A Case of Life and Limb: The Trials of Gabriel Ward

"I was immediately besotted . . . Brilliant." -Janice Hallett, internationally bestselling author of The Appeal

All is calm, all is bright, until reluctant sleuth barrister Gabriel Ward is tasked with finding the culprit of yet another grisly crime in the Inner Temple . . .

Christmas Eve, 1901. Gabriel Ward KC is hard at work on a thorny libel case involving London's most famous music hall star, Topsy Tillotson, and its most notorious tabloid newspaper, the Nation's Voice, but the Inner Temple remains as quiet and calm as ever. Quiet, that is, until a severed hand arrives in the post.

While the hand's recipient, Temple Treasurer Sir William Waring, is rightfully shaken, Gabriel is filled with curiosity. Who would want to send such a thing? And why? But as more parcels arrive-one with fatal consequences-Gabriel realizes that it is not Sir William who is the target, but the Temple itself.

Someone is holding a grudge that has already led to at least one death. Now it's up to Gabriel, and Constable Wright of the City of London Police, to find out who, before an old death leads to a new murder.

Author: Sally Smith
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Raven Books
Published: 11/18/2025
Series: Trials of Gabriel Ward #2
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781639737178


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 08/25/2025

About the Author
Sally Smith is the author of A Case of Mice and Murder, the first in a series starring the reluctant sleuth Sir Gabriel Ward KC. Having spent all her working life as a barrister and later King's Counsel, Smith was inspired by the historic surroundings and rich history of the Inner Temple in which she still lives and works.