A Case of Life and Limb

Former barrister Smith injects her entertaining sequel to A Case of Mice and Murder with a jolt of wit and sweetness. On Christmas Eve 1901, the Inner Temple—a cloistered area of London in which many of the city’s lawyers maintain their offices and living quarters—is winding down for the holidays. Sir Gabriel Ward drops into the office of Sir William Waring, head of the Inner Temple, to find the man flustered by a package left on his doorstep that contains a human hand, severed at the wrist, and a note reading: “Can I give you a hand?” An incensed Waring demands that Gabriel find the person responsible so he can spare the Temple the public humiliation of a police presence. The barrister reluctantly agrees. As Gabriel investigates, he also handles accomplished actor and singer Topsy Tillotson’s defamation lawsuit against the Nation’s Voice, a shameless tabloid that’s published innuendo about her romantic life. Eventually, the two cases intersect, but Smith keeps things delightfully unpredictable until they do. Elegant prose, expert pacing, and a well-drawn protagonist whose kindness and acuity never feel heavy-handed result in a thoroughly appealing yuletide mystery. This series deserves a long life. (Nov.)