Bloomsbury
Review by Brian Tanguay
In the second installment of Sally Smith’s captivating series, The Trials of Gabriel Ward, Sir Gabriel Ward, King’s Counsel, is once again confronted with a grisly crime in the Inner Temple. The Temple, as readers of A Case of Mice and Murder will know, is an unlikely locale for crime of any kind. Centuries old, insular, with its own rigid customs, norms, and protocols, the Temple is a citadel of calm, reason and comity, an institution beyond reproach. An unlikely sleuth, Gabriel Ward is a reserved man of piercing intellect and legendary eccentricity, whose greatest fear is human intimacy. Emotions are messy, and Gabriel — in his dress, comportment, and language — is the opposite of messy, except when it comes to the books stacked haphazardly around his comfortable rooms.
In A Case of Life and Limb, Gabriel is called upon to defend an actress, Topsy Tillotson, who is accused of scandalous behavior with a young man of impeccable lineage. Social inequality might be enough to condemn Topsy, and on its face the case appears to be iron clad against the young woman. The racy roles she plays in the theater, and the gaggle of male suitors who wait for her by the stage door, give the impression that Topsy is a strumpet. In fact, Topsy is nothing like the roles she plays. She’s actually an upstanding young woman determined to fight for her reputation, including, at considerable risk, taking a Fleet Street rag called the Nation’s Voice to court.
While Topsy is being pilloried in the press, bizarre parcels begin arriving at the Temple. The first one, addressed to the Treasurer, Sir William Waring, is a desiccated human hand. Along with the hand is a note: Can I give you a hand? Though Gabriel is curious about the parcel, he isn’t inclined to get involved, but Sir William insists, and Gabriel reluctantly begins to make inquiries. The two cases overlap, as they must in any detective story worth its salt. While Gabriel prepares to represent Topsy in court, another parcel arrives, this time addressed to Sir Edward Hopkins, one of Gabriel’s fellow KC’s. Inside the box is a foot. The note included reads: Don’t put your foot in it.
When Hugh Vernon-Osbert, Reverend Master of the Temple Church receives a shriveled ear and a note reading, A word in your ear, it’s too much for his weak heart and he drops dead. Not only is Gabriel now dealing with murder — within the Temple — he’s about to become responsible for the Reverend’s cat, Delphinium.
Because this is a mystery, I’ll say no more. I enjoy this series because I find Gabriel Ward fascinating. If we judged Gabriel by today’s psychological standards, we’d likely label him as being on the spectrum. While Smith provides brief hints about Gabriel’s backstory, I hope we learn more in the books to come. What circumstances led Gabriel to become a man who lives most comfortably in his own sharp and febrile mind? Future installments of this charming series may tell us.
