Trusted Like the Fox by Sara Woods

 

5 Days of Sara Woods — Day 5

Trusted Like the Fox is the fifth book in Sara Woods’ 48-book Antony Maitland series. This one made me feel a lot of emotions. I know by now you must be sick of hearing me say, ‘this one really is my favourite one in the series’. But, umm… This one really is! 

Dean Street Press Ltd. are republishing the first five books in this series tomorrow, 2 December 2024! To celebrate, I’m posting a review of one book per day leading up to the big day. I’ve already posted reviews of the first four books, Bloody Instructions, Malice Domestic, The Third Encounter, and Error of the Moon. If you haven’t read those posts, you may want to read them first and then come back to this one. In the review for Bloody Instructions, I talk about the author and provide a more in-depth overview of the main series characters.

To give you a bit of background… In the first four books, Antony Maitland was junior barrister to his uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding, Queen’s Counsel of the Inner Temple, London. As well as working alongside his uncle, Antony, and his dependable wife, Jenny, live in a mostly self-contained apartment on the top two floors of Sir Nicholas’s house at Kempenfeldt Square.

In this one, Antony is defending his first big case since taking silk, a few months ago. His client is Michael Godson, who is charged with being Guy Harland, a man who was arrested for the attempted murder of distinguished biologist, Doctor Ronald Fraser, but Harland slipped his fetters while he was being taken into custody. Meaning, he knocked out the arresting officer and hoofed it across country. Godson will also be charged with treason if he is found to be Harland. It is believed Harland is responsible for the deaths of four thousand civilians of a town in occupied Poland when a biological weapon in the form of an untreatable disease was released into the community’s water supply during the Second World War.

As Harland is assumed guilty for both attempted murder, and treason, Antony would have his work cut out for him if he was defending Godson against those charges. But he isn’t. All that Antony is trying to prove is that Godson is not Harland, and this is all simply a case of mistaken identity. That isn’t to say Antony has any very convincing evidence to prove Godson is who he says he is. In fact, Antony’s lack of evidence becomes a bit of theme in this one. So why did Antony accept the brief in the first place? Simply because he believes Godson is telling the truth, when no one else does. The thing is… as the case progresses, Antony begins to wonder if his client is lying to him.

The shafts of dusty sunlight that slanted into the room tantalised with the thought of a different world outside: of a mellow October day gilding St. Paul's dome and the buildings on the north side of Ludgate Hill; striking—more pertinently—an answering gleam from Justice's scales above the Old Bailey. (1)*

This one starts on a Tuesday in October 1962, the first day of the trial. The trial lasts for eight days with a two-day weekend recess on Saturday and Sunday, ending on the day after the verdict. Most of the action takes place in the courtroom, but if that sounds a bit dry to you, I assure you, it isn’t. The case progresses quickly, and you will not find long monologues full of legalese in this book. And if you are not familiar with the British legal system, Sara Woods does a very good job of explaining the progress of the case, without making it appear she is doing so. 

Stringer pushed a note in front of him, “pity we're not defending Harland . . . there's a point there.” He hadn't heard the point, but it roused him to temporary interest in the course of the examination. (71)

There was a certain tedium about a case whose conduct was so circumscribed; there would have been more amusement in really defending the prisoner than in this Harland-Godson quibble. (71)

Antony is clearly bored with the case as it stands and would prefer to have a bit more of a challenge. At the outset, Godson’s witness testimony is the basis of the case for the defence. The jury will either believe Godson’s account of what he was doing in 1942 and the years during the war, or they won’t. He lets his mind wander while the prosecutor is questioning his witnesses and he has the habit of sketching on bits of paper, such as on the back of the note his junior barrister, Derek Stringer, pushed across to him. 

But things do heat up and soon Antony has his work cut out for him.

“It’s going to be a busy week-end, Jenny, I’m afraid. You’ll sit in on our discussions, won’t you, Uncle Nick? I hope you will.”

“Nothing,” said Sir Nicholas, with a sudden reversal of mood, “would keep me away.” But he added, with a sting in his tone that made his nephew grimace at his empty plate: “It will be interesting to watch you dealing with an impossible situation. Interesting and—I am sure, my dear boy!—instructive.” (122-23)

I really enjoyed seeing Antony in the role of junior barrister to his uncle, in the first four books, but it is such a joy to see Antony running the case. You know you have grown attached to characters when you hear they have gotten a promotion and you think, ‘Good for you, Antony! You’ve really earned it.’ Still, it’s lovely that we still get these moments between Antony and Sir Nicholas where they talk shop, butt heads, and bounce ideas off of each other. (All phrases that Sir Nicholas would have some choice words for, I’m sure! Haha!)

