The Open House

Summary: When his car breaks down, Sir John Appleby walks up a drive. The mansion at the end is suddenly lit with its front door open.

Years ago a friend recommended the mystery novels of Michael Innes. Witty and well-written, I’ve enjoyed them whenever I come across copies, especially in the green-spined Penguin editions. Sadly, the books are out of print. But I found three of them on my trip to John King’s Books recently.

Innes’ detective is Sir john Appleby, the “Sir” coming with his appointment as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Innes develops this character over 50 years from a young Detective Inspector to his eminent position, publishing Appleby novels between 1936 and 1986.

In this story, Sir John is driving down show more a country road at night when he suddenly discovers his gear shift lever isn’t attached to anything. All he can do is park the car and find assistance. This was before the day of cell phones. He sets foot, trying to find a local inn he thinks is up the road. He turns off a drive that he thinks leads up to it. Everything is dark. Then suddenly it isn’t. Almost like magic, a great country mansion has appeared before him. And when he looks, the front door is open.

Being a proper gentleman, he rings the bell, but no one comes. When he ventures in, he finds no one. But a place is laid for dinner in the dining room. In the main bedroom, pajamas are laid out and a hot water bottle provided to warm the bed. He wanders into the library and figures out this is the house of Adrian Snodgrass, who has made his fortune in South America. Another Snodgrass interrupts him. This is Professor Beddoes Snodgrass, a somewhat daft caretaker whose main job is to open the house up once a year for the arrival of its owner. But he hasn’t turned up for many years. But others from the neighborhood have. As a policeman, Appleby doesn’t approve. But he enjoys a glass of port with the Professor as he recounts the history of the family and the house.

Appleby hears various sounds outside the library, and on going out to search trips over Rev. Absalon, who has dropped by for the open house. There is an appearance of a lady in white, then Leonidas, the recently hired butler who announces that Adrian Snodgrass has arrived. Professor Snodgrass leaves Leonidas to attend to him. Suddenly there is a commotion, a scream, and a fired shot. Appleby finds Adrian Snodgrass has arrived — dead of a gunshot wound. A valuable painting is missing, and worse — people of South American appearance are still rummaging about the house.

Occurring during the night, the story has a fantastic, dreamlike or nightmare-like character involving ladies in white and back, a woman of questionable sanity claiming to be Adrian’s proper wife, and her son who bears a startling resemblance to the deceased. The butler disappears, but not before notifying another near kin. There are chases throughout the house and a safecracking. All the while, Sir John wants to solve the case before breakfast and leave this crazy setting.

Sir John handles himself creditably, despite his years. But we all wonder how he will make sense of all the crazy things going on around him–and will he do it before breakfast? Despite the somewhat implausible plot, this book is a delightful, fast-paced romp. Find yourself a copy if you can! show less

A fair-play detective story, presented in Innes’s improbable mode. In this mode, one is not initially sure whether fantasy has intruded—but in fact rational explanations appear. The fight in the octagonal mirrored room (in the “hypertrophied” house of the title) is superb. All the action takes place over the course of one long night; as he promises himself, Appleby solves the murder mystery before breakfast.

After his car breaks down at night in the middle of nowhere, Appleby stumbles across a large house with all its lights blazing and doors open, but apparently completely deserted. What is going on?

Peak Innes with dotty but cultured members of the landed gentry making matters more and more confusing. Hilarious, and a good mystery as well.

Far from the best Michael Innes novel and in fact quite seriously flawed in places, but it does have quite frankly one of the best opening sequences in British crime fiction. Appleby finds himself stranded in the middle of nowhere on a black, black night and then slowly tries to find his way towards civilisation when... well, you'll see. Entirely worth it for the first sixty or so pages, Innes doesn't exactly under deliver but it never fully matches those first moments.

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 - literally - when he discovers a large house blazing with light. After he recovers, he heads for the building, hoping to find someone at home. But he can see no one. He discovers dinner on the table, laid for one, a fire and pajamas in the bedroom, but not a single person. He finds the library and helps himself to a drink.

Just like that, Appleby has stumbled onto another of the strange sort of mystery stories that typify Michael Innes. It reminded me of show more [Death by Water] or [Sheiks and Adders], with that same sort of beginning. Not quite as much fun as those two books, it was still a good read. show less

I confess ... the writing seemed more convoluted than in other Appleby books. I gave up trying to follow the clues and just enjoyed the ride.

Another Michael Innes, towards the end of his writing career ( and that of , now ex Scotland Yard Commissioner, Sir John Appleby, it must be) .

An excellent and intriguing opening but there after another " usual " convoluted mystery, reliant on convoluted facts, all very explicable, after the event without any suggestion of clues being hidden or rabbits being pulled out of thin air.

I quite like this type of book. They tend to merge with each other fairly quickly after having finished reading them, but enjoyable on the way through.

Have read a fair number of Innes now, most of which have been Appleby mysteries and there is a very wide range, but that is for another day.

It is not on a par with his " The Last Tressilians" , so much a show more favorite of A Penguin a Week, and which I agree is a far more rewarding read ( and written under his real name, J I M Stewart ). It does share one feature and that is a tendency to make an allusion ( and I have thought a fairly obvious one ) only to explain it a few pages later ( as if to make sure that the reader "gets" it).

In "The Open House" it is the initial reference to " a woman in white" when there is a sighting of a mysterious apparition , only for Appleby soon after noting that he ".... felt no disposition to digress upon the literary merits of Wilkie Collins".

A fairly obvious allusion one would have thought, particulary to any well read crime or mystery reader.

All similar allusions I have come across have been literary. I do not know whether is just I have picked up or a reflection of Innes/ Stewart' s "real" career as an English Don.

I noted when reading "The Last Tresselians" 2 or 3 of these, but when I went back to find and record them, could not quickly find them. My distinct recollection however was that one was a reference to an Australian novel, perhaps coming from Stewart's time as Professor of English at the University of South Australia.

I don't think this is great literature or a particularly good example of Innes' work, but having read so many of his works now, I will continue to look out for them and read them ( have now read 10 of the almost 40 I have).

18 January 2013 show less