Mary
Dutton has suffered years of domestic abuse from her husband
and when she is convicted of poisoning him, few are surprised
or think that she could be innocent. But many women are sympathetic
to her case, and there is also a possibility that she might
not have even done it. So celebrated barrister Arthur Skelton,
who is fresh from success dealing with another high profile
case, is called on to find out the truth.
Set
in the 1920s, this tortuous tale starts well and gets even
better. It seems to tick all the boxes, painting a convincing
picture of life in those days that bears all the hallmarks
of a lot of meticulous research. Indeed, the author has the
mystery Golden Age style down so well I could have believed
the book had been written back then. Skelton is a happily
married man with a family – a very refreshing change
from the usual moody loner – and he has an amusing sidekick
in the shape of his clerk, Edgar, as well as two rather unconventional
cousins.
“Amusing”
is a good term as pretty much everything about this rather
remarkable and highly polished debut novel can be described
with it. The case sounds rather grim, and it is certainly
not dealt with irreverently, but despite some tragic elements
there is a joy about the book that is seldom found in modern
fiction. Many of the situations the pair gets into are very
funny, acting as a counterfoil to the serious business of
working to save a woman from the noose. There is a lot of
story in here, as the sleuths have their work cut out and
every page seems to uncover new evidence or contain something
witty or, usually, both. Skelton is an interesting character,
catapulted from obscurity into the limelight and coming from
a very different background to his fellow barristers. His
working class Yorkshire roots and slight disability set him
apart, a situation he deals with using a combination of wit,
charm and ability.
There
are many very well drawn characters in here and I hope we
get to meet some of them again in what deserves to be a very
long series. I will certainly be looking out eagerly for the
next one. Very highly recommended, and one of the best books
I have read this year.
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