Appleby tells a headmaster of a prep school that his twin brother, a top scientist working on defense against biological warfare, has gone missing and persuades the headmaster to impersonate his brother till he can be found.

This all seemed a repeat of some of the Buchanesque earlier books till about half way through it went off in its own direction, but all in all not one of his best. ( )

Professor Howard Juniper, highly acclaimed scientist has gone missing. For Sir John Appleby of Scotland Yard the implications are of a serious nature. To the extent that he wishes for Howard's identical twin brother, Miles, to impersonate him for several days. Can the ruse work and will Appleby find Juniper before the press discover the truth. Appleby follows the clues, but will he be in time.
An enjoyable and interesting thriller and mytsery story.
Originally written in 1959
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
( )

One of Britain's top biological weapons scientists has mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Scotland Yard Inspector Appleby is assigned to find Howard Juniper and recover any chemicals he took with him. This is to be done in strict secrecy due to the security aspects of the situation.
To prevent news of his disappearance leaking out, Appleby convinces Miles Juniper, his twin brother to take his place in his laboratory. Appleby then sets about to find Howard. This search takes him to the country estate of an eccentric earl and then to a remote Scottish island. Even his wife gets involved, briefly going undercover at a boys' school. In due course, the mystery is solved and the story comes to a dramatic violent conclusion.

It's a cleverly plotted story, although characterization could be improved. They are mainly placeholders, with little depth behind them. It's a late entry to the Appleby series which may account for the thinness of his character, it may have been developed in earlier novels. The opening chapter is a challenge and could discourage a less than committed reader. Initially it seems like a college seminar discussion among friends on a train trip. Its purpose escapes me. Despite there being some interesting locales, there was no sense of place in the story. It was a likeable but disappointing read.

The book was originally written in 1959 and but is not dated. It can easily be read as a standalone. This edition contains a short excerpt from the first Appleby mystery.

Agora Books provided a complementary advance reading copy of "Hare Sitting Up" to me via Netgalley for an independent review. The comments about it are my own. ( )

Much to my surprise I enjoyed this book very much.

I should explain: I’ve only read one Michael Innes book before and couldn’t get on with it. I didn’t like the characters, the style or the plot. But this book was so different. The characters are “real”, interesting people. The plot is intricate and convoluted. And Appleby (and his wife) play a much greater part in this story and so are able to come to life, unlike the earlier book where Appleby seemed to serve little purpose.

The opening chapter was a bit difficult to get to grips with as it consisted mainly of a group of students, in a railway carriage, engaging in a philosophical discussion. I couldn’t keep track of who was which, nor could I see how this discussion could be relevant to the meat of the book. I was to be proved wrong. Though I do think it made for a very dry beginning.

After this we are quickly dropped into the baffling disappearance of a germ-warfare scientist and the crucial question of whether he has absconded with a sample of his deadly toxin. The story gallops along as does Appleby, who is forced to work alone to prevent any rumour of a potentially dangerous or deranged scientist wandering the country with death in his pocket.

I was pleased that I read this as an ebook and so was able to look things up as I went along - translations of latin tags, the context of obscure quotations, and definitions of technical language that hadn’t come my way before. I might have found this tiresome if I had not been able to dip into Wikipedia or Google at will.

4.5 Stars

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from Agora Books. This review is my honest opinion of “Hare Sitting Up”. ( )

Another of the more interesting Appleby mysteries I've read, even though I sussed out the twist before very long at all. I'd read a spinoff featuring Dr. Brimblecombe anytime, to be sure. ( )