Tragedy at Law

Written by Cyril Hare

Narrated by Chris MacDonnell

Tragedy at Law follows a rather self-important High Court judge, Mr. Justice Barber, as he moves from town to town presiding over cases in the Southern England circuit. When an anonymous letter arrives for Barber, warning of imminent revenge, he dismisses it as the work of a harmless lunatic. But then a second letter appears, followed by a poisoned box of the judge's favorite chocolates, and he begins to fear for his life. Enter barrister and amateur detective Francis Pettigrew, a man who was once in love with Barber's wife and has never quite succeeded in his profession; can he find out who is threatening Barber before it is too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781977345622

Cyril Hare

Cyril Hare  (Mickleham, 1900-Box Hill, 1958) fue el seudónimo de Alfred Alexander Gordon Clark, quien como distinguido juez y abogado dedicó su vida a la jurisprudencia. Escribió nueve novelas policiacas y multitud de relatos inspirados directamente por su experiencia profesional.

Reviews for Tragedy at Law

[mrsrk-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The first few pages of this book almost got me chucking it. I persisted reading and am glad. It was very enjoyable and Cyril Hare has a very interesting, fine sense of humor--which permeates the whole book, but was a bit lost on me at the very beginning, since I didn't know the characters. Also, the British justice system is portrayed in fascinating detail. I suspected the culprit from the start, but could not come up with a good reason for the crime. I am looking forward to reading other of Hare's books. I highly recommend this one.

[Laura Tejada · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lovely dry humor and a complex yet sensible plot made for an enjoyable read.

[datrappert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was informed this was a classic--it is not. But it is still a very readable, very British, and very overlong story of a circuit judge, back in the days when a circuit was really a circuit and moved from town to town, his much younger wife, and the other members of the traveling court who must confront a series of threats against the judge. Some of the characters are memorable, and the descriptions of the various towns and accommodations are somewhat amusing. The plot moves at a snail's pace, with lots of digressions which in the end do have a bit to do with the outcome. The book would benefit from having a more focused point of view, instead of being narrated from so many perspectives. Most readers will probably guess the culprit, though probably not the motivation, unless they are a scholar of British law--assuming the law Hare speaks of is in fact real. I would have to have a lot of time on my hands to venture into another of the author's books anytime soon.

[leslie398 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very clever & I like the character of Francis Pettigrew who is introduced in this book.

[antiquary_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Spoiler Warning: This is one story I always remember for its motive which turns on an odd point of law: in English law at the time, the victim of an accident could sue the estate of a dead person, but only within six months of the accident. A man is involved in an accident and liable to be sued for ruinous damages. He keeps trying to delay trial and once he has managed to delay it for 6 months, his wife murder him, because he if alive could still be sued but his wife as his heir could not. Francis Pettigrew the lawyer and amateur detective simply sends the wife the reference to the relevant decision in the law reports, and she commits suicide.The story is vey clever but rather depressing as some of it is told from the POV (though 3rd person) of the rather sadly feeble victim.

[brackles9 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is an old-fashioned murder story set in the early years of the 2nd World War in a fictional and romanticised England. Hare writes elegantly and the book is heavily nostalgic. The plot is relatively slow and the murder takes forever to happen, but you feel in safe hands as Hare leads us to the inevitable corpse. For all that, I found the ending disappointingly predictable: I'd guessed the perpetrator long before the end. For all that, I've bought another Hare: being taken effortlessly into a world long since gone outweighs the mild disappointment of that last 'This is who did it and why'.

[eyejaybee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the finest traditional whodunnits that I have read!Set on the Southern Assize Court Circuit in October 1939 as the country gradually subsided into war but before the subsequent privations became apparent, this novel tells of the tribulations of Frank Pettigrew, a down-at-heel barrister (perhaps an early forerunner of John Mortimer's HoraceRumpole) and Justice Barber. Steeped in pomposity the Judge stumbles through the proceedings, dependent upon the ministrations of his youthful and far more intelligent wife to preserve him from embarrassment. To add a little savour the reader subsequently discovers that before she married the Judge Lady Barber had previously been engaged to Pettigrew.However, Lady Barber is not on hand to prevent her husband from deciding to drive home after a lawyers' mess dinner in the blackout and knocking over a stranger who suffers damage to his hand and may have to lose a finger. Distressing enough for anyone, this injury is particularly awkward for the victim as he is a feted classical pianist.Meanwhile the Judge has been receiving anonymous and threatening letters, and we learn that Heppenstall, a former acquaintance to whom the Judge had delivered a particularly stiff sentence and who swore to seek bitter revenge, is now out of prison on licence and has been seen loitering in the vicinity.The pianist consults his own lawyers who threaten to sue the Judge if a satisfactory settlement cannot be reached out of court. This would, of course, signal the end of his career on the Bench. With all these elements Cyril Hare concocts a fairly heady brew, which eventually culminates with the murder of the Judge outside the Central Criminal Court.Hare manages his plot masterfully, with a deft lightness of touch. One feels great empathy for Pettigrew, and shudders at the occasional loathsomeness of Barber.Lovingly crafted and beautifully written - a very jolly summer read!

[ben_a_11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Yet another of P.D. James' recommendations of top five mysteries. This one is superb -- a stylish and urbane illumination of legal custom and habit in interwar Britain. Like the Franchise Affair, it features a female lead who is quite a piece of work. Recommended. 1.25.07