Readers who are familiar with (and like) the Sir John Appleby series by Michael Innes will be happy to see Hare Sitting Up come out in ebook, courtesy of Agora Books. For others, it may a little harder to figure out just quite how they feel about this book, which has a serious underlying theme with an uncanny resemblance to conditions today, but also has many fun Golden Age mystery characteristics.

The unusual title tees up the theme, both in the opening quote from DH Lawrence, and in the first chapter, where a wide-ranging train-compartment conversation between one of the main characters, headmaster Miles Juniper, and a number of recent Oxford graduates showcases the students’ and Juniper’s concerns about biological warfare. It’s worth remembering that at the time Hare Sitting Up was first published, in 1959, the world was at the height of the Cold War, and many people felt that the end – whether from nuclear warfare or biological warfare, might not be far away. And this tension provides an uncomfortable fast-forward to today, when many folks feel that the end may come from climate change or a pandemic – more slow-rolling, perhaps, but not that different than biological warfare.

Attentive readers will note that Juniper mentions during the train-compartment discussions that he has a brother working in the biological warfare field, and that provides the link to the rest of the story. That brother, Howard, turns out to be not just “working in the field”, but actually one of the top researchers in Britain, or even the world. And he has disappeared. And it’s possible that some unspeakably lethal stuff has disappeared with him. Thus begin some of the enjoyable (but slightly over-the-top) classical mystery elements, as Sir John makes an improbable visit to Miles’ school while posing as “Mr. Clywd from Wales”, complete with Rolls motor-car; and readers find out that Miles and Howard are actually identical twins, known for pulling “switches” in the past. Things continue equally fancifully from there, with Lady Appleby’s undercover visit to the school, a bird-crazy (or maybe just crazy) peer, rumors of an extinct Great Auk on a remote military island, references to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and more. In the end, of course, Appleby figures out what’s going on, and arrives just in time for a rather spectacular denouement.

Overall, Hare Sitting Up is a quick and enjoyable read, but also a bit of a mixed bag, so it gets four stars rather than five. It’s worth giving a nod to Agora’s excellent cover for the book, with its two hares sitting up, in mirror image, rather than one – a nice nod to the identical twins motif which runs throughout the book. And finally, my thanks to Agora Books and NetGalley for the advance review copy!

Hare Sitting Up - Michael Innes
This is number 18 in the Sir John Appleby series
The story takes place during the Cold-war. In part one a discussion about war, the atom bomb and bacteriological warfare takes place between headmaster Miles Juniper and five young people in a train compart. In part two Miles Juniper is visited by John Appleby. The reason is the disappearance of his twin brother Harold. He is a germ-warfare expert and no one knows if he has been kidnapped, gone mad or just run away. As it is of national interest Appleby persuades Miles to impersonate him while they try to find him. This takes Appleby to a bird fanatic earl, and a remote Atlantic rock before solving the case.
I was very well entertained. It was a both funny and intriguing story, and thanks to Crime Classics Review Club and NetGalley I got to read one more novel in one of my favourite series.

Scientist Howard Juniper has been working on biological weapons for the British government and he's disappeared. Has Howard just taken some time off or is there something more sinister and deadly going on? To avoid a public panic, Scotland Yard's Inspector John Appleby enlists Howard's twin Miles, a school headmaster, to impersonate his missing brother. Appleby's frantic seach for Howard takes him to an eccentric aristocrat's bird-filled decaying manor and to a secret government installation off Scotland's coast. "Hare Sitting Up" was originally published in 1959 during Cold War tensions and fears. With that world in mind, it's a taunt book that keeps readers engaged.

Much to my surprise I enjoyed this book very much.

I should explain: I’ve only read one Michael Innes book before and couldn’t get on with it. I didn’t like the characters, the style or the plot. But this book was so different. The characters are “real”, interesting people. The plot is intricate and convoluted. And Appleby (and his wife) play a much greater part in this story and so are able to come to life, unlike the earlier book where Appleby seemed to serve little purpose.

The opening chapter was a bit difficult to get to grips with as it consisted mainly of a group of students, in a railway carriage, engaging in a philosophical discussion. I couldn’t keep track of who was which, nor could I see how this discussion could be relevant to the meat of the book. I was to be proved wrong. Though I do think it made for a very dry beginning.

