Tragedy at Law
- 288 pages
- 11 hours of reading
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.
Follow the fortunes of Francis Pettigrew, a barrister whose career is less than stellar but whose sharp intellect often leads him to uncover the truth. This series delves into the world of British courtrooms and intricate detective plots. It's a compelling narrative of justice, wit, and human nature.






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.
The Blitz has forced the evacuation of various government offices from London and Pettigrew accompanies his ministry to the distant seaside resort of Marsett Bay. In this strange atmosphere, Pettigrew begins to fall in love with his secretary, who is also being courted by a widowed man much older than her.
Famous solo violinist Lucy Carless is making a guest appearance with the provincial Markshire Orchestra, only to be found strangled with a silk stocking part-way through the concert.
A végtelennek tűnő késedelem után, amely valójában alig lehetett egy-két percnél hosszabb, tapsvihar köszöntötte a visszatérő karmestert. Ám ahogy támad, éppoly hirtelen meg is szakadt a taps. Evans egyedül volt. Lassan közeledett az emelvényhez, válla előregörnyedt, álla mellére bukott, úgy lépkedett, akár az alvajáró. Halotti csend ülte meg a termet, ahogy a karmester felvonszolta magát az emelvényre. Két keze megmarkolta a korlátott, mintha attól tartana, különben eleseik, s csak állt ott egy teljes percig szótlanul – némán nézett szembe a néma gyülekezettel. Amikor végre megszólalt, rekedt hangja valósággal felismerhetetlen volt. Suttogott inkább, mint beszélt, de a termet megülő tökéletes némasában mégis jól hallatszott minden szava. – Baleset történt… – hallották Evans suttogását. – Szörnyű baleset. Azonnal orvost kérek
Gordon Clark was a county judge at the time of the novel's compositionWhen Francis Pettigrew, former barrister and sometime amateur detective, is plucked out of peaceful retirement in the Home Counties to deputise for the County Court judge, the proceedings offer him some unexpected insights into the lives of his new neighbours.
Francis Pettigrew travels to Exmoor for a holiday with his wife - an area in which as a young boy he was traumatised by coming across a dead body on the moor. In an attempt to exorcise this trauma, Pettigrew walks across the moor to the place where the incident occurred - only to find another dead body.
These thirty stories, selected and introduced by fellow crime writer and lawyer Michael Gilbert, are a terrific introduction to Cyril Hare's inventive and clever Golden Age detective fiction, which often turns on an ingenious use of the law.