#ACaseofLifeandLimb #NetGalley
Readers who got to meet Gabriel Ward in the first book in the series (A Case of Mice and Murder) will be absolutely delighted to spend time with him in this second novel in a proposed trilogy. (I wish it could be more, Ms. Smith). Those who have not read the first book can read this one first but I am pretty sure that they will then go back to read the other title.
There is a lot of plot in this book. I will not give it all away so that readers can enjoy the circumlocutions of the story as they read. There is a case involving Topsy Tillotson who is a music hall star. There are a series of upsetting packages and their accompanying notes. There are murders. Certainly, all this enough is to keep the pages turning in this traditional, historical mystery.
There were many things that I loved in the book including the time spent in the law courts and environs. It is a self contained world with chambers, living spaces, refectories, chapels and, watch out for the cat. I found that the characters were very interesting and idiosyncratic.
Ward himself is very precise and ordered. He is a man who does not easily left others in. He grows a bit and does value some of his connections over the courseof the story.
The book is cleverly plotted and includes an interesting dilemma for two of the male characters. One of them is in the law court while the other is a cleric. No more to say as readers should have the experience of discovery.
Smith writes with the authenticity of knowing her setting and the law courts intimately. She has also researched the history of the time in which the story is set.
I most highly recommend this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 18 November 2025
First posted on 17 January 2026
Description:
from the publisher
AN ELLE BEST MYSTERY OF THE YEAR
“I was immediately besotted . . . Brilliant.” -Janice Hallett, internationally bestselling author of The Appeal
All is calm, all is bright . . . until reluctant sleuth barrister Gabriel Ward is tasked with finding the culprit of yet another grisly crime in the Inner Temple.
Christmas Eve, 1901. Gabriel Ward KC is hard at work on a thorny libel case involving London’s most famous music hall star, Topsy Tillotson, and its most notorious tabloid newspaper, the Nation’s Voice, but the Inner Temple remains as quiet and calm as ever. Quiet, that is, until a severed 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 realizes 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.
From the Publisher:
About the Author:
Sally Smith spent all her working life as a barrister and later King’s Counsel in the Inner Temple. After writing a biography of the famous Edwardian barrister, Sir Edward Marshall Hall KC, she retired from the bar to write full time. A Case of Mice and Murder, her first novel, was inspired by the historic surroundings of the Inner Temple in which she still lives and works and by the rich history contained in the Inner Temple archives. A Case of Mice and Murder is the first in a series starring the reluctant sleuth Sir Gabriel Ward KC
Review:
“Ms. Smith (herself a barrister and Inner Temple resident) nicely balances scenes of legal and detective work, peppering the narrative with details about her characters’ personal lives and back stories. Gabriel grows as an attorney and human being by embracing the empathy he feels for his clients and other citizens. With its lawyerly shenanigans and emotional poignancy, A Case of Life and Limb is a real corker, as a policeman who sometimes counsels Gabriel might say.” ―The Wall Street Journal
AN ELLE BEST MYSTERY OF THE YEAR
“I was immediately besotted . . . Brilliant.” -Janice Hallett, internationally bestselling author of The Appeal
The first book:
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 