After this we are quickly dropped into the baffling disappearance of a germ-warfare scientist and the crucial question of whether he has absconded with a sample of his deadly toxin. The story gallops along as does Appleby, who is forced to work alone to prevent any rumour of a potentially dangerous or deranged scientist wandering the country with death in his pocket.

I was pleased that I read this as an ebook and so was able to look things up as I went along - translations of latin tags, the context of obscure quotations, and definitions of technical language that hadn’t come my way before. I might have found this tiresome if I had not been able to dip into Wikipedia or Google at will.

4.5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from Agora Books. This review is my honest opinion of “Hare Sitting Up”.

The Empathetic Appleby Returns.....
The empathetic Appleby returns in this quirky mystery. Scientists, missing persons, a set of twins and a deadly virus. It’s all going on here. Faced with a host of suspects, motives and secrets Appleby sets out to get to the truth. Not as entertaining, for me, as the authors’ more traditional tales but it is enjoyable classic crime with red herrings aplenty, an eccentric cast of well drawn characters and told with author’s trademark dry wit.

Hare Sitting Up was originally published in 1959 and is the eighteenth book in Michael Innes’ Inspector John Appleby series – the good news is that it’s absolutely not necessary to have read the first seventeen before starting this one! I have read a few of the previous books and they do all stand alone; they are also all very different and this one is different again.

The unusual title comes from Women in Love by D H Lawrence:

“You yourself, don’t you find it a beautiful clean thought, a world empty of people, just uninterrupted grass, and a hare sitting up?”

At the time when Innes was writing this novel, which was the era of the Cold War, scientists were developing ways that could make the sort of world Lawrence describes – a world free of human beings – into reality, through means such as nuclear and biological weapons. In Hare Sitting Up, Sir John Appleby is investigating the disappearance of Professor Howard Juniper, a top government scientist who has been conducting secret research into biological warfare. As there’s a chance that Juniper may have taken some of these dangerous substances out of the laboratory with him, it is important that he is found as quickly as possible and with the minimum publicity. Appleby enlists the help of Juniper’s brother Miles, a headmaster at a prestigious boys’ school – and to say any more would start to give too much of the plot away!

This book is more of a thriller than a mystery, although there are elements of both. Due to the short length, once we get past the slow opening chapter, the story moves forward at a steady pace with the action switching between the home of an eccentric ornithologist, an island off the coast of Scotland, and Splaine Croft School, where Miles Juniper works. There’s a great chapter in which Judith, Appleby’s wife, visits the school to look for clues and has to find a way to explore the buildings without attracting suspicion; I like Judith, whom we met earlier in the series, and it was good to see her being entrusted with some investigations of her own.

Reading this novel in the middle of a pandemic made the discussions on the end of humanity and the destruction of the world feel particularly bleak, but the twists and turns which accompany the search for the missing Juniper brother were entertaining and, thankfully, the book was not as depressing as I thought it might be at first! Some parts of the plot were very predictable (I guessed one of the twists very early in the book), but others were very far-fetched and unlikely and, as is often the case with Innes, you have to be prepared to suspend your disbelief. I didn’t like it as much as some of his others, but for a short, quick read I found it quite enjoyable.

I've tried Appleby books before and never really gotten into them. This one, however, was different. Great plot, interesting characters, and it seemed to move along at a good pace. Very much enjoyed!

‘I am a policeman. My name is Appleby.’

At the height of the Cold War, Professor Howard Juniper disappears. He has not been seen for three days. Professor Juniper has been researching and developing defences against bacteriological warfare and the British government is concerned. He has been working under considerable pressure: has he been kidnapped; has he been driven mad or has he defected? In the wrong hands, his work could destroy humanity.

Sir John Appleby, head of Scotland Yard, has been asked by the Prime Minister to investigate. Sir John enlists the help of Miles Juniper, Howard’s identical twin brother. Miles, the headmaster of a boys school, is asked to impersonate Howard for a few days to buy time for Sir John to investigate.

