My debut novel, A Case of Mice and Murder is a historical detective story. It tells the story of two mysteries in 1901 in the Temple, the heart of legal London. The first is the dramatic murder of the Lord Chief Justice and the quest to find his killer. The second is a sensational legal battle over the rights to a book written by an anonymous author. There is one man linking them; Sir Gabriel Ward KC, Eton and Oxford educated, brilliant, solitary, reclusive, bound by compulsive rituals; reluctant sleuth in the first story, legendary advocate in the second.

After a long legal career working in the Temple, I was inspired to write this book during the COVID lockdown and enforced solitude at my desk at home. At the risk of sounding pretentious, I did find in some odd way that the lack of all the usual freedoms helped liberate my ways of thinking. I was inspired by the start of the Edwardian era as the period setting for my mystery because I had previously written a biography of Sir Edward Marshall Hall, the great advocate of the Edwardian era, so I had already steeped myself in the period for that book. The years between 1900-1930 have been called the golden age of advocacy. Barristers were household names and the newspapers dominated by reports of their doings, both social and professional. KCs were automatically knighted, murderers hanged when cases were lost, the law courts imbued with an extraordinary sense of theatre.

I did huge amounts of research for my earlier biography; the Temple has archives going back for hundreds of years. I also did some detective work of my own, and found two families who had kept in their attics (truly in their attics, though that sounds like a bit of romantic overlay!) all the professional and social records of two Edwardian KCs who had been close friends. They revealed an entire, absolutely authentic world; it was the strangest feeling untying the pink tape on briefs that had not been opened since they were tied up at the end of the case. There were dozens and dozens of boxes. By the end, I felt I could live the life of my Edwardian characters. And of course there were the British and London Libraries to fill in any gaps left.

As a barrister and later King’s Counsel in the Inner Temple, I was living within the history of the place. My own legal background helped as I was able to do huge amounts of research; The Inner Temple Law Library together with those of the other three Inns of Court (Middle Temple, Gray’s and Lincoln’s) are amongst the best law libraries in the world. There is nothing they do not have, including all previous versions of all law books produced over the centuries. I approached the legal bits by expunging any knowledge I may have and saying to the Inner Temple librarians; ‘Please may I have the textbooks and statutes I would have looked this up in in 1901 and nothing post that date.’ That way I could be sure that I was not approaching it with a modern eye. Yes, I am afraid Gabriel and I do share some working methods; a shade obsessive, a tendency to pedantry and bad delegators; unfortunately, I certainly do not share his reputation for ‘being the ultimate opinion on those most intractable legal problems despaired of by his colleagues at the Bar.’

A Case of Mice and Murder – The Trials of Gabriel Ward Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Historical Mystery
Release: June 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

The first in a delightful new mystery series set in the hidden heart of London’s legal world, introducing a wonderfully unwilling sleuth, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Nita Prose.

When barrister Gabriel Ward steps out of his rooms at exactly two minutes to seven on a sunny May morning in 1901, his mind is so full of his latest case-the disputed authorship of bestselling children’s book Millie the Temple Church Mouse-that he scarcely registers the body of the Lord Chief Justice of England on his doorstep.

But even he cannot fail to notice the judge’s dusty bare feet, in shocking contrast to his flawless evening dress, nor the silver carving knife sticking out of his chest. In the shaded courtyards and ancient buildings of the Inner Temple, the hidden heart of London’s legal world, murder has spent centuries confined firmly to the casebooks. Until now . . .

The police can enter the Temple only by consent, so who better to investigate this tragic breach of law and order than a man who prizes both above all things? But murder doesn’t answer to logic or reasoned argument, and Gabriel soon discovers that the Temple’s heavy oak doors are hiding more surprising secrets than he’d ever imagined . . .

Meet the author
Sally Smith spent all her working life as a barrister and later King’s Counsel in the Inner Temple. After writing a biography of the famous Edwardian barrister, Sir Edward Marshall Hall KC, she retired from the bar to write full time. Her debut novel is inspired by the historic surroundings of the Inner Temple in which she still lives and works and by the rich history contained in the Inner Temple archives.