But the cosy domestic scenes with Jenny are some of my favourites.

Antony got up, and moved a little stiffly across the room. As always when he was weary, the dull ache in his shoulder added its own burden. He was so used to it by this time that he no longer troubled to tell himself that he was lucky to have come so easily out of the war; in fact, he barely noticed the pain at all until he saw the quick flare of anxiety in Jenny's eyes, and read there the question she would never put into words. He seated himself beside her, and stretched his legs across the hearthrug, and reached out, as though absent-mindedly, for her hand. (149)

There is so much of the plot I had to leave out of this review, because I didn’t want to spoil anything. But I will say that this one keeps you guessing. Is Godson telling the truth? Will Antony be able to pull it off and win the case? Well, you’ll have to read it to find out. 

And I’m telling you, you want to read this one! I mean, read the first four books because they are wonderful. And because I think this is a series that should be read in chronological order so that you can have the context to be able to fully appreciate the characters. Did I mention that all of these books are wonderful?! I cannot wait to reread them. 

I’ve fallen a little bit in love with Antony. He is a good man with ideals that he upholds, no matter the cost. This is probably his fatal flaw, along with his temper, which—by the way—he only seems to loose in circumstances that warrant it. Jenny is a dear woman with a sense of humour and a love of matchmaking. She makes being dependable look like the most precious of traits to have in a partner. And Sir Nicholas is the prickly bachelor who is going to tell you what is what, for your own good. He is awesome. There are also many fully fleshed secondary characters in these books that I haven’t talked about. My lack of attention to them was only for brevity’s sake, I assure you. 

There are so many more things I want to say about these books! I want to convince you that you need this series in your life. That you’re going to love it. That it will be your new favourite. (Because we need a new favourite series now that Elly Griffiths has published the last Dr. Ruth Galloway book!) My only regret is that I didn’t know about the Antony Maitland series sooner. I had not heard of Sara Woods before I found out that Dean Street Press Ltd. was republishing her books. I am so incredibly grateful to them for introducing me to Antony, Jenny, Sir Nicholas, and the wonderful world Sara Woods created in these books.

Thank you to Dean Street Press Ltd. for kindly sending me a copy of Trusted Like the Fox for review. As always, all opinions on the book are my own.

*All page numbers are from the ebook and are not likely to correspond to the paperback edition.

Error of the Moon by Sara Woods

5 Days of Sara Woods — Day 4

Like The Third Encounter, Error of the Moon, the fourth book in Sara Woods’ 48-book Antony Maitland series, also melds together the espionage thriller and detective fiction genres. 

Dean Street Press Ltd. are republishing the first five books in this series on 2 December 2024! To celebrate, I’m posting a review of one book per day leading up to the big day. I’ve already posted reviews of the first three books, Bloody Instructions, Malice Domestic, and The Third Encounter. If you haven’t read those posts, you may want to read them first and then come back to this one. In the review for Bloody Instructions, I talk about the author and provide a more in-depth overview of the main series characters.

But to get you quickly caught up… Antony Maitland is junior barrister to his uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding, Queen’s Counsel of the Inner Temple, London. As well as working alongside his uncle, Antony, and his dependable wife, Jenny, live in a mostly self-contained apartment on the top two floors of Sir Nicholas’s house at Kempenfeldt Square. However, Sir Nicholas does not make an appearance in this one. We can assume he is out doing the circuit, or away on a case. If you have come to love Sir Nicholas’s dry humour and, at times, outright caustic remarks, do not fear. Sir Nicholas is back in full effect in book five!

Error of the Moon is the first book in this series that is set in Yorkshire, where both the author and Inspector Sykes, the series regular police inspector, hails from. By special request from George Ramsey, an old school acquaintance of Antony’s, Antony goes undercover at Carcroft Works of General Aircraft Limited. Carcroft is engaged in research for an anti-missile that they are calling the Full Moon Project, which has been termed classified by the government. When a leak of information is discovered, just about everyone in the company is a suspect. In a company of nearly six thousand employees spread across a number of departments, Antony does not know where to start. But with one employee dead under suspicious circumstances, and government secrets at risk of being sold to the highest bidder, Antony finds himself unable to decline the request despite being aware that Jenny would prefer him to not accept it.

