The Weight of the Evidence

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The Weight of the Evidence
The Weight of the Evidence.jpg
American First Edition
Author Michael Innes
Country United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series Sir John Appleby
GenreDetective
Publisher Gollancz
Dodd, Mead (US)
Publication date
1943
Media typePrint
Preceded by The Daffodil Affair  
Followed by Appleby's End  

The Weight of the Evidence is a 1943 detective novel by the British writer Michael Innes. [1] It is the ninth in his series featuring John Appleby, a young Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police. It was first published in America with the British release not taking place until the following year. It was published during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Although written during the Second World War, it is set in the pre-war era. Like a number of Golden Age mysteries including several by Innes it uses a university background, but in this case it switches from the usual Oxbridge setting to a newer Northern institution.

Contents

Synopsis

One of the professors at Nesfield University is crushed to death by a falling meteorite. However it quickly becomes evident that it was thrown off the top of the university buildings, and Appleby is called in to work with the local police officer Hobhouse. He encounters a nest of jealousies amongst the various professors, and is offered a variety solutions which range from the plausible to the outlandish. He is intrigued by the stances of the Chancellor, the Duke of Nesfield whose country house the meteorite was stolen from, and the brilliant but self-regarding Welsh Vice Chancellor Sir David Evans. Amongst the professors he also discovers one of his own former lecturers from his university days.

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References

  1. Reilly p.845

Bibliography