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melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
4.0
The president of a college is found dead in his study/library. There is a locked gate, which narrows the suspects down to seven (Seven Suspects was the alternate title) - but does it? It is a very academic mystery, filled with all the traditions of early-twentieth century British academia, and sometimes it gets a little ponderous ... and the solution is twisted and improbable in the complications of what turns out to be a very simple murder.
erin230's review
Ugh!!! This is not my kind of book at all. So tedious I refused to go past the first couple of chapters.
steller0707's review against another edition
5.0
Very British. A intellectual inspector from Scotland Yard is called on to solve a murder at his alma mater, a college patterned on Oxford or Cambridge. The case is complicated because of the cerebral bent of the suspects. If you like Inspector Morse, you'll like Inspector Appleby, who pre-dates him.
bmip666's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
aphraclare's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Death, Blood, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
ashleylm's review against another edition
2.0
It's the sort of book that I might have read ten years ago, not liked very much, and then forgotten ... or possibly the sort of book that I might have read ten years ago, not liked very much at first, but then about a third of the way in it really took off—but I doubt it. I've read 20% of it, and it's boring. All the characters are old white men in exactly the same profession (I'm so tired of mysteries where each suspect is near-identical save for their name) and it'll be a struggle to keep them apart. The mystery element seems to be blah-blah-blah keys and blah-blah-blah locked gate, as if (at a University!) no one's managed to figure out how to climb over a building and drop daintily down into a courtyard, for Pete's sake.
And compared to the other books I have going right now, it suffers. Still, I gave it a go, and it wasn't really for me.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
And compared to the other books I have going right now, it suffers. Still, I gave it a go, and it wasn't really for me.
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
fictionfan's review against another edition
1.0
I simply Kant take any more...
When Dr Umpleby, the President of prestigious and ancient St Anthony's College, is found murdered, Inspector Appleby of the Yard is rushed to the spot, as the local plods will clearly not be well educated or cultured enough to deal with such a sensitive affair. Fortunately Appleby can quote major and minor philosophers with the best of them and has more than a passing knowledge of all the arcane subjects covered in a classical Oxbridge education, all of which will no doubt help him to uncover who killed the President and why.
The tone of my introduction may have been somewhat of a spoiler for my opinion of the book, so I may as well jump straight to the conclusion – I abandoned this at just under 40%, finally throwing in the towel when one of the characters hinted that the clue to the mystery might be found in an anecdote about Kant quoted in a book by De Quincey. This, only a couple of pages after the following passage...
I couldn't help but feel it might have been more useful had Appleby asked whether Titlow had crept into the college garden in the middle of the night and shot the President, or searched his rooms for the gun, but each to his own, I suppose. And certainly, my method wouldn't have allowed Innes to show his vast erudition and superior intellect, which appears to be the main purpose of the book.
The actual plot is based on there being a limited number of people, almost all academics, who could have had access to Dr Umpleby's rooms at the time of the murder. Sadly, this aspect becomes tedious very quickly with much talk of who had or didn't have keys, where rooms are in relation to each other, where walls and passages are. I felt a desperate need for a nap... oops, I mean a map... after the first several dozen pages of description. Oddly enough, Innes claims Appleby is happier dealing with problems on a “human or psychological plane” and then proceeds to have this great intellectual wandering around in the (literal) dark, playing hunt the missing key. By 40%, only one possible motive had emerged, largely because Appleby seems more interested in listing the academic tomes on the suspects' bookshelves than in trying to find out where they had been at the time of the crime.
This is one of Martin Edwards' picks in his The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, and I've seen several positive reviews of other books of Michael Innes' recently, so I'm willing to accept that my antipathy to this style of writing isn't universal, or perhaps Innes improved in later books – this, I believe, was his first. However, the only emotions it provoked in me were tedium and irritation at the perpetual intellectual snobbery. Having been made to realise my own status as dullard, I shall take my inferior intellect and defective education off into the dunce's corner now... but don't feel too sorry for me, for I shall take with me an ample supply of chocolate and some books by authors who may not have achieved a First in Classics at Oxbridge but who nevertheless know the definition of the word “entertain”...
