''Appleby at Allington'' is a 1968

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the twentieth in his long-running series featuring

Sir John Appleby Sir John Appleby is a fictional detective created by Michael Innes in the 1930s who appeared in many novels and short stories. Character overview Appleby had perhaps the longest career of any of the great detectives. In ''Silence Observed'' he ...

of Scotland Yard, now retired. It takes the form of a

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...

country house mystery The closed circle of suspects is a common element of detective fiction, and the subgenre that employs it can be referred to as the closed circle mystery. Less precisely, this subgenre – works with the closed circle literary device � ...

with elements of farce. It was released in the United States by

Dodd, Mead Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. History Origins In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. Ta ...

under the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

''Death by Water''.Reilly p.845 A review in the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to '' The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' described it as a "tasty, vintagey Innes, with the only disadvantage that he doesn't allow himself space to develop the many engaging characters and plot potentials".

Synopsis

While dining at Allington Park, the home of his neighbour Owain Allington who has recently reacquired his family's ancestral estates, Appleby and his host discover the body of Allington's nephew Martin in the

control booth The control booth, control room, lighting box, technical booth, tech booth, or just booth used by television, film or theatrical technicians is the area designated for the operation of technical equipment (lighting and sound), lighting controls ...

of the Son et lumière set up ahead of the

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

fête being held the next day.

References

Bibliography

* Hubin, Allen J. ''Crime Fiction, 1749-1980: A Comprehensive Bibliography''. Garland Publishing, 1984. * Reilly, John M. ''Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers''. Springer, 2015. * Scheper, George L. ''Michael Innes''. Ungar, 1986. 1968 British novels British mystery novels British crime novels Novels by Michael Innes Novels set in England British detective novels Victor Gollancz Ltd books {{1960s-crime-novel-stub