The investigation takes Sir John from the private boys’ school of Splaine Croft to the crumbling estate of Lord Ailsworth, and on to remote Ardray Island. Lord Ailsworth may be eccentric, but he gives Sir John an important clue. Can he find Howard Juniper? And then Miles Juniper goes missing…

‘Lord Ailsworth and his Donkey Ducks suggest a sort of challenge, wouldn’t you say?’

This book was first published in 1959, and while this particular cold war might be behind us, the current COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder of just how vulnerable humanity is to virulent viruses as well as to other biological agents.

I enjoyed this novel, which had a couple of twists to keep me guessing.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Agora Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Professor Howard Juniper, highly acclaimed scientist has gone missing. For Sir John Appleby of Scotland Yard the implications are of a serious nature. To the extent that he wishes for Howard's identical twin brother, Miles, to impersonate him for several days. Can the ruse work and will Appleby find Juniper before the press discover the truth. Appleby follows the clues, but will he be in time.
An enjoyable and interesting thriller and mytsery story.
Originally written in 1959
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really couldn't get into this book. Most of the language used in the book was over my head. I found it very boring and didn't read very much of it. It was just not my cup of tea.

Another entertaining romp from Michael Innes, this one written in 1959, drawing on Cold War context and the possibilities of biological warfare- an uncomfortable reminder in the midst of a COVID pandemic.

Innes manages to hold a line between British Public School japes and jollity, boys’ own adventure, crime solving and Lewis Carroll-like absurdity. The reader needs a tolerance of nonsense and a willing suspension of disbelief. Once meeting this criteria the reader settles in to a good read, a puzzle and the possibility of staying with, or even ahead of the author in the twists and turns of the plot

I have read several of the Inspector Appleby books in the past and this was a good read but, of course, politically of its time. The plots are always quirky and this was even more so than usual - but nevertheless enjoyable and clever. Let's hope more are to be republished and enjoyed by a wider and new readership.

This book was first published in 1959. It is now being released by Agora Books in kindle edition.
Howard Juniper, a leading bacteriologist and a specialist in biological warfare suddenly disappears one day. A deadly bacteriological culture also goes missing. Does the missing Howard have it with him ?
John Appleby, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) is called upon to trace him. He visits Howard’s identical twin brother Miles, who is a headmaster of a school. Appleby asks Miles to impersonate Howad in the lab to give him some time to search for Howard without any publicity.
A clue is offered by a reclusive ornithologist that Howard, who has a fascination for birds, was searching for the long extinct Great Auk.
Appleby goes on a long chase including visits to the decaying mansion of a mad Earl and the island of Ardray on the Atlantic Ocean.
I was disappointed with this novel. It is more a thriller than a mystery, not my cup of tea. I found the plot mediocre and the reading dull. Not recommended.

This is a very clever classic British crime book. Appleby, the head of Scotland Yard is investigating the case of a scientist, Harold Juniper, working on germ warfare, who has disappeared. His disappearance needs to be kept secret. Harold's twin brother, Miles, is the head master of a boys school. Appleby sends his wife to pretend to look at the boys school for her sons to search the school to see if she can find the missing Harold. After she does a thorough search, Appleby goes to see an old Lord Ailsworth, who is crazy about birds. Ailsworth tells Appleby he saw Harold who was on his way to find the extinct Auks which he had heard were on Ardray Island, a Navy private island in the North Atlantic. Appleby goes there and realizes it was a wild goose chase when he hears torpedo tunnels were called Auks.

Returning home, he asks Miles to pretend to be his brother to keep people from knowing that Harold is missing. Appleby had learned that when is school, Harold and Miles often pretended to be each other. At this point, an unsavory man Grindrod, who was in prep school and university with the Junipers is discovered to be about and was following Miles leaving Harold's lab. Appleby must find the missing Junipers before Grindrod finds them or Lord Ailsworth does something crazy.

The title of Hare Sitting Up, by Michael Innes, intrigued me; and not less when I saw the phrase within the epigraph, a quote from D.H. Lawrence. The first chapter plunges right into additional intriguing hints as to what the book might prove to be about. A middle-aged schoolmaster shares a train compartment with a group of very recent college graduates, whose freewheeling and combative conversation bounces among such topics as radioactivity in elk bones, misanthropy, bacteriological warfare, and Shakespeare.

