Books like Appleby's Answer by Michael Innes

A pioneering English detective story in which a priceless diamond, once stolen from a Hindu idol and presented to a young woman on her eighteenth birthday, disappears again, sparking intrigue and danger.

Inspector Hannasyde investigates the murder of Andrew Vereker in a quiet English village, confronting a corrupted, eccentric family each with motives.

Lord Peter Wimsey is drawn into the mysteries of a disinterred corpse, uncovering a century‑old crime that reverberates through a quiet East Anglian village.

A thrilling murder mystery set in England’s opulent Scamnum Court, where a deadly crime unfolds during a staged performance of *Hamlet* on an Elizabethan set, involving high-profile characters and a prestigious victim.

Inspector John Appleby investigates the murder of a college president in the locked Victorian lodgings of St. Anthony's College, where only the fellows hold the keys.

Detective Inspector John Appleby disembarks at the station named Appleby's End, where strange coincidences echo the mysterious tales of Victorian novelist Ranulph Raven. The mystery unfolds as Appleby encounters uncanny events tied to Raven's legacy.

A baffling murder in the world of fine art puts Inspector Sir John Appleby in a maze of forgeries, deceit, and madness.

Inspector John Appleby breaks down on a moonlit road and discovers a grand, fully lit mansion with a feast laid out. Intrigued, he enters, feeling watched, and must untangle the mystery of the house and its unexpected guests.

Sir John Appleby, Scotland Yard detective, investigates the suspicious death of former colleague Lewis Packford after a dinner in Italy turns into a probing mystery back in England.

Retired Metropolitan Police Chief Commissioner Sir John Appleby tackles ingenious art swindles that would have been ideal crimes without his intervention.

Sir John Appleby investigates a murder at the manor of Scroop House, where a former employee is found dead in a canal lock and the estate’s great wealth is unveiled.

Sir John Appleby investigates a simultaneous death and suspicious last request at a family estate, uncovering tangled loyalties and potential foul play.

Sir John Appleby and Charles Honeybath investigate a locked‑room mystery at Grinton Hall, where a corpse vanishes from a secret library and a host of guests may hide crucial clues.

Retired Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Appleby visits the historic Allington Park and discovers a dead body in a gazebo, leading him into a series of misadventures involving an ancient estate, a village fête, and a vanished treasure.

Sir John Appleby confronts a list of suspects after the murder of Maurice Tytherton at his country estate, with clues pointing to a past art theft.

Inspector John Appleby solves three tightly plotted mysteries involving a murdered university president, a shooting of the Lord Chancellor, and a wartime disappearance of a girl and a horse.

In Michael Innes’ mystery, Sir John Appleby uncovers a sinister research project at Milton Manor Clinic after a con‑man’s bungling intervention reveals Operation Pax’s hidden Formula 10.

Private eye C.W. Sughrue takes a job in Montana that pulls him into the decades‑old mystery of a missing woman from Haight‑Ashbury.

Sir John Appleby and his sculptor wife, Lady Judith, investigate the death of artist Gavin Limbert and the theft of paintings from the Duke of Horton's estate in an intricate London mystery.

Detective Inspector John Appleby visits the Foxcroft family at their country estate, where a holiday of pistol target‑shooting turns into a deadly mystery.

Sir John Appleby, the Scottish detective, unravels a chilling mystery after the laird of Erchany falls from his castle walls on a bitter winter night.

A collection of short stories featuring Sir John Appleby, the Metropolitan Police commissioner (and later retiree), exploring his varied adventures in London.

Professor Charles Grimaud is challenged by a stranger who claims to have risen from his own coffin. When the stranger dies violently during a snowstorm, Dr. Gideon Fell investigates a killer who leaves no footprints.

It’s Christmas in Chicago, and Inspector Richard Queen is enjoying a busman’s holiday at a conference on gangland violence—but his son, amateur sleuth Ellery, is bored silly. Until, that is, Ellery reads of an unusual killing in rural Arroyo, West Virginia: A schoolmaster has been found beheaded and crucified. Ellery hustles his father into his roadster and heads east, since there is nothing he’d like better for Christmas than a juicy, gruesome puzzle. When the Queens arrive in Arroyo, they learn that the victim was an eccentric atheist, but not the sort to make enemies. What initially looks to be the work of a sadistic cult turns out to be something far more sinister. In the months ahead, more victims will turn up all over the world—all killed in the same horrifying manner. It will take several bodies before Queen divines the clue that unlocks the mystery of the Christmas crucifixion.

Student David Henchman seeks solace in the English countryside, but a stray bullet turns his quiet day into a frantic chase involving a missing corpse, a desperate drive, and an ivy‑covered tower that holds the mystery’s secret.