Malice Domestic by Sara Woods

5 Days of Sara Woods — Day 2

“It sounds an interesting case, sir,” said Antony Maitland, hopefully. 

Sir Nicholas Harding regarded him in a considering way, and then remarked, “No doubt,” in no very encouraging tone. After a moment he added, rather more emphatically, “I will not take a case involving an insanity plea. As you very well know.” (1)*

So begins Malice Domestic, the second book in Sara Woods’ 48-book Antony Maitland series. Dean Street Press Ltd. are republishing the first five books in this series on 2 December 2024! To celebrate, I’m posting a review of one book per day leading up to the big day. Yesterday, I reviewed book one, Bloody Instructions. If you haven’t read that post, you may want to read that one first and then come back to this one. There, I talk about the author and provide a more in-depth overview of the main series characters.

Briefly, I will explain that Antony Maitland is junior barrister to his uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding, Queen’s Counsel of the Inner Temple, London. As well as working along side his uncle, Antony and his dependable wife, Jenny, live in a mostly self-contained apartment on the top two floors of Sir Nicholas house at Kempenfeldt Square. Antony was wounded in the Second World War, still carrying injures to his right arm and shoulder, which cause him pain and make it all but impossible for him to drive. Thankfully, Jenny is happy to act as chauffeur when need be.

As I mentioned in my review of Bloody Instructions, it appears there is a trend of Antony bringing interesting cases to his uncle, which his uncle is more than a little reluctant to accept. In this one, Paul Herron has been arrested for shooting his great uncle, William Cassell. Paul was caught with the smoking gun in his hands, literally. He was discovered in the bushes outside the study window through which William had been shot, holding the .22 riffle in question. Paul is described by his grandfather, Ambrose, as having been prone to sleepwalking and odd, as a child,—so unlike his twin brother Timothy—which is why Ambrose insists on a plea of insanity.

“Eighteen years ago Paul Herron’s father shot and killed his wife, his twin brother, and then himself.” The solicitor’s tone was matter-of-fact. Antony murmured, “Women and children first,” and his uncle exploded into violent speech.

“So this is your interesting case!” He turned an accusing glare on his nephew. “A case not only involving an insanity plea, but also two sets of twins (identical twins, in the best story-book tradition, I make no doubt!). And beyond all this—I am to involve myself in the investigation of a shooting eighteen years old!” (5)

I appreciate an author who isn’t afraid to point out the ridiculous in their stories, and Sara Woods does it to such great effect through Sir Nicholas, who is never afraid to speak his mind, especially when he is in conversation with his nephew, Antony. But you know what? The whole two sets of twins thing was handled really well, and it didn’t feel the least bit ridiculous once the story got going. Now, that I’m halfway through book four in this series at the time of writing this review, I would expect nothing less from Sara Woods.

Even when we have an additional two brothers who look very much alike, though they are not twins, I was still on board. William, the murdered man, and Ambrose, the grandfather of the accused look so similar that Ambrose is certain his grandson, Paul, intended to murder him. What Paul is reported by his brother to have said at the time seems to only confirm this.  “[Paul] turned and looked at Grandfather, and he looked as though he was dreaming; and he said very slowly, ‘I don't understand. I thought it was you!’” (18-19).

I have one last quotation that I want to share. It’s one of those domestic scenes that are what I believe make this series so special.

Jenny Maitland was at home; curled up on the sofa, and half asleep over a book. Antony stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her: her brown curls were ruffled, but touched with gold in the lamp-light; she looked relaxed and contented as a kitten before a fire. He was feeling tired, and discouraged (most illogically), and his shoulder was aching; but he was comforted, as always, merely by finding her there among all the familiar things in the big shabby room. (23)

After this, Antony leans in to kiss Jenny, but interrupts himself. His mind is elsewhere. But instead of being perturbed, Jenny asks him if it’s the case. It’s a small moment, but evidence of why this couple works so well together. The whole beleaguered wife has been done a lot in detective fiction, and I just think it’s such a treat to see a couple that works together as a team, instead of being in confrontation, which I think gets overused as a way of increasing the tension on all fronts, very often to the detriment of the characters.

I cannot express to you how much I am enjoying these books. Sara Woods is such a good storyteller. Her plots are engaging, her pacing is spot on, and her writing is strong. But, as I said in my review of Bloody Instructions, what I think sets these books apart from other detective fiction are the domestic scenes and the strong personal relationships, and that comes down to her well-drawn, fully-fleshed characters.

Bloody Instructions was set between June and July and in the opening of Malice Domestic the Michaelmas term is about to commence, which means it is late September or the beginning of October. So neither book is set in during Christmas, but these red and green book covers were simply asking to be dressed up for the holidays. But I did want to clarify, just in case anyone got the impression these were set during the holidays based on how I had dressed the photos. However, I do think the pair would make a very handsome Christmas gift!

Thank you to Dean Street Press Ltd. for kindly sending me a copy of Malice Domestic for review. As always, all opinions on the book are my own.

Standby, because my review of book three, The Third Encounter, is coming up tomorrow and—you’re not going to believe this—but I think it’s my favourite one yet. If you’re sensing a theme, you are not alone. This series starts strong and stays there. I hope to see you back here tomorrow!

*All page numbers are from the ebook and are not likely to correspond to the paperback edition.