In truth, I think my rating of this one is harsh – had I been able to convince myself to struggle through it, it may have earned three stars for the quality of the writing and plot. But since I couldn't bring myself to finish it, I fear I can only give it one.
PS Appleby and Umpleby? Seriously??
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Ipso Books.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
When Dr Umpleby, the President of prestigious and ancient St Anthony's College, is found murdered, Inspector Appleby of the Yard is rushed to the spot, as the local plods will clearly not be well educated or cultured enough to deal with such a sensitive affair. Fortunately Appleby can quote major and minor philosophers with the best of them and has more than a passing knowledge of all the arcane subjects covered in a classical Oxbridge education, all of which will no doubt help him to uncover who killed the President and why.
The tone of my introduction may have been somewhat of a spoiler for my opinion of the book, so I may as well jump straight to the conclusion – I abandoned this at just under 40%, finally throwing in the towel when one of the characters hinted that the clue to the mystery might be found in an anecdote about Kant quoted in a book by De Quincey. This, only a couple of pages after the following passage...
And he [Inspector Appleby] sipped his whisky and finally murmured to Titlow [a suspect], with something of the whimsicality that Titlow had been adopting a little before, “What truth is it that these mountains bound, and is a lie in the world beyond?”
There was silence while Titlow's eye dwelt meditatively on the policeman conversant with Montaigne. Then he smiled, and his smile had great charm. “I wear my heart on my wall?” he asked. “To project one's own conflicts, to hang them up in simple pictorial terms – it is to be able to step back and contemplate oneself. You understand?”
I couldn't help but feel it might have been more useful had Appleby asked whether Titlow had crept into the college garden in the middle of the night and shot the President, or searched his rooms for the gun, but each to his own, I suppose. And certainly, my method wouldn't have allowed Innes to show his vast erudition and superior intellect, which appears to be the main purpose of the book.
The actual plot is based on there being a limited number of people, almost all academics, who could have had access to Dr Umpleby's rooms at the time of the murder. Sadly, this aspect becomes tedious very quickly with much talk of who had or didn't have keys, where rooms are in relation to each other, where walls and passages are. I felt a desperate need for a nap... oops, I mean a map... after the first several dozen pages of description. Oddly enough, Innes claims Appleby is happier dealing with problems on a “human or psychological plane” and then proceeds to have this great intellectual wandering around in the (literal) dark, playing hunt the missing key. By 40%, only one possible motive had emerged, largely because Appleby seems more interested in listing the academic tomes on the suspects' bookshelves than in trying to find out where they had been at the time of the crime.
This is one of Martin Edwards' picks in his The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, and I've seen several positive reviews of other books of Michael Innes' recently, so I'm willing to accept that my antipathy to this style of writing isn't universal, or perhaps Innes improved in later books – this, I believe, was his first. However, the only emotions it provoked in me were tedium and irritation at the perpetual intellectual snobbery. Having been made to realise my own status as dullard, I shall take my inferior intellect and defective education off into the dunce's corner now... but don't feel too sorry for me, for I shall take with me an ample supply of chocolate and some books by authors who may not have achieved a First in Classics at Oxbridge but who nevertheless know the definition of the word “entertain”...
In truth, I think my rating of this one is harsh – had I been able to convince myself to struggle through it, it may have earned three stars for the quality of the writing and plot. But since I couldn't bring myself to finish it, I fear I can only give it one.
PS Appleby and Umpleby? Seriously??
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Ipso Books.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
cservat129's review against another edition
3.0
This was an okay read for me. The plot was well written and the premise was one that I enjoyed. There is nothing like a good old fashioned mystery and that was exactly what this book was.
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
2.0
Couldn't decide between a two or a three star rating for this book. The mystery is complex which is enjoyable but the story didn't really hit the spot with me. However, I enjoyed the way it came together at the end.
majkia's review against another edition
3.0
Good start to the Inspector Appleby series. Great setting, interesting detective, confusing mystery. My only beef was I thought the denouement was a bit too contrived. I'll read the rest of the series though.