extravagant to propose to murder him. (p. 84)But it begins to look like that may be what is in store for Sir Ambrose Pinkerton in Appleby's Answer by Michael Innes (John Innes MacKintosh [J.I.M.] Stewart; 1973). It all begins with Priscilla Pringle, well-kn...
The Appleby File (2001)
There are fifteen stories in this compelling collection, including: Poltergeist - when Appleby's wife tells him that her aunt is experiencing trouble with a Poltergeist, he is amused but dismissive, until he discovers that several priceless artefacts have been smashed as a result; A Question of C...
The Ampersand Papers (2001)
Former Scotland Yard detective Sir John Appleby is taking a beach walk near Ampersand castle when a man literally drops dead at his feet. Dr. Sutch, part-time archivist for the penniless Lord Ampersand, has fallen to his death from the rickety external staircase rigged up to allow access to the c...
A Night Of Errors (2001)
A grueling night of shrouded motives and confused identities develops when the last of the Dromios is found murdered, with both of his hands burnt off. He was one of triplets, whose brothers had died in a fire forty years previously. Inspector Appleby wrenches the facts from a melodrama in which ...
The Long Farewell (1991)
Sir John Appleby, Inspector at Scotland Yard, is on holiday in Italy and decides to stop in and see an acquaintance who is also abroad. Lewis Packford is a well-known, if flamboyant, Elizabethanscholar with a penchant for quoting Shakespeare at the most interesting moments. Packford often puts ...
Appleby On Ararat (2001)
I sometimes forget how strange Michael Innes novels can be--and this is an odd one, definitely a lesser work, but not too bad. The first chapter is perfect--a portrait of a group of people in a cafe on an ocean liner, right before their ship is torpedoed. The group ends up on a tropical island, w...
Appleby Talks Again (2001)
Ralph Dangerfield, an Edwardian playwright who belonged to the smartest young set of his day, kept a scandalous diary recording the intimate details of his own life and those of his friends. After his death, it was believed that his mother had burnt the incriminating evidence, but fifty years lat...
The Open House (1982)
John Appleby, formerly of Scotland Yard, is traveling through unfamiliar countryside when his car breaks down. After setting off to find an inn and get a place to spend the night, his flashlight dies. He has no choice but to hike along the dirt road hoping to find shelter. He is stunned - literal...