“You wanted to go, Antony; I couldn't bear you to refuse because of me. At least,” she corrected herself, “you'd never have been happy if you'd turned them down.”

“How well you know me, love! And, of course, you also know why.” His tone was light; but to Jenny, who knew him so well, the undercurrent of bitterness was very evident.

“It’s a job that needs doing,” she said quietly. “And one that you can do.”

Antony meditated this for a moment, and then grinned at her.

“That’s really neat,” he approved. “Almost true and all the uncomfortable bits left out.” Jenny met his eyes steadily, but her face was flushed, and after a moment he held out a hand to her. (16-17)*

I love these moments between Antony and Jenny. Despite her concerns for her husband’s welfare, Jenny is as careful to not hold him back, as she is in avoiding asking about the injuries he sustained in the Second World War. It is their first hand experience with the dangers involved in Antony’s previous work in intelligence that makes their willingness to put it all on the line, again, and again, so very compelling. When the country’s safety is put into question, Antony will stop at nothing to protect it, with his personal safety dropping down in the hierarchy of importance. In this case, Jenny is also put in the line of fire, as she accompanies Antony on his trip to Yorkshire, adding verisimilitude to the story that Antony has been hired as Assistant Secretary. 

Carcroft is located on a lonely moor overlooking the fictional town of Mardingley, the closest city is Harrogate, about a half hour drive away. Sara Woods uses the stark setting to full effect. 

On a clear night the glare of the floodlights forms a pool in the surrounding darkness, but on this November afternoon the fog had come creeping: across the moor, through the high wire fence; with prying, inquisitive fingers that sought out every corner of the sheds and muffled sight and sound so that the plant stood isolated. (1)

The book opens on a foggy night in November on the Yorkshire moors, and when Antony and Jenny drive north to Mardingley it is on “a bleak Sunday in mid-December” (19) with Christmas fast approaching. And while one wouldn’t call this a Christmassy book by any stretch of the imagination, it is the perfect time of year to read this one if you happen to be looking for a book with just a whisper of Christmas about it. There is mention of Christmas presents, a not very cheerful staff party, and a Boxing Day outing that ends in… Well, you will just have to read the book to find out.

Despite the fact that Jenny is on the trip with Antony, there are fewer of the cosy domestic scenes that we come to love in the first three books. They are staying in rooms at Holly Royd, where meals are communal, and while they do have tea in their rooms, there are simply less opportunities to see the couple alone together. A number of employees of Carcroft live in the home too, which means the couple do not get a lot of time off from investigating. However, we do get to see Jenny at her most dependable, and most brave. She really is something.

There is a brief respite from all of the intrigue on Christmas Day, and I simply had to include this next passage as it provides so much insight into the type of person Jenny is, always willing to help with whatever is needed, even when it goes against what she would do herself if left to run things, and we get a glimmer of her sense of humour and good nature too.

Christmas at Holly Royd was uneventful, and if Jenny privately thought Mrs. Ambler’s preoccupation with food a little excessive, she cooperated willingly enough; though with a strong feeling she was taking part in provisioning an army. (77-78)

My one quibble with this one is the number of characters. There are many and I found it difficult to distinguish between them, despite the handy list of 34 employees in the Missile Division that Antony (and the reader) is provided with on page 54. These first five books in the series all have a number of characters, but this is the only book that I had any trouble with keeping everyone straight. Generally, Sara Woods does a good job in assisting her readers with floor plans (Bloody Instructions), a character list (Malice Domestic), or with a character list in the form of an employee list (in this one). I take comfort in Antony’s response when he is handed the employee list. ‘“There are too many people.” Antony waved the list in a distraught way to illustrate his point. “It would take a year to sort them out”’ (54). Well, quite. 

In Antony’s defence, it was thick with fog the night of the accident, so a lot of the alibis are unhelpful. And in my defence, Carcroft is almost exclusively staffed by men and a lot of this novel takes place at the works so it was difficult to distinguish between them, as it’s not like characters stay fixed in their departments. They move around, of course! My advice is to bookmark that employee list Sara Woods so thoughtfully provides so you can flick back to it when needed. Advice that I myself should have adopted! If I were to reread one of these five books in the immediate future, it would definitely be this one, so I could take better note of who is who. And, yes! I would absolutely indulge in a reread of this book, and the others in this series with great pleasure! 

