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A Private View
A Private View
A Private View
Ebook255 pages5 hours

A Private View

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this ebook

From a British Golden Age author “in a class by himself among detective story writers,” Sir John Appleby solves an art world crime (The Times Literary Supplement).

When Sir John Appleby is persuaded by Lady Appleby to attend an art exhibit, he believes he is only appeasing his wife, a sculptress herself, and quite the art collector, too. But when Appleby learns the show is a memorial exhibition for recently murdered artist Gavin Limbert, his interest is piqued, to say the least. Especially when Limbert’s latest masterpiece is stolen from the gallery right under his nose. But this is no matter for Scotland Yard’s most brilliant inspector. Once Appleby puts his clever mind to the case, he’ll follow every twist and turn in this mystery until he uncovers the astonishing truth.

Praise for Michael Innes and the Inspector Appleby series

“Wickedly witty.” —Daily Mail

“As farfetched and literary as Sayers.” —The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 31, 2023
ISBN9781504089913
A Private View

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Reviews for A Private View

Rating: 3.6052631578947367 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

38 ratings3 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This 13th entry in the Inspector Appleby series was a witty art-based mystery with a twist at the end. I was pleased to see Judith Appleby play a significant role.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sir John Appleby of Scotland Yard is out to lunch with his wife. Finishing their meal, she coerces him to attend a private viewing of art at the DaVinci Gallery. The work is of a recently deceased, modern artist. This wouldn’t matter much except Appleby knows of the death as it was a matter of murder.During the private viewing, the large show piece is stolen in from of everyone’s eyes. Removed from the wall, loaded into a van and driven away.Along with the missing abstract, there is a missing Vermeer and a Stubbs — two very valuable works. The latter two pieces were stolen from the estate of the Duke of Horton. Early on, the Stubbs is found in the studio of the dead artist. How and why it is there is part of the mystery.Appleby is married to a sculptress, so he is no stranger to the Art world, but the characters he meets during his investigation introduce him to even more unusual personalities.Piecing clues together and keeping up with a strange chase, gives you quite a few threads to keep track of. It is a book to take your time while reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Many years ago when I read mysteries like eating chocolates, (I couldn’t stop with just one but they didn’t really count as “real reading”) I read several of the John Appleby novel by Michael Innes (aka J.I.M. Stewart) and enjoyed them. I hadn’t thought of them in years until Stasia brought them to my attention when she read [There Came Both Mist and Snow] recently. I had trouble tracking down that book because my library has it under the title of [A Comedy of Terrors], but I managed to solve that mystery and I requested it. As a bonus, it came in an omnibus of three Appleby mysteries titled [Appleby Intervenes] and I decided to read them in order. This is the first one.First published in 1940 [One-Man Show] stands up remarkably well, starting with the title which turns out to be a double entendre. I love British mysteries and this one has all the elements of a good one with great characterizations, a glimpse of the aristocracy and what is happening during this era, a puzzle mystery with plenty of twists and turns, and some good action scenes. The plot revolves around the murder of a young abstract painter and the subsequent robbery of his last painting at the opening of his posthumous one-man show. This was an enjoyable afternoon read that went down as pleasurably as a piece of chocolate. I’m delighted that I still have two more to go. Recommended for mystery fans, especially if you like the British ones!

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A Private View - Michael Innes

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