Friday, June 5, 2015

Another strange Inspector Appleby adventure by Michael Innes: THE OPEN HOUSE (1972)


This book has one of the best beginnings EVER! (At least the kind of beginning I love.) Retired Scotland Yard man, John Appleby, now Lord Appleby, is driving alone on a lonely stretch of road at night...

"The sudden immobilizing of his car hadn't much discomposed John Appleby, but the subsequent failure of his electric torch was another matter.

Not that what had happened to the car wasn't absurd enough to make anybody cross. The night was uncommonly dark and the road unfrequented; he had neither overtaken nor met any other vehicle for miles; there seemed to be no nocturnal pedestrianism or bicycling in this part of the countryside, so that his powerful headlights had the verges comfortably to themselves. Then suddenly there had been the tail-lights of a slow-moving van ahead of him and the brow of a hill beyond. So he had slowed, and changed down to third. Only the gears somehow hadn't engaged, and in a moment he knew why. He was waving the gear-lever in the air.

It hadn't been difficult to steer on to a reliable-looking grass verge, and there he has come to a halt and investigated. He was in neutral, he found, and in neutral he was going to remain. The confounded lever had broken off close to the gear-box. There was nothing whatsoever to be done..."

So he gets out of the incapacitated car and goes out into the night on foot expecting his trusty flashlight (electric torch to you) to last indefinitely - which it almost immediately doesn't. Then there are several more paragraphs of Appleby lost in the dark, looking for help, musing upon his predicament (and of course a Shakespearean quote comes into the mix) until:

"...Appleby moved on, and almost at once sensed that he was heading for an even deeper opacity than that which had hitherto surrounded him. Deep and large. A great rectangular block of darkness, which for a moment he thought to interpret as an enormous barn. And then, in another moment, the scene (if it could be called that) was shatteringly transformed. In place of blinding obscurity there was equally blinding light. For seconds Appleby's night-attuned vision was utterly confounded. Then he saw that what had sprung into existence before him was an imposing mansion-house. Its every window was uncurtained - and all had been simultaneously illuminated. The effect was as a great fanfare of trumpets released upon the dark."

A few moments later, eyesight adjusted, he finds the front door of this huge Palladian house standing wide open. What is a policeman (even a retired one) to do but enter and find himself suddenly thrown into an odd mystery of very strange proportions - complete with requisite dead body, of course.

Not to mention an eccentric professor named Snodgrass, an enigmatic woman, a malevolent servant named Leonidas, a long lost heir, and a suspicious vicar named Absolon. Just the usual.

Truth to tell, in the end there's not much satisfaction, as mysteries go: what the plot boils down to is a murderous tussle over an inheritance and a very odd yearly ritual gone wrong. But in this particular book, it's the weird journey along the way that saves the day and of course the company of Appleby for whom a seemingly insoluble puzzle is like a wounded gazelle to a lion.

I read this alongside (right after) Innes' SHEIKS AND ADDERS - a terrific duo if you're in the mood for this sort of thing and I have been, lately.

Friday Forgotten Books is a meme hosted by author Patti Abbott at her blog, Pattinase. Go check out the rest of today's terrific listings, I'll still be here when you get back.

List of all Michael Innes books.

22 comments:

  1. I remain somewhat on the fence about Innes - by the end, I never seem to have enjioyed them as much as I wanted to (which i realise is an odd thing to say, but there you go). Really enjoyed the review Yvette - I shall diligently try again, I really will, though not until the Summer really kicks in - I'm a lot more reading when there's plenty of sunshine!

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    1. Yeah, he's an acquired taste, no doubt, Sergio. There are really only about six or so books of his that I really and truly enjoyed and re-read now and again. This recent two I'd never read before. SHEIKS AND ADDERS I will be ordering in audio because it is such an enjoyable romp and I like listening to enjoyable romps. Especially mystery romps. :) But THE OPEN HOUSE I'd probably just re-read sometime. Primarily because of the atmosphere. I'm big on atmosphere. :)

      I think if you let yourself be guided by me, kiddo, you'll maybe change your mind about Innes - at least of the titles I recommend. Old lady arrogance. Ha.

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  2. I don't care how much they laugh, I love a book that opens with 'a dark and stormy night'. Of, in this case, darkness and isolation. Nothing is scarier than feeling frightened and totally alone.
    I've never gotten along with Innes very well, but you're making me think I should give him another try. Maybe it's because my copies have mostly been those older paperbacks with the tiny printing.

