annieb123's Review of Death Has Deep Roots (Inspector Hazlerigg, #5) (Scarlet Dagger Large Print Books) (A Hamlyn paperback) (British Library Crime Classics)

by Michael Gilbert

At the Central Criminal Court, an eager crowd awaits the trial of Victoria Lamartine, an active participant in the Resistance during the war. She is now employed at the Family Hotel in Soho, where Major Eric Thoseby has been found murdered. The cause of death? A stabbing reminiscent of techniques developed by the Maquisards.

While the crime is committed in England, its roots are buried in a vividly depicted wartime France. Thoseby is believed to have fathered Lamartine's child, and the prosecution insist that his death is revenge for his abandonment of Lamartine and her arrest by the Gestapo.

A last-minute change in Lamartine's defence counsel grants solicitor Nap Rumbold just eight days to prove her innocence, with the highest of stakes should he fail. The proceedings of the courtroom are interspersed with Rumbold's perilous quest for evidence, which is aided by his old wartime comrades.

Originally published on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Death Has Deep Roots is the 5th book by Michael Gilbert with Inspector Hazlerigg (who has a cameo here). Originally published in 1951, this reformat and re-release, out 5th Nov 2019 is part of the British Library Crime Classics series by Poisoned Pen Press. The new edition is 288 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats. (Other editions available in other formats).

This is a classic courtroom drama/mystery with locked room overtones. This is a really enjoyable and well written legal procedural from an author who wasn't well known to me. I haven't yet read a single clunker from the British Library Classics. This one, as the others in the series, is introduced with background from the ever erudite mystery maven Martin Edwards. These intros are frankly worth the price of admission by themselves and include background info on the authors, the history, and (in this case) the film adaptation. Good stuff.

The language is precise and the book is very well written if ever so slightly dated (it's almost 70 years old). The mystery is cerebral with a very interesting back history about WW2 and the French resistance and WW2. I would definitely recommend it to fans of legal and classic mysteries of the period. Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Death Has Deep Roots (Inspector Hazlerigg, #5) (Scarlet Dagger Large Print Books) (A Hamlyn paperback) (British Library Crime Classics)

by Michael Gilbert

Reviewed by annieb123 on Nov 22, 2019

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