I’m sharing my review for A Case of Life and Limb by Sally Smith #historicalmystery #newrelease

Here’s the blurb

Winter, 1901. The Inner Temple is even quieter than usual under a blanket of snow and Gabriel Ward KC is hard at work on a thorny libel case. All is calm, all is bright – until the mummified hand arrives in the post…

 While the hand’s recipient, Temple Treasurer Sir William Waring, is rightfully shaken, Gabriel is filled with curiosity. Who would want to send such a thing? And why? But as more parcels arrive – one with fatal consequences – Gabriel realises that it is not Sir William who is the target, but the Temple itself.

 Someone is holding a grudge that has already led to at least one death. Now it’s up to Gabriel, and Constable Wright of the City of London Police, to find out who, before an old death leads to a new murder.

Purchase Link

https://amzn.to/4nisd3l

My Review

I’ve not encountered Gabriel Ward KC before, but I’m very pleased I took a chance on A Case of Life and Limb.

This is a delightfully quirky mystery, beginning in late 1901, and taking the reader on a journey through the social mores of the age, and the conflict between the upper and lower middle classes, all played out beautifully between Gabriel and Constable Wright, with a few others along the way. And most of it takes place within the Inner Temple, and its seeming separation from what happens beyond its garden and walls. 

The novel is filled with gentle humour and Gabriel is a bit of a sweetie behind his stern facade. I especially loved his interactions with the cat.

The mystery itself was well resolved, and I will certainly go back and read book 1 in the series.

A Case of Life and Limb is available now, as is book 1 in the series, A Case of Mice and Murder.