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    1. Oh, me too, Joan, ME too!! I've found that for very little money I can get hardcover Innes books from Abe Books and free shipping. The few paperbacks I've got of Innes have reasonably sized type so maybe I got lucky. You could always read them on your Kindle - then you can enlarge the type. Not the same thing, I know. :)

      Why not give Innes another chance? Luckily for me, my first and most favorite Michael Innes book was a terrific read: THE SECRET VANGUARD, more an adventure with spying than mystery. I've re-read this and still love it. You might want to try Innes on audio too, the reader is wonderful, at least of the ones I've listened to.

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  3. Appleby books were fun reads.

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  4. Sounds wonderful, in spite of that over-the-top graphics cover.

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    1. I like that cover. Better than the paperback ones at any rate. :) I have to say that in spite of the Michael Innes doubters, I remain a big fan.

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  5. I read and enjoyed LAMENT FOR A MAKER and THE LONG FAREWELL many years ago. I recall nothing about them except that they were very well written and that I enjoyed them. A couple of weeks ago I started HARE SITTING UP, which had been on my shelf forever. But I gave up about 70 pages into it.The situation described in the book is extremely urgent, but most of those first 70 pages are taken up with people's impressions of two principal characters. For me it ultimately devolved into tedium and I stopped caring--and reading.

    I have a copy of APPLEBY & HONEYBATH, a locked-room mystery, which I'll try one of these days.

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    1. I do agree that some of his books can be hard to get into, but on the whole, I am an admirer and do enjoy his sense of the very absurdity of life. Most authors have a dud or two in the pack, let's face it. :)

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  6. My favorite remains "Lament for a Maker," mostly because of that wonderful atmosphere. I can't get the image out of my head of Ranald Guthrie, stalking the freezing halls of the castle, chanting Dunbar's poetry to himself. Or the "learned rats," for that matter.

    When it comes to Innes's surrealism, I don't think you can top "The Daffodil Affair" - a counting horse, a disappearing house, paranormal experiments, a jungle hideaway - wow.

    The only ones I have trouble with, frankly, are the Honeybath books. I just don't find the character funny. But I haven't tried in a long while; maybe I should give it another try?

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    1. I know that your favorite, Les, but I had a hard time with it. One of these days I must give it another try. You interest me with THE DAFFODIL AFFAIR - haven't read it yet. But I'm adding to my list. Have you read FROM LONDON FAR? Talk about surrealism!! I listened on audio to that one and it was FABULOUS.

      I wanted to love Honeybath - I mean, that name!!! But I'm not crazy about him.I've only read a couple and promptly forgot them.

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  7. I Love a good mystery, if the first two pages grab me. Hope you saw the Triple Crown yesterday. What a majestic horse the American Pharoah is, not had a winner since Affirmed. It's about time
    America has a Hero. yvonne

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    1. Me too, Yvonne. :)

      I did see the Triple Crown - SO THRILLING. I watched it over and over. Everytime I got teary. What a splendid animal.

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  8. Yvette, I have never read Michael Innes and I think I'm going to have to begin somewhere.

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    1. Begin where I did, if you can, Prashant: THE SECRET VANGUARD. I loved that book so much. It's more a spy adventure than a mystery and lots of fun. I've re-read it several times now and always will.

      In truth I haven't read very many Appleby books, but the ones I've read I've mostly enjoyed. Especially SHEIKS AND ADDERS and of course, this one, THE OPEN HOUSE.

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    2. Thanks, Yvette. I'll take your advice. I'm a sucker for spy fiction and adventure.

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  9. What a great posting! I am now hot on the trail for the Innes book.
    BTW, Crimes in the Library, dead for a while, has been revived, and I invite you to stop by to visit and comment every now and then.
    http://crimesinthelibrary.blogspot.com/

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    1. Thanks for dropping by, R.T. Crimes in the Library - gotta' love that.

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  10. Yvette, On your comment, Gosh I have been watching the PBS documentary on the Roosevelt's
    by Ken Burns. Meryl streep is Eleanor's voice. Ed Harriman , and Peter Coyote narrates. It is wonderful.Try to watch it on the internet PBS video. The Republicans are just repeating their
    wicked acts again. Leopards don't change their spots.Even his Rep. cousin was a nasty witch.
    Yvonne

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  11. Not as enjoyable as some of his other books but worth a one-time read.

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