Gallows Court by Martin Edwards

(32. - 1275.) Gallows Court by Martin Edwards - Rachel Savernake is a dangerous woman if you are a murderer. The elegant daughter of the late Judge Savernake has moved to London from the family home on the bleak isle of Gaunt in the Irish Sea. She has abundant money living in a fine home and being chauffeured in a Rolls Royce.

Eminent banker, Lawrence Pardoe, kills himself in his study after writing a suicide note confessing to the murder, including decapitation, of Mary-Jane Hayes.

An intrepid young crime reporter for the Clarion newspaper, Jacob Flint, is insatiably curious. He wants to understand how Pardoe became a murdering monster after a life of respectability.

The lead crime reporter at the Clarion was Tom Betts. Badly injured by being struck by a car the prognosis is grim. Seeking information about Savernake who he knows is fascinated by murder Flint goes to the hospital. Betts whispers a name.

Savernake has a tart tongue with no patience for the assumed superiority of the English male elite. 

A respected private detective with an amazing name, Leviticus Shoemaker, makes inquiries for Savernake.

Flint is tenacious, refusing to give up on the story despite warnings to move on.

As Flint struggled to determine Savernake’s goals I was equally adrift trying to figure out what Savernake was doing in London. She is sparing with information. 

Who are the shadowy figures behind multiple murders in London? It can be hard for a reader when a conspiracy is engaged.

Savernake tells Flint she “is full of surprises”. Both Flint and I agreed with the statement. The book is more thriller than mystery.

The owner of the Inanity Theatre, William Kearey, is incinerated during an illusion. It is a brutal and creative form of murder.

The investigation leads to the secretive Damnation Society.

Gallows Court is a wonderful title. In the book it was a small courtyard in London with several law offices. It can also refer to a hanging court. The death penalty is very much a punishment in the England of 1930.

Savernake is a ruthless woman. She is a true avenging angel. She is not disturbed by collateral damage in her polished schemes. 

Gallows Court is the first Rachel Savernake mystery. I read the second, Mortmain Hall, before Gallows Court. I wished I had read them in order. I find it is a rare series that is better read out of order.

I thought Gallows Court a good book and Mortmain Hall a great book. Ultimately, I find it hard to enjoy vigilante justice and I think there were too many bodies in Gallows Court. My preferred number of the deceased is in the low single digits with one the most preferred. I shall now have to read the third in the series, Blackstone Fell.

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Edwards, Martin - (2018) - All the Lonely People and A Dislike of Cynical Lawyers; (2020) - Mortmain Hall and A Real Life Case and Mortmain Hall and An Exchange with Martin Edwards on Mortmain Hall