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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.
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
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.
readingactually'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.
jessica_sim's review against another edition
1.0
This book did not appeal to me, although I really hoped it would. It surely is intelligently written. It is a golden age mystery favorite! It is set in the academic world, which I work in (as junior manager) and I just cannot resist any work that takes a humorously cynical view on it. It is also teeming with literary and psychological references. I thoroughly enjoyed the night time stalking about scene and giggled many times (up to chapter 10).
Yet...
The heralded detective brought in from London did not bring it. Making inexcusable mistakes as leaving the safe unguarded, leaving the gates unguarded, being seduced by the fluent professors.
The role of the students? Still unclear to me, found them to be very annoying.
And leaving the murderer free to commit suicide as a form of justice amongst "gentlemen"... Not the wrap up I fancy.
Maybe the audiobook format let this book down. Though the narrator was very good and has a lovely proper English voice, there are too many things going on and paper would have the benefit of easily going back and reread and to skip skip skip skip ahead in those super annoying last chapters.
Yet...
The heralded detective brought in from London did not bring it. Making inexcusable mistakes as leaving the safe unguarded, leaving the gates unguarded, being seduced by the fluent professors.
The role of the students? Still unclear to me, found them to be very annoying.
And leaving the murderer free to commit suicide as a form of justice amongst "gentlemen"... Not the wrap up I fancy.
Maybe the audiobook format let this book down. Though the narrator was very good and has a lovely proper English voice, there are too many things going on and paper would have the benefit of easily going back and reread and to skip skip skip skip ahead in those super annoying last chapters.
em2jules's review
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicide
smcleish's review
4.0
Originally published on my blog here& in August 2000.
It is hardly surprising that this novel (about the murder of an Oxbridge college president) was retitled Seven Suspects for its American edition; its original title would clearly give a completely different impression from its actual content.
Innes uses the way that colleges like St Anthony's were shut off from the world at night time to isolate his small group of suspects - like a "submarine" as one of the characters puts it. These boundaries are usually fairly permeable; most people who have lived in a college will probably know of at least one way to get in after the gates close. St Anthony's is made more secure, so that the list of suspects is essentially the same as the list of key holders. The idea that someone may have got into the college or through another internal division is repeatedly introduced, teasingly, only to be rejected each time.
The mystery in Death at the President's Lodging must be one of the most convoluted in the whole genre of detective fiction, with several plots and deceptions carried out both by innocent and guilty parties. Innes is scrupulously fair, but I would challenge anyone to put together all the details of the solution correctly before Inspector Appleby reveals them in the last pages of the novel.
If you like this style of detection, something closely related to Agatha Christie, then you'll like this novel; if not, then you'll probably find it rather tiresome.
It is hardly surprising that this novel (about the murder of an Oxbridge college president) was retitled Seven Suspects for its American edition; its original title would clearly give a completely different impression from its actual content.
Innes uses the way that colleges like St Anthony's were shut off from the world at night time to isolate his small group of suspects - like a "submarine" as one of the characters puts it. These boundaries are usually fairly permeable; most people who have lived in a college will probably know of at least one way to get in after the gates close. St Anthony's is made more secure, so that the list of suspects is essentially the same as the list of key holders. The idea that someone may have got into the college or through another internal division is repeatedly introduced, teasingly, only to be rejected each time.
The mystery in Death at the President's Lodging must be one of the most convoluted in the whole genre of detective fiction, with several plots and deceptions carried out both by innocent and guilty parties. Innes is scrupulously fair, but I would challenge anyone to put together all the details of the solution correctly before Inspector Appleby reveals them in the last pages of the novel.
If you like this style of detection, something closely related to Agatha Christie, then you'll like this novel; if not, then you'll probably find it rather tiresome.
julieputty's review
3.0
A rather fun book, well-written though impossibly silly. The denouement is clever and funny, but if you don't roll your eyes you are a very strong (and possibly strange) person.
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