Rumpole And The Reign Of Terror by John Mortimer

Originally read this back in 2008, but picked it up to re-read before loaning it to my darling bff. Brilliant book: funny, topical, with a good mystery and courtroom/romantic drama to boot. There are several awfully convenient coincidences, but they don’t distract from the over-all worth of the story. I didn’t realize when I picked this book up at the thrift store that it was set in modern times (for some reason, I always thought the Rumpole novels to be more current with the Bertie Wooster milieu,) but it was a very pleasant surprise. If you thought the Patriot Act was absurdly fascistic, wait till you get a load of how the UK reacted to the London Underground bombings. Mortimer deals with this issue with all the good sense and humor that his creation, Rumpole, is known for.