Thank you to Dean Street Press Ltd. for kindly sending me a copy of Error of the Moon for review. As always, all opinions on the book are my own.

Tomorrow is day five and we will be discussing the fifth book in my new favourite series. I'm telling you, you won't want to miss this one! I hope to see you then,

*All page numbers are from the ebook and are not likely to correspond to the paperback edition.

The Third Encounter by Sara Woods

5 Days of Sara Woods — Day 3

Ooo! I know I keep saying this, but this one is my favourite in the series, for sure! Part espionage thriller, part detective fiction, The Third Encounter, is book three in Sara Woods’ 48-book Antony Maitland series. Dean Street Press Ltd. are republishing the first five books in this series on 2 December 2024! To celebrate, I’m posting a review of one book per day leading up to the big day. I’ve already posted reviews of the first two books, Bloody Instructions and Malice Domestic. If you haven’t read those posts, you may want to read them first and then come back to this one. In the review for Bloody Instructions, I talk about the author and provide a more in-depth overview of the main series characters.

Antony Maitland is junior barrister to his uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding, Queen’s Counsel of the Inner Temple, London. As well as working alongside his uncle, Antony, and his dependable wife, Jenny, live in a mostly self-contained apartment on the top two floors of Sir Nicholas’s house at Kempenfeldt Square. 

This one starts with an absolutely gripping prologue, which provides a snapshot from November 1943. In the first chapter we jump to present day, which is sometime in the late 1950s in London. Antony's old friend Dr. Henry Martin has been strangled and Antony and Sir Nicholas are defending, Gerry Maitland, Dr. Martin’s cousin and heir, on suspicion of murder. But Antony suspects someone from his past might have something to do with it. Antony goes to one of his former colleagues from his work during the war to put the feelers out, and finds himself working along with the Secret Intelligence Service. 

It was past nine-thirty when he turned into Kempenfeldt Square. The night was clear and frosty, but at that hour few people were about. Across the square a car door slammed, and a man set out to cross, skirting the dusty patch of garden in the centre. Then at the corner he paused, standing in the deeper shadow cast by the bare branches of the sycamore that grew there. Something about the tall figure standing there renewed Antony's feeling of disquiet. He told himself impatiently that it was foolish; in that light he could not see the stranger clearly, let alone make out whether he was, in fact, being watched. This was what came of letting memory run riot over the past. Now imagination had taken over, and here he was, peopling the square with his own private ghosts. (17)

It is scenes like the one above that make is apparent how frightened Antony is of this person from his past. Antony is not prone to flights of fancy and while he dismisses his concerns as coming from an overactive imagination, the reader is not so easily convinced. It’s no wonder then that Antony finds comfort in the house in Kempenfeldt Square and in coming home to the familiar scene of his uncle and wife by the study fire.

He saw as he went in (as he had seen so often before) Sir Nicholas, stretched out at ease before the blazing fire, raise a hand in languid greeting; and Jenny, curled up with a book on her lap and her back to the door, turn with a quick smile of welcome so that, as she moved, the lamplight tangled strands of gold in her brown hair. Because of the contrast with the place he had just left, the comfortable, familiar scene was for a moment vivid and unexpected, so that he looked at it blankly before he crossed the room and bent to kiss his wife. (10)

This one provides us with insight into Antony Maitland’s past, while still treating us to cosy domestic scenes like the one quoted above. We find out just what Antony was up to during the Second World War, how he sustained the injuries to his right arm and shoulder that still plague him, the effect his experiences had on his mental health, and why in the first two novels it seems like he is still fighting an invisible enemy. We also find out about the personal tragedy Jenny faced during this time. Honestly, if you aren’t attached to these characters by the end of this book, you must be some kind of monster!

“He said, ‘I’m afraid you may have to resign yourself to the fact that your husband is getting mixed up with that gang of thugs in Whitehall again.’” [Jenny's] anxiety faded as she saw his frown give way to laughter.

“And I’d rather know,” she added.

