The Long Farewell

This is an enjoyable and clever classic crime.

Sir John Appleby visits an acquaintance, Lewis Pickford, in Italy. Pickford is a scholar in Elizabethan literature. He invites Sir John for dinner, bu is very secretive about his apparent excitement. Not too long after, Sir John goes to Peckford’s funeral. He shares a cab with Peckford’s lawyer who doesn’t believe Peckford killed himself. Although a colleague had already declared it suicide, Sir John goes to Peckford’s home Urchins to do his own investigation.

There is a houseful is suspects, including two wives. The first is also a scholar, and the second is a bar maid. There is a competent housekeeper, and several other scholars, who had come for Peckford’s new discovery. Arriving after Sir John were a rich American collector, the editor of a scholarly journal, and the lawyer with the will. Sir John realizes many of those present would be interested in Peckford’s supposed Shakespeare find. After much questioning and two more deaths, Sir John tells the remaining folks what had happened and why.

Appleby drops in on a colorful Shakespearean scholar acquaintance of his in Italy and next sees the man at his funeral after suicide, or was it murder? Appleby investigates a houseful of scholars and collectors plus the dead man’s brother and his two widows. Quite fun with a cast of entertaining characters and great use of Shakespeare quotes.

On holiday in Italy, Appleby pays a brief call on a learned acquaintance, Lewis Packford. Almost the whole chapter is taken up with this old windbag’s ‘whimsical’ conversation, which consists largely of quotations. Appleby, like Innes himself, is well up to this but I found it extremely tedious. Persevere, though, because there are clues buried here.

Back in England, Packford is found shot dead. Suicide or murder? Appleby is called in and uncovers a web of lies, scholarly rivalry and collecting shenanigans. It takes two more deaths before the case is resolved and Appleby is right, as always. This is a short book (a plus with me) and entertaining once you’ve ploughed through the first chapter.

I read this as a member of the Crime Classics Readers’ Club, thanks to Agora books.

The Long Farewell is the 17th Inspector Appleby mystery by Michael Innes. First published in 1958, this reformat and re-release from Agora Books, out 12th Dec 2019, is 184 pages and available in ebook format (other editions in most other formats). Worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book, along with most of the rest of the series, are included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

I have been a fan of the Inspector Appleby mysteries as long as I can remember and I revisit them regularly. They're a lighthearted brand of classic British mystery with intricate plots and well defined (if archetypal) characters and the dialogue is often witty and stylish. They're self aware and not above poking good-hearted fun at everything from the class system to academia to police procedurals. They never devolve into mean-ness or ad hominem attacks and the good guys generally get their man (or woman) in the end. This one is true to form and I am not quite sure how it happened, but I don't remember having read it before.

The book has aged well, despite its 60+ years. The prose is crisp and nuanced. The language is possibly slightly more academic than modern cozies. Due diligence in reading is richly rewarded with many subtly humorous exchanges. There's a scene between Inspector Appleby and Professor Prodger which was perfect and surprised a chuckle out of me. It's lovely to read a classic, very well written, good humored, solidly British mystery.

This edition includes a very short informative author bio. The ebook format also has handy interactive links to some of Michael Innes' works. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Four stars. A fun light read and very well written.

Certainly this is one of the more readily-accessible of the Appleby books, wearing its erudition and cleverness a little more lightly than many. However a reasonable knowledge of Shakespeare will greatly enhance the casual reader's enjoyment. It is also relatively short and, after the somewhat lumbering first chapter, the plot moves along at an enjoyable pace.

The opening chapter is decidedly off-putting but is necessary to the plot, so it is worth persevering with it to reach the richer pastures beyond.. Sir John is in good form, investigating the suspect suicide of a literary scholar. There is some good characterisation and the prose style is a little simpler than usual.

A relaxing and enjoyable read which would provide an easy introduction for new readers.

Thank you to the Crime Classics Readers" Club and Agora Books for the digital review copy.

I have been an Inspector Appleby fan since I discovered him a few years ago. I found the beginning of this mystery to be a bit slow and it took a bit of perseverance to make it through the first chapter or two. However, once the “scene was set”, so to speak, it gathered momentum and turned into a really absorbing and enjoyable book.

