Reading the Detectives discussion

First published in 1939, this is the fourth in the Sir John Appleby series.

Richard Eliot has written bestselling crime novels for years. Begun as means to fund his son’s education at Eton, his protagonist 'the Spider' started out as a cunning criminal and later evolved into an ingenious investigator. Despite the series success, Mr Eliot is tiring of his own invention and is looking forward to retiring. But there’s someone out there who doesn’t want him to stop…

When Eliot’s manuscripts start rewriting themselves overnight, it seems the Spider has stepped right off the page and into real life. He commits a crime only to provide an anonymous tip to solve the case. Things get even more bizarre when the Spider starts enacting plots that only ever existed in the author’s mind. Harangued within an inch of his sanity, Eliot calls in Inspector John Appleby to get to the bottom of this twisted game.

With the line between fact and fiction so tangled, will Appleby be able to unravel the mystery before the Spider strikes again?

Feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

I was a bit surprised/disappointed that there was no actual murder in this book, despite the endless build-up - just a lot of little incidents, although the scene where the pig is killed did have a lot of impact, and towards the end it becomes clear there is murderous intention.

I finally plowed my way through it. I don't mind mysteries without a murder--in fact, all other elements being present, I might prefer them that way--but this was a bit of a mess, much as it pains me to admit. I hated the cruelty to animals and thought it was gratuitous. That said, I eat up the author's bloviatory style with a spoon and enjoyed the read thoroughly.

Here's my review, for what it's worth: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great review, Abigail, and I've learned a new word - bloviatory.

Interesting that you found it a bit of a mess despite being such an admirer of Innes. I have occasionally read non-murder mysteries that have been very good, but with this one I thought it was hard to care who was behind the jokes until it all turned a bit darker towards the end. Plus, I kept forgetting who some of the characters were, as there were just so many of them.

Yes, I agree that this book got away from him a bit!