With the entrance – the decidedly unconventional entrance – in the following chapter of Inspector Appleby of Scotland Yard, the specific puzzle of the story begins to unfold: the mysterious disappearance of the schoolmaster’s twin brother, a brilliant scientist whose bacteriological research could have dire international implications.

Is it kidnapping? Treachery? Irresponsibility? Insanity? Murder? Appleby’s investigation connects him with characters and situations far outside what I, or most readers, are at all likely to encounter. An eccentric elderly earl with a fanatical obsession with ornithology. Identical twins given to impersonating one another with astonishing success. An island being secretly transformed into missile silos. A scheme to eliminate most of the human race.

In spite of the abundance of the unfamiliar and the implausible, I felt that the story hung together. There was, indeed, an odd (and humorous) episode involving Appleby’s wife, which struck me as less skillfully handled than the rest. By the end of the book, I could see its thematic connections to the whole, but in my view it remained a detraction. Overall, though, I quite enjoyed the book.

Readers who, like me, prefer their fiction without offensive language or unnecessarily detailed misbehavior, will be comfortable with this book. It does help to have the internet handy for looking up unusual vocabulary and Latin quotations!

1959. A famous expert on germ warfare disappears, possibly with a lethal sample, and Appleby must find him before the disappearance becomes public knowledge. The title references a quote from Women in Love by D. H. Lawrence: “You, yourself, don’t you find it a beautiful clean thought, a world empty of people, just uninterrupted grass, and a hare sitting up?” This is a recurring theme throughout the book. I adore Appleby, but this is not my favorite in the series. The story strains credibility, but it does feature many interesting characters and is an enjoyable and amusing read.

Spanning a career of fifty years, the Inspector Appleby novels by Michael Innes can be read again and again. This particular story has elements of fellow Scottish author John Buchan in it.
Michael Innes had a great sense of humour which he put to good use in his crime novels. He dispensed with the whodunit formula and created a special niche for himself. Quotes from Shakespeare abound and his characters are often eccentric, if not downright mad.
In this novel there are identical twins, a reclusive Lord, a sinister island off the coast of Scotland, and ducks - lots of ducks. Appleby's wife, Judith, plays a part in the investigation. She's a fabulous character. Great fun to read, intriguing and engaging.

I will definitely be looking for another Inspector Appleby mystery but this particular plot line did not hold my interest. Prefer the more classic style of murder followed by investigation. Fortunately, quite a short book. Thanks to Crime Classics and Netgalley.

3.5 stars

I found this Appleby, originally published in 1959, to be a bit uneven. There are times when it is delightful. I particularly appreciate the fact that often older books take for granted that the reader is intelligent.

Sir John Appleby, head of Scotland Yard, is called in when a scientist working on a critical germ warfare project goes missing. He immediately interviews the scientist's identical twin brother, a schoolmaster, who agrees to impersonate his brother at the lab to delay any concern. After a somewhat obscurely philosophical first chapter, the plot begins to roll and it's a wildly improbable ride. An enjoyable read, despite the decidedly abrupt ending. Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a Michael Innes (J. I. M. Stewart) fan, I was thrilled with the opportunity to read this for the first time. Originally published in 1959, it is being re-published. This is a great era from which to read mysteries. Though not my favourite by this author, this book is unique and spellbinding enough to seriously consider.

This mystery primarily revolves around twin brothers, Howard and Miles. Howard is a professor and biology researcher; Miles is a headmaster. When one disappears the other is involved in finding him with Appleby who is with the police. Other characters are introduced, along with ornithology (study of birds). Parts of the story take place in a rambling manor which houses more birds than people! Howard's research is important and relates to biochemicals. So, you can imagine fascinating plot possibilities.

My rating for this book is 3,5 rounded up to a 4. The book is definitely interesting but it seemed to fall flat in spots and the characters aren't explored enough in my view. However, the brevity likely contributes. My favourite part was the beginning first few chapters. I would have loved more suspense and tension later on.

Readers who gravitate to 1950s mystery books will likely enjoy this book. It's solid but not the best representation of its era out there. Still well worth a read. And that title!

My sincere thank you to Agora Books and NetGalley! Re-publishing and bringing attention to older books is to be lauded.