1901, the Inner Temple, London, a strange enclave where tradition holds sway over all and oddly dressed individuals stalk the hallways – not a religious gathering, but the secretive heart of London’s legal system. Barrister Gabriel Ward has lived in his rooms there all of his life, but he has never encountered a dead body there before – until he finds that of the Lord Chief Justice of England, stabbed through the heart… and missing his shoes and socks…

Gabriel is soon given the task of finding the murderer, but by the nature of the Temple, there are far more secrets being kept than just murderous intent…

Well, this is an odd-sounding one, which is why I grabbed a review copy from NetGalley. Interesting setting, both in terms of spatial and temporal location, both of which feed into the plot, and an interesting reluctant sleuth. I’m never quite convinced by the notion of a lawyer who has lived a sheltered life – surely you can’t be an effective lawyer without knowing how the people you defend or prosecute think – but if you put that to one side, there’s some nice gentle character work here, especially as Gabriel gets to know the non-legal staff of the Temple better. I enjoyed the partnership with Constable Wright as well – two quite different backgrounds, but it was nice to see that not being shoved in my face every time they interact.

The story follows two plot strands, the murder and Ward’s current case, the authorship of a children’s book, Millie The Temple Church Mouse, which you might think is something minor, but it’s actually really interesting. The murder mystery… well, there’s a lot of Gabriel being told stuff but there’s some detection going on too. I thought one red herring was a bit forced – there is a nice story behind it, but the reader wouldn’t guess it and it does affect one of the more curious aspects of the crime. I think I was told quite a lot, rather being asked to work it out for myself, but all in all, it was a very pleasant read.

It’s billed as “for fans of S.J. Bennett, Janice Hallett and Richard Coles”, an interesting trio. I’d say it’s mostly for the fans of the latter – it doesn’t have the complexity of Hallett or (from the one-third of a book I managed) the tweeness of Bennett. It’s a satisfying read and with characters who I think I’ll want to read more of.

A Case Of Mice And Murder is out on Thursday from Raven Books. Many thanks for the review e-copy.