Skelton's Guide to Domestic Poisons

An amusing mystery set just after the First World War, starring an absent-minded barrister who rose to national fame almost by accident by getting his client acquitted with the simple use of a few common sense questions. When a second high-profile case involves him, Skelton, in addition to his common sense, deploys some unconventional means, such as a pair of sympathetic cousins suffering from religious mania and, even, his own jealousy towards his wife, a free and unconventional woman. As I said, a very entertaining book, which, under the guise of solving a case of murder by poisoning, argues convincingly about the condition of women, against war and the intrigues of certain politicians.

This is both a good and very odd book. It's set in 1929 in the lead up to the so called "Flapper election" the first with women from the age of 21 allowed to vote, in line with male suffrage, It starts with Arthur Skelton being lauded after getting is client found not guilty. This raises his reputation and his visibility in the public eye. He is offered a case defending Mary Dutton, who is accused of poisoning her husband Ted. He came home from WW1 a changed man and was abusive to Mary. There's a lot of publicity about the case as well as political pressure. No one wants the judicial killing of a woman just before election day in an environment when the female vote is being courted.
Against this, Arthur and his clerk, Edgar, try to find show more the best line of defence. The police aren't interested, they think they've got the guilty party, but there is quite a bit of history and rumours of a corrupt police force that used to be in thrall to Ted's father, Sid, and remains under Ted's mother's thumb. And here comes the odd element. Arthur is not necessarily interested in finding the truth, his aim is to defend his client against the charge. So the question of who did murder Ted is never fully resolved. The police corruption and embezzlement is never got to the bottom of. There are any number of loose threads left dangling because they are not useful to Arthur in the defence of his client. So while it is being categorised as a mystery, in one sense it is a mystery without any resolution. At the end you are left with only speculation as to the identity of the murderer and tbeir motives.
There are plenty of interesting characters in here. Arthur himself is an outsider in law at the time, being from a working class background. As is his clerk. ANd his wife is not a run of the mill home counties lady either, being a school teacher with socialist leanings.
It's an enjoyable read but not one if you like your mysteries all neatly solved and tidied up at the end. show less

This review contains my opinion about the ending. No spoilers for content, just adjectives.

****

First off, this is a lovely cover. It's probably a large part of what drew me in to check out this book.

The character of Arthur Skelton is based on a real-life barrister from the 1920s, although the case in this novel bears only a faint resemblance to one of the barrister's actual cases. Overall I found the book had a good amount of historical detail (although I am not well versed in the period and could not tell you how correct everything is). I did like the prominence of the flappers and the suffragette movement, as well as Arthur's wife, Mila, teaching girls useful skills. And Rose will hopefully continue to play a role in future show more installments as a highly skilled barrister!

The main characters were pleasant to know. I related especially to Arthur's catastrophizing when he was convinced that Mila was having an affair. He mapped out the entire divorce settlement and his subsequent move to another country and then found out it was not necessary. Catastrophizing is standard operating procedure for me, so seeing it on the page was both amusing and horrifying at how true it was.

The mystery itself was mostly interesting, but the solution ended up feeling muddled and I'm still not entirely sure I understand it. I have added the next book in the series to my to-read list, but I'd be reading it for the characters more than the story. show less

After winning an important case, Barrister Arthur Skelton finds himself suddenly in great demand in the latter part of the 1920's. Now it's 1929, and he's been asked to take over the case of a woman accused of killing her husband. But the case comes with a whole lot of problems. For one, all the evidence points to her being guilty. For another, she was an abused wife and has become a cause celebre for women who are about to cast their first vote in the upcoming election which means the Home Office would really like to ensure she isn't executed. So Skelton is faced with a huge dilemma - should he convince his client to take a lesser plea to avoid the gallows or should he go ahead with the trial and, somehow, fingers crossed, win the show more case.

Skelton's Guide to Domestic Poisons by author David Stafford was a completely entertaining historical cozy reminiscent of the Golden Age of mysteries. Although it lacks much in the way of action, it makes up for it with sly humour and likeable characters who kept my attention throughout. This was definitely a whole lot of fun and I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys a quiet, slyly witty historical mystery.

Thanks to Netgalley and Alison & Busby for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

” A real page turner mystery thriller”
I would define the book, Skelton’s Guide to Domestic Poisons by David Stafford as staggering and gripping for mystery and thriller lovers. With every page you will find a new discovery to the case. At one moment you are thinking that the culprit is found and by the time you reach the end of the chapter the whole scenario changes.
It will make you feel like an active participant in the story with Arthur Skelton, our protagonist and lawyer.
Thanks NetGalley for providing me an ARC copy of this book.
#SkeltonsGuidetoDomesticPoisons #NetGalley