A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally SmithMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Narrated by Matthew Lloyd-Davis
Presented by Bloomsbury UK Audio
Another fun detective story!
Err, I mean, LAWYER.
Yes, Sir Gabriel Ward is tasked with investigating a murder that's happened on Temple grounds. That's not, as I first misunderstood, a literal temple, but rather a special lil section of London where Lawyers rule. Gabriel is a little odd, but it's part of his charm.
I'll admit, the narrator didn't work for me at the beginning. For some reason I find some male narrators hard to hear at times, like they trail off at the end of the sentences or in the middle and I can't make out the words properly. Very frustrating. I also found the pacing off compared to how I'd read, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he did a bad job.
He did grow on me as I became more involved in the story, but I did find myself tuning out a lot at the start. The story sucked me in though and I regretted not paying thorough attention!
There's a double mystery here - the murder that Ward has been tasked with investigating, and the case he's currently undertaking in his role as a lawyer, that concerns the author of a children's book. It's the latter that really piqued my curiosity; Millie the mouse has become a hugely successful book and yet her authorship is unknown. Fascinating!
Eventually this book delivered everything I've really been enjoying in the Japanese crime novels I've been devouring: strange, seemingly irrelevant pieces, a large cast of potential suspects, quirky stories and completely wild ideas. I enjoyed the way everything started to be pieced together and the ultimate conclusion.
This is a great introduction to the series, but given all the clues and red herrings I'd love to read this one physically so that I can properly absorb every detail.
Highly recommend to crime fans who just want a straight up murder mystery without the brooding detectives and their messy love lives.
With thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC
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