Appleby's End — Michael Innes

A Scotland Yard detective is snowed in with a strange family and a killer with a lethal passion for literature in this classic British mystery.

Something's afoot in the village of Snarl. Incidents include animals turned to stone and ominous tombstones inscribed with deaths yet to come. Det. Insp. John Appleby is travelling by train from London to consult on the case. However, impending his arrival to his connecting train is a terrible snowstorm. Fortunately, a fellow passenger, encyclopedia author Everard Raven, invites Appleby to spend the night at his country estate.

Appleby soon has second thoughts about accepting the offer. When they get off the train, they meet more of Raven's relatives, and they are just as unusual as he is. Next, the station is alarmingly named “Appleby's End.” And then one of the Ravens' servants is found dead and buried up to their neck in snow . . .

As Appleby investigates, he notices an unusual connection between the servant's body, the mayhem at Snarl, and even his own arrival in the village. They all resemble scenes from the novels of Everard's late father. Appleby must determine who is behind this bizarre plot before another member of the Raven household meets a literal end.

Praise for Michael Innes & Appleby's End

“Mr. Innes is in a class by himself among detective story writers.” -- The Times Literary Supplement

“As farfetched and literary as Sayers.” -- The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction

“Quite a funny book.” -- The New Yorker