“Of course. But there's nothing . . . a watching brief, John said, and that’s fair enough.” Her gaze was steady and disconcerting, and he looked down again at the fire. “I couldn't refuse,” he said, after a moment, and there was something like desperation in his voice. (51-52)

It’s this desperation, this fear, that keeps Antony going through to the end of the book. He keeps agreeing to things he would rather not do, because he knows that if he ever wants to have peace of mind he must follow this thing through to the end. His wanting to run away, but instead running towards trouble is part of what makes this book so tense and the character of Antony so compelling.

The first two books in this series are set exclusively in London. In this one Antony has a brief visit to France and some of the key scenes from during the war take place in France too. Oh, and this one starts on a cold evening in January? The perfect book to send chills up your spine while you hunker down by a roaring fire with a hot cuppa at hand!

Thank you to Dean Street Press Ltd. for kindly sending me a copy of The Third Encounter for review. As always, all opinions on the book are my own.

Tomorrow we will be talking about book four, Error of the Moon. I hope to see you then!

*All page numbers are from the ebook and are not likely to correspond to the paperback edition.

Malice Domestic by Sara Woods

5 Days of Sara Woods — Day 2

“It sounds an interesting case, sir,” said Antony Maitland, hopefully. 

Sir Nicholas Harding regarded him in a considering way, and then remarked, “No doubt,” in no very encouraging tone. After a moment he added, rather more emphatically, “I will not take a case involving an insanity plea. As you very well know.” (1)*

So begins Malice Domestic, the second book in Sara Woods’ 48-book Antony Maitland series. Dean Street Press Ltd. are republishing the first five books in this series on 2 December 2024! To celebrate, I’m posting a review of one book per day leading up to the big day. Yesterday, I reviewed book one, Bloody Instructions. If you haven’t read that post, you may want to read that one first and then come back to this one. There, I talk about the author and provide a more in-depth overview of the main series characters.

Briefly, I will explain that Antony Maitland is junior barrister to his uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding, Queen’s Counsel of the Inner Temple, London. As well as working along side his uncle, Antony and his dependable wife, Jenny, live in a mostly self-contained apartment on the top two floors of Sir Nicholas house at Kempenfeldt Square. Antony was wounded in the Second World War, still carrying injures to his right arm and shoulder, which cause him pain and make it all but impossible for him to drive. Thankfully, Jenny is happy to act as chauffeur when need be.

As I mentioned in my review of Bloody Instructions, it appears there is a trend of Antony bringing interesting cases to his uncle, which his uncle is more than a little reluctant to accept. In this one, Paul Herron has been arrested for shooting his great uncle, William Cassell. Paul was caught with the smoking gun in his hands, literally. He was discovered in the bushes outside the study window through which William had been shot, holding the .22 riffle in question. Paul is described by his grandfather, Ambrose, as having been prone to sleepwalking and odd, as a child,—so unlike his twin brother Timothy—which is why Ambrose insists on a plea of insanity.

“Eighteen years ago Paul Herron’s father shot and killed his wife, his twin brother, and then himself.” The solicitor’s tone was matter-of-fact. Antony murmured, “Women and children first,” and his uncle exploded into violent speech.

“So this is your interesting case!” He turned an accusing glare on his nephew. “A case not only involving an insanity plea, but also two sets of twins (identical twins, in the best story-book tradition, I make no doubt!). And beyond all this—I am to involve myself in the investigation of a shooting eighteen years old!” (5)

I appreciate an author who isn’t afraid to point out the ridiculous in their stories, and Sara Woods does it to such great effect through Sir Nicholas, who is never afraid to speak his mind, especially when he is in conversation with his nephew, Antony. But you know what? The whole two sets of twins thing was handled really well, and it didn’t feel the least bit ridiculous once the story got going. Now, that I’m halfway through book four in this series at the time of writing this review, I would expect nothing less from Sara Woods.

Even when we have an additional two brothers who look very much alike, though they are not twins, I was still onboard. William, the murdered man, and Ambrose, the grandfather of the accused look so similar that Ambrose is certain his grandson, Paul, intended to murder him. What Paul is reported by his brother to have said at the time seems to only confirm this.  “[Paul] turned and looked at Grandfather, and he looked as though he was dreaming; and he said very slowly, ‘I don't understand. I thought it was you!’” (18-19).

I have one last quotation that I want to share. It’s one of those domestic scenes that are what I believe make this series so special.

