"Comedy of Terrors" (1941---also titled "There Came both Mist and Snow") is very uncharacteristic Appleby in that he doesn t show up until the middle of the story. This novel is basically a British comedy of manners, thinly disguised as a whodunit. It is narrated in the first person by one of the suspects, who happens to be a writer.

The aristocratic Arthur and his relatives gather for the Christmas holiday at Belrive Priory, the ancient family seat in the north of England. Much to their dismay, they learn that the current owner of Belrive, Arthur s cousin Basil, is planning to sell his estate to a brewer.

Basil, the seventh Baronet of Belrive Priory, needs the money to fund an expedition to the Arctic.

When Basil s nephew Wilfred is shot, every one wonders whether Basil had been the real target---and whether there would be a second, fatal attempt on the seventh Baronet s life.

Inspector John Appleby happens to be a guest at dinner on the night of the shooting. The local constable is only too happy to turn the crime over to the young CID inspector, and so Appleby enters the fray with Arthur serving as his Watson and family historian.

Michael Innes (pseudonym for John Innes Mackintosh Stewart) has out-Agatha d Christie in this early Appleby. Each character is suspected in turn, and each has a plausible motive and opportunity. The story s climax is very typical Christie, wherein all of the suspects gather in the drawing room, and each explains his or her version of the `night of terror. There are a couple of false confessions, and finally Appleby explains ALL.

The mystery itself is very complex, and the solution rather contrived. Read "Comedy of Terrors" for its highly literate prose---Appleby solves the mystery only after he recalls a verse from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"--- and for its in-depth characterizations.