Kill All The Judges by William Deverell

 

Arthur Beauchamp's retirement isn't going as he thought it would.  His grandson is visiting for the summer and he likes that.  But his wife Margaret has declared for the Green Party seat and he's not sure he likes that.  Several judges in the area have been killed in the past year and he knows he doesn't like that.

The one getting the most notice is the one in which Arthur's nemesis, Cudworth Brown, is charged.  Cudworth had spent a week or so on a platform up a tree with Margaret in a forestry protest and rumors had flown.  This time, Cud, a poet and ladies' man, had gone to an authors' dinner at a judge's residence.  He and the judge's wife got frisky during dinner and had a rendezvous afterwards.  Sometime during the night, the judge went over the balcony and died and Cud was arrested.  In spectacularly bad timing, Cud's lawyer has had a breakdown due to his divorce and is hospitalized and everyone wants Arthur to take Cud's case.  Arthur surely doesn't want to but feels the pressure.  Can he save the day?

This is the third Arthur Beauchamp novel.  Readers will learn about the Canadian government and courts as well as the British Columbian province.  There are plenty of eccentric characters to round out the cast. Arthur has a new lawyer for an assistant, there's a legal secretary from Hong Kong who seems mysterious, the local mechanic is full of schemes and Margaret's candidacy isn't helping his marriage.  The plot is twisty but tight and the reader will enjoy the unraveling of the crime.  I listened to this novel and the narrator was perfect for Arthur's character, understated but at the top of his game just like Arthur.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.