Rumpole
and the Reign of Terror
A Rumpole of the
Bailey Mystery
John Mortimer
Viking (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-670-03804-0 (0670038040)
ISBN-13: 978-0-670-03804-6 (9780670038046)
Publication Date: November 2006
List Price: $23.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): While defending a mind-numbingly dull theft charge,
Rumpole finds that the new terrorist laws have hamstrung his beloved
courts. Meanwhile, a Pakistani doctor has been imprisoned without
charge or trial under suspicion of aiding al Qaeda in its plans for a
terrorist attack. With the doctor’s wife begging him to help
her husband, the Great Defender is determined to bring the case before
a jury.
Trouble is also brewing at home as Hilda—She Who Must Be
Obeyed—sits down to write her own memoirs describing her view
of Rumpole and her own love life. Rumpole’s battle on the
home front threatens to derail his case but where there’s a
Rumpole, there’s a way!
Review:
Though John Mortimer has been publishing short stories featuring London
barrister Horace Rumpole for decades, Rumpole and the Reign of Terror
is only the second full-length novel dedicated to one of his cases.
Rumpole's bread-and-butter clients, the Timson family, whose constant
brushes with the law keep his financial balance sheet healthy, have
decided to seek other legal counsel after Rumpole agrees to defend the
Pakistani husband of an extended member of the Timson clan who has been
accused of terrorism. Though Rumpole bemoans his loss of income, he is
outraged that Mahmood Khan is being held without being informed of the
crimes for which he is charged. When Khan is ultimately released from
prison but subsequently held under house arrest in his own home,
Rumpole fights to get him a jury trial, one in which he is confident
Khan will be found not guilty.
The clever plot of Rumpole
and the Reign of Terror and the way in which it unfolds is
to be savored. Rumpole is quick to act when unexpected circumstances
allow him to intervene on behalf of his client, and when they serve to
benefit the judicial system at large, so much the better. After Rumpole
gets the trial to which Mahmood Khan is entitled, he begins to doubt
his client's innocence. But he never wavers in his defense of the basic
tenets of British law. Once the trial is underway, Rumpole is in his
element. "It's in the public interest that I establish the facts
leading up to an inevitable conclusion ...", he declares. And then, in
his best courtroom manner, he compels the guilty party to admit to the
conspiracy. It's all exceedingly entertaining and very well done.
The book is written in a semi-autobiographical manner from the
perspective of Rumpole, and he refers to this case being a part of his
personal record. Interspersed between chapters written by Rumpole are
those penned by his wife, Hilda, who reflects on her married life, her
friends, and, somewhat improbably, her relationship with one of
Rumpole's colleagues. Hilda's memoir extracts, as they are called, are
no doubt intended to complement and contrast with those of her husband,
but seem oddly out of place. They're interesting in their own right,
and they provide an additional dimension to the characters, but at the
same time, and it's hard to specifically identify why, they just don't
work in the overall context of the book.
Special thanks to Viking for providing a copy of Rumpole and the Reign of Terror for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Full-length mysteries in this series by John Mortimer ...
Rumpole and the
Penge Bungalow Murders
Viking (Hardcover), November 2004
ISBN-10: 0-670-03356-1 (0670033561)
ISBN-13: 978-0-670-03356-0 (9780670033560)
Rumpole and the
Reign of Terror
Viking (Hardcover), November 2006
ISBN-10: 0-670-03804-0 (0670038040)
ISBN-13: 978-0-670-03804-6 (9780670038046)
Rumpole
Misbehaves
Viking (Hardcover), November 2007
ISBN-10: 0-670-01830-9 (0670018309)
ISBN-13: 978-0-670-01830-7 (9780670018307)
Omnimystery keywords for Rumpole and the Reign of Terror
...
Location(s) referenced: London, England.