Jenny Maitland was at home; curled up on the sofa, and half asleep over a book. Antony stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her: her brown curls were ruffled, but touched with gold in the lamp-light; she looked relaxed and contented as a kitten before a fire. He was feeling tired, and discouraged (most illogically), and his shoulder was aching; but he was comforted, as always, merely by finding her there among all the familiar things in the big shabby room. (23)

After this, Antony leans in to kiss Jenny, but interrupts himself. His mind is elsewhere. But instead of being perturbed, Jenny asks him if it’s the case. It’s a small moment, but evidence of why this couple works so well together. The whole beleaguered wife has been done a lot in detective fiction, and I just think it’s such a treat to see a couple that works together as a team, instead of being in confrontation, which I think gets overused as a way of increasing the tension on all fronts, very often to the detriment of the characters.

I cannot express to you how much I am enjoying these books. Sara Woods is such a good storyteller. Her plots are engaging, her pacing is spot on, and her writing is strong. But, as I said in my review of Bloody Instructions, what I think sets these books apart from other detective fiction are the domestic scenes and the strong personal relationships, and that comes down to her well-drawn, fully-fleshed characters.

Bloody Instructions was set between June and July and in the opening of Malice Domestic the Michaelmas term is about to commence, which means it is late September or the beginning of October. So neither book is set in during Christmas, but these red and green book covers were simply asking to be dressed up for the holidays. But I did want to clarify, just in case anyone got the impression these were set during the holidays based on how I had dressed the photos. However, I do think the pair would make a very handsome Christmas gift!

Thank you to Dean Street Press Ltd. for kindly sending me a copy of Malice Domestic for review. As always, all opinions on the book are my own.

Standby, because my review of book three, The Third Encounter, is coming up tomorrow and—you’re not going to believe this—but I think it’s my favourite one yet. If you’re sensing a theme, you are not alone. This series starts strong and stays there. I hope to see you back here tomorrow!

*All page numbers are from the ebook and are not likely to correspond to the paperback edition.

Bloody Instructions by Sara Woods

5 Days of Sara Woods — Day 1

Wow! I actually said that out loud at two o’clock in the morning when I read the last page of Bloody Instructions by Sara Woods. This is the first book in her 48-book Antony Maitland series. I cannot tell you how excited I am that Dean Street Press Ltd. are republishing the first five books in this series on 2 December 2024! To celebrate, I’ll be posting a review of one book per day leading up to the big day. I think a lot of people are going to love these books. I’m so excited to tell you about them!

First off, let’s talk about the brilliant author. Sara Woods is the pen name of Eileen Mary Lana Hutton Bowen Judd. (Try saying that five times fast!) She was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1916, married in 1946, and after a dozen years spent farming in rural Yorkshire with her husband, the two moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1958. It is there she began writing mysteries, publishing her first book Bloody Instructions in 1962. She died in 1985 at 69 years old. Which means she wrote about two books a year for 23 years. And I had never heard of her!

As I read Curtis Evans’ wonderful introduction to Bloody Instructions, I felt a personal connection to Sara Woods. She was born in the same city as my mother. Although, 26 years earlier. She also emigrated to Canada, as my mother did. And it wasn’t until sitting down to write this review that I realised they emigrated the same year, in 1958. My mother and grandmother could have come over on the same boat, as Sara Woods. My grandmother would have been about the same age as Sara Woods. There is even the possibility that their paths crossed at some point while they were living in Bradford. I wish I could find that out! Regardless, there is something special about reading a book by a woman that comes from the same place and lived there at the same time as the grandmother I never met.

I could sit here and entertain ‘what ifs’ all day, when what I should be doing is telling you what I loved about Bloody Instructions and why I think Sara Woods is doing something special in this first Antony Maitland book.

When Antony Maitland, barrister-at-law, goes to a nearby firm of solicitors, Messrs. Ling, Curtis, Winter and Winter of Bread Court, just a five minute walk from the Inner Temple, to pick up a missing affidavit from a brief, he finds mild-mannered solicitor, James Winter, has been fatally stabbed in the back at his desk in his chambers. Who would want to murder Winter? And who would have the audacity to do it in the middle of a work day when the building is fully staffed?

There are a number of potential suspects, including Antony, but it is Shakespearean stage actor, Joseph Dowling, that the police see as having the most motive and the opportunity. Dowling’s wife was being represented by Winters in her divorce case. Known for being a bit of a loose canon at times, Dowling was not at his best when he was shouting at Winter not two hours before the solicitor was found dead. 

