That's "Appleby" as in Detective Inspector John Appleby, the creation of author Michael Innes. Appleby's End is a very funny book - in a very dry, sophisticated, witty fashion. Sir John finds himself on a train journey with a group of very strange people. He - and they - wind up getting off the train at a station called "Appleby's End." Sound prophetic? In a way, I suppose, it is - but it takes a great deal of insight on Appleby's part to figure out exactly what is going on, in the midst of an increasingly bizarre adventure.
A full review is on this week's podcast, available here. Innes can be something of an acquired taste; there's a great deal of very-English, class-conscious sophistication - think Dorothy Sayers or Edmund Crispin carried several degrees further. But I find them great fun - and the unravelling of this complicated mystery is truly delightful.
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