Appleby Talks

Bonbons or amuse-bouches, are, I think, the correct way to describe these tales. They give the reader a glimpse into the writer’s approach to his art.

The 23 stories are mostly short, light and vaguely amusing. Interestingly, the most successful is the longest, “Dead Man’s Shoes”, which has elements of a thriller in addition to the mystery.

Those who are unfamiliar with Michael innes and John Appleby would be tempted by this book to search out the novels, and old hands, familiar with the appealing and sometimes overwhelming blend of erudition and detection, will find much here to enjoy, albeit in abbreviated form.

Recommended to readers old and new.

Thank you to NetGalley and Agora Books for the digital review copy.

This is a collection of 23 short stories, varying in length. Most are a few pages and one can imagine them being printed in a newspaper or filling a couple of pages in a magazine, but one is quite long. They don’t require great attention and would be ideal for a train journey.

The style is quite reminiscent of the way Agatha Christie had Miss Marple tell her friends about cases from her past. Appleby’s audience is often a combination of the Vicar, Doctor and QC, listening to him in their club. Four stories are straightforward stories told by the author in the conventional manner, rather than by Appleby.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed them and would happily buy another copy if I lost this one, even though I have read all the stories, I did feel a little dissatisfied. That’s not a reflection upon Innes’ ability. It’s just that when I start to read a Michael Innes book, I expect to pay attention and be rewarded for doing so, with clues and his usual polymath’s allusions. The allusions are still here in the short stories, with names like The Cave of Belarius and The Lion and the Unicorn, but it was like sitting down for a meal and expecting pie & chips, followed by a pudding, but being given salad and a slice of apple. Salad and apple are very good but don’t always satisfy one’s appetite. A short story of just a few pages doesn’t allow for too much back story and a build-up of suspense. It’s wham, bam, thank you, ma’am.

My only real criticism is the Welshman in Lesson in Anatomy. I’m Welsh and I don’t mind people taking the mickey out the Welsh at all, but Innes makes him talk with a thicker accent than Fluellen in Henry V. It is so out of character that it’s most puzzling why Innes did that. Is there some subtle similarity in the story to Henry V that I missed?

Whatever. It’s a good book – buy it and enjoy it.

#ApplebyTalks #NetGalley

Excellent set of short stories, with Appleby at all ages. Many thanks to Crime Classics for the ARC.

The problem with short stories is that they are short - there is not enough time to develop much suspense. Appleby is, as always, charming and literate. The stories are stylish, and quick and easy to read.

Scottish literature professor John Innes Mackintosh Stewart, writing as Michael Innes, produced 33 Inspector Appleby mysteries over a half century from 1936 to 1986, and many short stories as well. The 23 stories collected for this book are typical.

The mood is gentle and light-hearted, despite revolving around murder and other crimes. In the Golden Age tradition, most killings are brutal, but the descriptions are brief and clinical. No one ever gets sick at the sight of a mangled corpse, there is no mention of bad smells, victims begging for their lives or pain. The crimes are presented as armchair puzzles rather than hard-boiled fact.

Most of the stories are in the form of Appleby recounting a case, usually either to his vicar and doctor friends, or female social acquaintances of his wife. The stories often start with a startling or impossible fact that is eventually explained in a roundabout way, and end with a bad pun.

Appleby's manner is irreverent and cheerful, and he seems to wander through his cases without direction, until a sudden pounce at the end. The reader is given clues in the approved Golden Age fashion, statements of minor physical facts rather than anything that speaks to motivation or psychology. The criminal is identified not by insight, but by physical logic. We only observe Appleby's behavior, we don't see deeply into his thoughts.

As you would expect from an English professor (that is a Scottish professor whose subject is English) there are lots of literary allusions and stylish, if old-fashioned, phrases.

Overall I recommend this to readers looking for pleasant, unexciting puzzles and anecdotes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Agora Books for the digital galley of this book.

Michael Innes is a favorite author for me, especially stories featuring Appleby. This collection of 23 short stories has Appleby relating crimes or just plain odd happenings to friends, often over a glass of something alcoholic. With the exception of one long story these are snapshots of a crime and the solving of the crime by Appleby. The one longer story takes the reader all the way through the crime and the solution with all details filled in. This was an enjoyable reading experience with crime solving of the old fashioned variety. If you've never read any of Michael Innes longer works, this would be a very good introduction to his style of story construction.

Engaging collection of Appleby mysteries with one truly outstanding and surprising longer piece to close out the book. Be prepared for the limits of the short story form here, more so than in other collections I read in the last few years, as you'll never guess the resolutions in about 75% of these stories (although I guess that could be more Mr. Innes' style rather than the type of book). Anyhoo, totally recommend either to dip into as a nightcap or or hunker down with a blanket and tea and finish in one sitting.

I enjoyed this collection of short (some very short!) mystery stories.
MAny of them were very clever, others lacked anything other than a minor twist,
This is a great book to read before going to bed!

The author Michael Innes, and his series character, Inspector Appleby, are favorites of mine. I enjoyed this collection of short stories, but I’m not convinced that I would have enjoyed them as much if I wasn’t already acquainted with them. Most of these are in the form of tales that Appleby is telling to friends. Most of the pieces in this book are quite short and therefore we really get only the bare bones of the case. In most cases the solution to the crime evaded me.
In general, Innes writes witty,literate, somewhat old fashioned mysteries. Highly recommended if you enjoy a well written mystery without a lot of extraneous violence.

Thank you to Agora books and Net Galley for providing me with a copy to read and review.

Although the short story is not so popular today, except perhaps for romantic fiction in magazines, they lend themselves to being easily read on a phone or tablet and are ideal to pass the time on a short journey.

This collection of masterfully written tales by Michael Innes captures the atmosphere of the 1930s. The stories are very English and of the style, time and genre of writing at that time . It serves both as a good introduction to his character Inspector Appleby and for those already familiar with his old school, classic crime stories.
The structure is quite conventional with Appleby usually telling the tales to his audience of a vicar, and a Doctor and lawyer.

With inventive plots this is an appealing read.

A bumper 23 tales featuring Inspector Appleby through the ages, that is to say, from his younger days through to Inspector at the Yard. Each is a short, compact yet complete tale - each intelligently told, witty and clever. True classic crime and an excellent opportunity to sample Innes.