A Case of Mice and Murder

The Inner Temple: a warren of shaded courtyards and ancient buildings forming the hidden heart of London's legal world. A place where tradition is everything, and murder belongs only in the casebooks. Until now…

When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of his latest case – the disputed authorship of bestselling children's book Millie the Temple Church Mouse – that he scarcely registers the body of the Lord Chief Justice of England on his doorstep.

But even he cannot fail to notice the judge's dusty bare feet, in shocking contrast to his flawless evening dress, nor the silver carving knife sticking out of his chest.

The police can enter the Temple only by consent, so who better to investigate this tragic breach of law and order than a man who prizes both above all things? But murder doesn't answer to logic or reasoned argument, and Gabriel soon discovers that the Temple's heavy oak doors are hiding more surprising secrets than he'd ever imagined.

About the author:

Sally Smith is a London barrister and KC. Her biography of famous Edwardian barrister Sir Edward Marshall Hall has attracted significant critical acclaim since it was published in 2016.

A Case of Mice and Murder is the first in her series of wonderfully ingenious murder mysteries set at the beginning of the Edwardian era and centred in the Temple, the area of legal London whose curious history and arcane traditions continue to fascinate so many. The series introduces Gabriel Ward, a brilliant but reclusive barrister who lives and works in the Inner Temple, rarely venturing outside its precincts. When he finds the Lord Chief Justice stabbed to death on the doorstep, Gabriel’s privileged little world is shaken to its core, and he is forced to turn sleuth.

This very special new series is inspired by a treasure trove of Inner Temple archives to which Sally has access.