From a British crime author “in a class by himself among detective story writers,” twenty-three short mysteries featuring the brilliant Inspector Appleby (The Times Literary Supplement). It appears Inspector Appleby is ready to tell all in this must-read collection of twenty-three short stories from acclaimed Scottish mystery author Michael Innes. One of the most discerning detectives of Golden Age fiction, Appleby sits down with pipe in hand to spin tales from the jewel heist he foiled as a precocious teen to the myriad of fascinating cases brought before him as one of the most respected detectives of Scotland Yard. There’s the account of Arbuthnot, a novelist who becomes part of a sordid tale himself when his crazy wife’s lover is found dead on his living room floor. Or the case of the murdered anatomy professor discovered in place of the missing cadaver in his lesson plan. Also included is the not-to-be-missed fair play mystery “Dead Man’s Shoes,” a puzzle only Inspector Appleby—and his most astute readers—can solve. So pull up a pub chair and a pint, or a blanket and a pot of tea, and join crime fiction’s dazzlingly smart detective as he wittily discloses his investigative prowess during his intriguing, often absurd, but always entertaining career as one of Scotland Yard’s best. 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