Innes, Michael - A Connoisseur's Case / The Crabtree Affair (1962)

Review by Nick Fuller

4/5

Although not a classic, there is much in this tale to please the connoisseur. Although rural, the stately home (b. 1786) and canal (in the lock of which the holidaying Applebys find the corpse of an enigmatic rustic) are drawn with more conviction than one would expect from an author who sets his tale in a place called Scroop. The telling is straightforward, with less emphasis on the local eccentrics, including Lady Appleby’s piscomanic uncle and two butlers, and more on the detection than one expects from Innes at this stage. The red herrings (treasure, legitimate bastards) swim in their native waters; and the solution is neither convoluted nor unconvincing, with a good motive

In these 'middle' books, Appleby as Commissioner is too exalted an administrator to take part in official detection, so his involvement has to be by accident or a personal connection. In this case, he and his wife are on vacation and encounter a corpse in a derelict canal lock. This is a nice village cosy with a lot of good red herrings and an ingenious scam behind as motive for the murder. Not overwhelmingly erudite dialogue either.

Wyatt James