Monday, December 19, 2022

Very Lite Comic Novel

Daughters-in-Law - Henry Cecil

In this 1961 comic novel, retired army major Claude Buttonstep comes from a long line of losing litigants. He accordingly detests lawyers and judges. His two sons, justifiably, worry about breaking the news that they have fallen in love with twin sisters Jane and Prunella. The brothers fret that their lady-loves being kind, intelligent, and attractive will fail to balance the fact that Prunella is a barrister and Jane a solicitor.

Provoking a legal crisis is Mr. Trotter, a new neighbor. He borrows the major’s power mower – a high end item in the Fifties in England. Trotter refuses to return it despite the major’s increasingly heated demands.  Against his instincts, the major goes to law. Jane and Prunella take up the cudgels in order to get in good with their prospective father-in-law.

If this mystery sounds all homey and fluffy, that’s because it most definitely is domestic and light. After all, not for nothing is author Henry Cecil listed on Cozy-Mystery.com. A lawyer and judge, Cecil used his professional life as the foundation of his writing. This cozy courtroom drama is full of comic touches and curious plot twists. 

I’m not saying it’s laugh out loud hilarious (rolling on the floor laughing isn’t healthy for middle-aged backs anyway).  But the amusement naturally comes out of the characters and incidents. The writing is pristine, especially in the climactic courtroom scenes.

 

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