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This book is very much a mixture of styles. On the one hand there is the search for a valuable ancient artefact on the lines of THE DA VINCI CODE and on the other we have the whodunit aspect, with a number of suspects. Finally, there are lengthy scenes at the Old Bailey as the main character is tried for murder. To handle all these different aspects of the story, each of which could constitute a novel in itself, is a considerable task that is not always carried out successfully. It comes as no surprise that the author - a practising barrister - is at his best and most knowledgeable in the courtroom scenes. We first encounter former Oxford Art Professor - and now Colonel – John Cade in France shortly after the 1944 Normandy landings. Accompanied by two NCOs, Sergeant Ritter and Corporal Carson, he is on what turns out to be private business - the search for a codex that will assist him in his search for an ancient artefact. Cade finds what he wants, but only after threatening and bullying the family that owned the codex. It is, however, only later that we learn exactly how ruthless and cold-blooded he can be in pursuit of what he wants. Fifteen years later and the scene has moved to England. John Cade has been murdered and his son, Stephen, has been arrested. Although he has investigated the case and been obliged to charge Stephen with murder, Inspector Trave of the Oxford Police cannot convince himself that Stephen is guilty. However, the evidence against him is strong and there is a compelling motive in that Stephen's father was about to change his will and disinherit both his sons. There are other suspects, among whom are Silas, Stephen's unpleasant brother, Ritter, the former army sergeant, and Sasha Blayne, Cade's assistant. There is a rather conventional country house setting, not to mention the obligatory guest, on the night of Cade's murder. The identification of the murderer – it becomes obvious long before the end that that it wasn't Stephen – is somewhat unconvincing. The author goes into far too much detail about keys, locked rooms and comings and goings immediately prior to the murder, leaving the reader rather confused - a confusion that remains even when the real murderer explains exactly what happened. Just as unsatisfactory is Sasha's somewhat desultory search for the artefact. We are told how beautiful and valuable it is but this part of the novel never really comes alive and the reader is left with the impression that its introduction is little more than an excuse for murder and the courtroom scenes that follow. The chapters concerned with the trial itself are certainly the most gripping part of the book and it is here that the characters come to life. Stephen's defending counsel is a man doing his best in what appears to be a hopeless case. The prosecuting counsel and the judge are the sort of people who give lawyers a bad name, both concerned to score points and exercise the power of their separate offices. They are both so obnoxious that the reader wants and expects to see them discredited but the author himself seems to lose interest in them and this failure to show what happened to them is a major disappointment. In fact, the ending as a whole is rather unsatisfactory. The brothers remain largely unreconciled and the two women – Sasha and Mary – seem to disappear without trace, though, like a number of the other characters, they are eminently forgettable. § Arnold Taylor is a retired Examinations Board Officer, amateur writer and even more amateur bridge player.
Reviewed by Arnold Taylor, December 2012
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