An acquaintance of Appleby’s has apparently committed suicide, but doubts arise, and Appleby investigates. Some surprising motives are uncovered, but are they strong enough for murder? I liked the plot, and found the characters interesting and so well developed that I had no problem keeping them straight. There’s humor in this novel, it’s subtle but it’s there, plus a somewhat surprising ending.

Reading a book by a Michael Innes makes me feel like I’m being entertained and educated at the same time. There’s something timeless about his writing. This novel is around 60 years old, but somehow it never really seemed like an old book. I enjoyed it very much.

Sir John Appleby Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police is on holiday in Italy when, on the way to meet his wife in Verona, he drops in on old chum Lewis Packford, learned but eccentric Shakespearian scholar, in his picturesque rented lakeside villa where they have a pleasant meal.
On his return to England Appleby is soon attending the man’s funeral.He was found in his study having apparently shot himself, leaving a note with a Shakesperian quote beside him.
His solicitor suspects foul play, so Appleby visits Packford’s country house, peculiarly named Urchins, to find his brother is also not convinced it was suicide.
Throw in two women who have turned up claiming to be married to Packford, one an academic like him, one a barmaid, and you have a nice classic crime style plot.

If you like plenty of action this is not for you, but I enjoyed the languid pace and country house setting, with rumours of a newly found Shakespearian manuscript, a plethora of eccentric characters, a touch of light farce in the library in the middle of the night and a bit of bigamy thrown in for good measure.
A reliable, satisfying mystery from Michael Innes to pass an evening or two.
Highly recommended in my opinion.

“Farewell, a long farewell!” This line from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII is written on a piece of paper found next to the body of Lewis Packford, shot dead in his own library. The words are in Packford’s handwriting, but is this really suicide or is it a cleverly disguised murder? There’s certainly no shortage of suspects; the dead man had been hosting a house party and his home, a small country estate called Urchins, was full of guests at the time of the shooting. Sir John Appleby of Scotland Yard is sent to investigate, but Sir John also has a personal involvement in the case – he had visited Packford earlier in the year at his Italian villa and got the impression even then that something wasn’t quite right…

I have read several of Michael Innes’ Inspector Appleby novels over the last few years and I’ve found them to be of very mixed quality. I’ve loved a few of them, but some have had such bizarre plots I haven’t enjoyed them much at all. I’m pleased to say that I think The Long Farewell is one of the better ones. In comparison to some of the others, it’s quite a conventional murder mystery with plenty of suspects, clues and red herrings. It’s also the type of mystery I prefer, concerned mainly with the motives of the characters and the relationships between them, rather than getting too caught up with alibis, times on clocks and layouts of rooms.

After a brief opening section in which Appleby visits Packford in Italy and they have a discussion about fraud, forgery and Shakespeare, we get straight to the murder and the investigation, so there’s no long build-up. It’s a short book, but I thought it was just the right length for the story that is being told. Although Packford’s home in England, the strangely named Urchins, is full of his fellow eccentric academics who have stayed on after his death to assist with the inquiries, with the exception of the opening chapter I’ve just mentioned there are very few of the scholarly, erudite conversations you often find in novels by Innes. No knowledge of Shakespeare is needed to be able to understand and enjoy the mystery either!

The Long Farewell was originally published in 1958 and I found the portrayal of the female characters in the book particularly interesting. There are two women amongst the guests at Urchins – Ruth and Alice – who come from very different walks of life and who both had different reasons for wanting to marry Lewis Packford. Without going into too much detail here and spoiling things, it occurred to me that had the book been written in the modern day, this part of the plot wouldn’t have worked at all.

Overall, this is an entertaining Appleby mystery (I loved the farcical scene which unfolds in the library late at night) and although it falls somewhere in the middle of the series I think it could be a good one to start with if you’re new to Michael Innes.

Good stuff. Odd characters and an entertaining, complicated plot. It's hard to wrong with Shakespeare included a little into the story. Nice twists as well. This is my first Innes novel but won't be my last. A solid mystery.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

The Empathetic Appleby.....
The empathetic Appleby is on the trail of a suspicious death in ‘The Long Farewell’ - a friend of the Inspector who apparently has committed suicide. Faced with a host of suspects, motives and secrets Appleby sets out to get to the truth. Hugely enjoyable classic crime with red herrings aplenty, an eccentric cast of well drawn characters and told with author’s trademark wit. Excellent.