Great writing, excellent use of the English language, from one of the best loved and most influential English crime writers, he served in many legal and judicial capacities which is obvious from his style of writing, this one published in 1946. ( )

Review pending ( )

Not sure why, but I feel like I've been reading this for weeks. I enjoyed it but it didn't hold my attention so my reading spells were short. Excellent plot and well developed characters. The ending was a complete surprise. ( )

Great old mystery! So glad I came across the title when reading Time to Be In Earnest by PD James. It seems Ms James sent her first manuscript to an agent. The agent was at lunch soon after reading the book when someone lamented the passing of Cyril Hare. She was dining with the director of Faber & Faber who said they would have to find an author to replace Mr Hare on their list. The agent offered PD James first novel as a possible candidate and it was accepted. In telling the story (I hope I got it right.) Ms James recommended this book. I had read An English Murder by Cyril Hare and enjoyed it. (That one came up in a Guardian article of the Top Ten Golden Age Detective stories.) I will look for more by him. Good writer, very creative, good characters. ( )

I was informed this was a classic--it is not. But it is still a very readable, very British, and very overlong story of a circuit judge, back in the days when a circuit was really a circuit and moved from town to town, his much younger wife, and the other members of the traveling court who must confront a series of threats against the judge. Some of the characters are memorable, and the descriptions of the various towns and accommodations are somewhat amusing. The plot moves at a snail's pace, with lots of digressions which in the end do have a bit to do with the outcome. The book would benefit from having a more focused point of view, instead of being narrated from so many perspectives. Most readers will probably guess the culprit, though probably not the motivation, unless they are a scholar of British law--assuming the law Hare speaks of is in fact real. I would have to have a lot of time on my hands to venture into another of the author's books anytime soon. ( )