A Private View

A painting is stolen from under Sir John Appleby's nose at a memorial private view dedicated to a recently deceased young artist. Was there also something not quite right about the young man's death?

A satisfyingly complex romp from Michael Innes with all the usual battiness on show. However, Hildebert Brown (né Braunkopf), the funny foreigner who can't speak English properly, hasn't worn well.

Probably this 13th entry in the Appleby series only deserves 3.5 stars but it was just the book I needed right now. It was a witty art-based mystery (with a twist at the end) which made me laugh out loud several times. I was pleased to see Judith Appleby play a significant role, not just initiating her husband into the case.

Sir John Appleby of Scotland Yard is out to lunch with his wife. Finishing their meal, she coerces him to attend a private viewing of art at the DaVinci Gallery. The work is of a recently deceased, modern artist. This wouldn’t matter much except Appleby knows of the death as it was a matter of murder.

During the private viewing, the large show piece is stolen in from of everyone’s eyes. Removed from the wall, loaded into a van and driven away.

Along with the missing abstract, there is a missing Vermeer and a Stubbs — two very valuable works. The latter two pieces were stolen from the estate of the Duke of Horton. Early on, the Stubbs is found in the studio of the dead artist. How and why it is there is part of the mystery.

Appleby is show more married to a sculptress, so he is no stranger to the Art world, but the characters he meets during his investigation introduce him to even more unusual personalities.

Piecing clues together and keeping up with a strange chase, gives you quite a few threads to keep track of. It is a book to take your time while reading. show less

Many years ago when I read mysteries like eating chocolates, (I couldn’t stop with just one but they didn’t really count as “real reading”) I read several of the John Appleby novel by Michael Innes (aka J.I.M. Stewart) and enjoyed them. I hadn’t thought of them in years until Stasia brought them to my attention when she read [There Came Both Mist and Snow] recently. I had trouble tracking down that book because my library has it under the title of [A Comedy of Terrors], but I managed to solve that mystery and I requested it. As a bonus, it came in an omnibus of three Appleby mysteries titled [Appleby Intervenes] and I decided to read them in order. This is the first one.
First published in 1940 [One-Man Show] stands up show more remarkably well, starting with the title which turns out to be a double entendre. I love British mysteries and this one has all the elements of a good one with great characterizations, a glimpse of the aristocracy and what is happening during this era, a puzzle mystery with plenty of twists and turns, and some good action scenes. The plot revolves around the murder of a young abstract painter and the subsequent robbery of his last painting at the opening of his posthumous one-man show. This was an enjoyable afternoon read that went down as pleasurably as a piece of chocolate. I’m delighted that I still have two more to go. Recommended for mystery fans, especially if you like the British ones! show less

This 13th entry in the Inspector Appleby series was a witty art-based mystery with a twist at the end. I was pleased to see Judith Appleby play a significant role.

Orig. publ. as A private view (London: Gollancz, 1974) Need to reconcile c1952 with orig pub date of 1974