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A two-bit con-man is thrown in at the deep end as a desperate hunt takes place in Oxford, in this gripping tale the thrilling climax of which takes place in the vaults of the Bodleian Library.Tags
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This 12th entry in the Inspector Appleby series was more of a suspense thriller than a traditional mystery -- something I am beginning to expect with Innes. Appleby himself plays a minor role with more of the action being done by his youngest (and closest) sister Jane, an Oxford student whose fiancé is missing. However, even this situation is secondary to the sinister criminal conspiracy discovered by the petty con-man Routh. The two become entangled when Jane happens to accidentally knock Routh down with her bicycle...
I thought I had spotted the "Director" of the evil conspiracy early on and so the climax in the last chapter (when I discovered I was wrong) was a big surprise! I like that & Jane was a great protagonist. I hope she show more shows up again. show less
I thought I had spotted the "Director" of the evil conspiracy early on and so the climax in the last chapter (when I discovered I was wrong) was a big surprise! I like that & Jane was a great protagonist. I hope she show more shows up again. show less
A pulp adventure taking place at and near Innes' Oxford environs, told in academic prose. Bonkers and full of coincidences. Appleby appears for a few chapters to do a little detecting and rescuing, but the bulk of the book belongs to several other characters. There's Routh, a most unsympathetic vile con man, prone to physical violence, given to paranoia at getting caught in his little crimes, who gets caught up in a mysterious criminal operation out of James Bond. He is pretty much on the run for the first quarter of the book and all his paranoia is valid. Then Appleby and the Oxford Tigers -- youths in the Oxford area -- appear for a bit. The latter come and go but seem pretty irrelevant overall. Finally Jane Appleby, looking for her show more fiance, and Roger Remnant, a taxi driver clearly destined to be played by Bruce Willis, take over the latter half of the book as the invade the criminal lair and chase a Maguffin secret formula into the imagined bowel of the Bodlian Library.
Recommended, but not as a mystery. Silly but fun. show less
Recommended, but not as a mystery. Silly but fun. show less
There's something about finally digging into the works of an author who's been long recommended to you but whose books just never quite seem to turn up when you want them. Several folks have suggested Michael Innes' Inspector Appleby novels to me over the years, so I was delighted to stumble across one in a used bookshop recently. It's one from the middle of the pack, and at first I wasn't sure whether to get it or to wait until I found a copy of the first in the series, but I figured I'd try it, and it doesn't seem as though that did me any harm at all. This one takes a little bit to get going, but there are some excellently-drawn characters, and the suspenseful build-up works excellently.
Highly recommended, and I shall be keeping a show more closer eye out in future for the others! show less
Highly recommended, and I shall be keeping a show more closer eye out in future for the others! show less
Another of Innes' best. The opening chapters place you immediately in the mind of the character who precipitates the rest of the action, an unfortunate and ignoble deserter. The majority of the other characters in the novel have also been affected by WWII in one way or the other. The betrayal at the end is fully realized and came as a surprise to me when I first read the book. Oxford, the countryside, and suburban sprawl are convincingly described and there are some meditations on humanity and morality which may not be profound but are not trite either.
This is a suspense novel much more than it is a mystery.
This is a suspense novel much more than it is a mystery.
This 12th entry in the Inspector Appleby series was more of a suspense thriller than a traditional mystery -- something I am beginning to expect with Innes. Appleby himself plays a minor role with more of the action being done by his youngest (and closest) sister Jane, an Oxford student whose fiancé is missing. However, even this situation is secondary to the sinister criminal conspiracy discovered by the petty con-man Routh. The two become entangled when Jane happens to accidentally knock Routh down with her bicycle...
I thought I had spotted the "Director" of the evil conspiracy early on and so the climax in the last chapter (when I discovered I was wrong) was a big surprise! I like that & Jane was a great protagonist. I hope she show more shows up again. show less
I thought I had spotted the "Director" of the evil conspiracy early on and so the climax in the last chapter (when I discovered I was wrong) was a big surprise! I like that & Jane was a great protagonist. I hope she show more shows up again. show less
Con-men, scientists, Oxford dons & students and a gang of small children. Innes is always a delight & the Appleby books are my favorites. Golden Age mystery with enough twists to keep them from being too dated. Not quite a cozy, but close - and worth the time.
A petty con man stumbles across a major criminal enterprise.
Not one of my favourites of Innes's. A thriller rather than a detective story. Too much Routh and Jane Appleby and not enough Sir John.
Not one of my favourites of Innes's. A thriller rather than a detective story. Too much Routh and Jane Appleby and not enough Sir John.
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Anthony Boucher's Best Crime Fiction of the Year
115 works; 5 members
British Mystery
469 works; 14 members
Books mentioned in Julian Symons’ Bloody Murder
438 works; 6 members
Author Information
101+ Works 10,691 Members
John Innes Mackintosh Stewart was born in Edinburgh. He attended Oxford where he studied English. He taught English in universities at the University of Adelaide, in South Australia. Stewart published novels, short stories, studies in literature, biographies, and plays. Under his name, he wrote scholarly works such as Character and Motive in show more Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, and Thomas Hardy. As Michael Innes, he wrote over fifty detective novels with Inspector John Appleby of Scotland Yard in London as the main character. These titles include Death at the President's Lodging, The Journeying Boy, Lament for a Maker, Operation Pax, the Crabtree Affair and Silence Observed. Stewart died on November 12, 1994. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Operation Pax
- Alternate titles
- The Paper Thunderbolt
- Original publication date
- 1951; 1951 (Victor Gollanz) (Victor Gollanz)
- People/Characters
- Routh; John Appleby; Jane Appleby; Geoffrey Ourglass; Mark Bultitude; Roger Remnant
- Important places
- Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK; Milton Porcorum, Oxfordshire, England, UK (fictional); Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- Epigraph
- Within the navil of this hideous Wood,
Immur’d in cypress shades a Sorcerer dwels…
And here to every thirsty Wanderer,
By sly enticement gives his baneful cup.
COMUS - Dedication
- Within the navil of this hideous Wood,
Immur'd in cypress shades a Sorcerer dwels ...
And here to every thirsty Wanderer,
By sly enticement gives his baneful cup.
COMUS - First words
- There was a wait in the bank.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)'I'm fond of Bodley,' Bodley's Librarian said casually. 'And particularly of Bodley by night.'
- Disambiguation notice
- Published as Operation Pax in the UK and The Paper Thunderbolt in the US.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 251
- Popularity
- 128,753
- Reviews
- 7
- Rating
- (3.61)
- Languages
- English, French, German, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 15
- ASINs
- 18