With some coercion from Antony, Sir Nicholas takes the case—this seems to be a theme in the books—and we get to see the two in action through the investigation in preparation for the trial and to the courtroom where Sir Nicholas shines.

Antony Maitland is tall, dark, and was wounded in the Second World War. He still carries injuries to his right arm and shoulder, and it’s clear that the war has left its mark on him mentally as well. 

“I’m sorry,” [Antony] said again.

“You needn't be. You've done your best, after all.”

Antony stiffened. Once before, in a moment of failure, he had been tossed those words for comfort; and then, as now, they had seemed the final insult, the ultimate condemnation. (168)*

He has the tendency to stutter when he is angry, and on occasion we get hints of his traumatic history. Although, having just finished book two I’m not sure if that is entirely from the war or from personal losses earlier in life. Although, I am happy to report that we find out in book three which occasion is being alluded to in the above quotation.

 Jenny, Anthony’s wife, has curly brown hair, is loyal, has a great sense of humour and in my opinion is very patient with both her husband and her husband’s uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding, Queen’s Counsel of the Inner Temple, London. 

The couple live in a mostly self-contained apartment on the top two floors of Sir Nicholas house at Kempenfeldt Square. This was intended to be a temporary set up during the war when the couple first got married, but none of them have felt the need to change it. Sir Nicholas is often upstairs for dinner, when his cook has the night off and has had the audacity to leave him something cold. And Antony often comes in late and seeing his uncle’s study light on, heads in there to find his uncle and his wife by the fire. This brings us to what I think makes this series special, the domestic details. They don’t take away from the plot, rather seeing these three characters together provides insight into their characters. We see Antony’s love and appreciation for his wife in the moments when he is observing her unnoticed. 

He looked at her more searchingly for a moment, trying to see her as a stranger might, her slim figure silhouetted against the red velvet hangings of the box, and her brown curls shining. Her eyes were probably her best feature: grey eyes, with a quality of steadfastness. For the rest... but what a soulless thing was a mere catalogue: she was Jenny, he reflected with a sudden surge of affection, and the most beautiful thing in the world. He smiled to himself, to think how she herself would have greeted such an extravagance. And Jenny looked round with an answering smile, as though she had known his thought, and the moment of detachment was gone. (60)

We see how Jenny acts as a buffer between Antony and Sir Nicholas when the two are rubbing each other the wrong way. And we see Sir Nicholas’s close working relationship with his nephew, as Antony is his uncle’s junior barrister, and how he is grooming his protégé for the law, while at the same time, he trusts Antony’s instincts even as he is giving him a hard time. 

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper,” [Antony] said, at last. “That just made matters worse.”

Sir Nicholas pushed back his plate, took a sip of claret, and held up his glass as though to observe the colour of the wine.

“I don't agree with you there,” he said. “The mistake you made was in behaving like a schoolboy when first Sykes talked to you!” 

Antony was drawing patterns on the tablecloth with his fork. He was beginning to see now, with distressing clarity, the implications of what had passed at Scotland Yard. It was obvious, too, that his uncle was perfectly alive to the situation; hence—in part—his anger. (74)

We can easily imagine how empty Sir Nicholas’s private life would be if he didn’t have Antony and Jenny living with him. This evening I finished the second book in this series and immediately started the third. I love these characters and I already know that I am going to be mourning their loss when I finish the last book Dean Street Press Ltd. has republished. I am very much hoping that these ones get the readership they deserve and the publisher is able to continue republishing Sara Woods’ books.

While this book falls under the category of traditional detective fiction, it is so much more than that. If a good whodunit was all Bloody Instructions had to offer, it would be a good enough book, but the thing that elevates this book to one I see myself returning to again are the interesting and compelling character dynamics. In my opinion, Sara Woods is a master of mystery and character. I applaud Dean Street Press Ltd. for exercising their good taste by bring this lost author’s incredible books back into print.

While this book starts in June and runs through to the third week of July, I could not help but dress up this beautiful red cover for Christmas. By accident or by design, the first two books in this series have red and green covers and I felt it would have been remiss of me to pass up such an opportunity.

Thank you to Dean Street Press Ltd. for kindly sending me a copy of Bloody Instructions for review. As always, all opinions on the book are my own.

My review of book two, Malice Domestic, will go up tomorrow. Hope to see you then!

*All page numbers are from the ebook and are not likely to correspond to the paperback edition.