Odd Doings at the Inner Temple

Sir Gabriel Ward, KC, is a barrister. Considered one of Britain’s finest legal minds, he practices law at the Inner Temple, one of London’s Inns of Court. A man of rigid routine, he leads a bachelor's existence from rooms there. He wakens at 6:58, leaves his rooms at King’s Bench Walk, and walks to his professional chambers daily, except Sunday.

In A Case of Mice and Murder: The Trials of Gabriel Ward, by Sally Smith, his normal routine is disturbed on the morning of 20 May 1901. He literally stumbles across the body of Norman Dunning, the Lord Chief Justice of England, at his chambers’ doorstep.

Dunning is stone dead across the threshold, with a silver-handled carving knife from the Temple’s kitchen in his chest. He is wearing evening dress, but is barefoot. The police are called. Ward spends the morning telling them what he saw.

Dunning was a long-time acquaintance of Ward. They went to school and college together. While Dunning’s death distresses Ward, he is more distressed by the time it takes away from the preparation of his new case, a disputed authorship of a bestselling children's book, "Millie the Temple Church Mouse.” The police, soon done with him, let him return to studying the case that afternoon.

His routine is more thoroughly shattered the next day. He appears to be the only one at the Inner Temple with an ironclad alibi near the time of death. The Inner Temple, an enclave within London, is independent of the city and its jurisdiction. The last thing William Waring, head of the Inner Temple, wants is London police trampling about the Inner Temple unsupervised. Informing police that the Temple will conduct its own investigation, Waring puts Ward in charge.

Ward may use assistance from the Metropolitan Police. Assistance was provided by Constable Maurice Wright, who initially investigated the report. With Ward an unwilling Homes and Wright a Watson eager for the opportunity to work with a KC, the two begin their investigation.

The two make an odd match, one that is remarkably complementary. Together they find clues that either would have missed independently. Ward finds that the murder and his current case seem to be tied together. The ties are initially nebulous, but become increasingly stronger.

A Case of Mice and Murder is an amusing and satisfying tale. It perfectly evokes the traditions of the Inner Temple and captures the feel of 1901 London perfectly. A worthwhile read.

“A Case of Mice and Murder: The Trials of Gabriel Ward,” by Sally Smith, Raven Books, ‎ June 2025, 336 pages, $28.99 (Hardcover), $18.97 (Paperback), $14.99 (E-book), $19.62 (Audiobook)