Rumpole Misbehaves: A Novel (Rumpole Novels)
At the start of Mortimer's winning new novella to feature Horace Rumpole (after 2006'sRumpole and the Reign of Terror), the quirky English barrister agrees to defend 12-year-old Peter Timson, who's been served with an Anti-social Behaviour Order (ASBO) for playing soccer in the streets of a posh London neighborhood. Later, Rumpole takes on a more serious case: a shy civil servant, Graham Wetherby, stands accused of murdering a prostitute, an illegal Russian immigrant. Since Wetherby prefers to be represented by a QC or Queens Counsel, Rumpole schemes to become a QC in an amusing subplot. Rumpole fans will cheer the barrister's vigorous defense of his clients as well as his cutting comments on the nanny state that gives rise to laws like ASBOs. As always, the character of Rumpole overshadows the mystery solving: his hedonistic pleasure in food and drink, his acerbic, manipulative wit and his love for the legal underdog. Wife Hilda—She Who Must Be Obeyed—narrates the occasional chapter to great comic effect.(Dec.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.