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highlander2006's review
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ashleylm's review against another edition
4.0
Another fun, funny (and occasionally moving) outing, with one very strange demerit: an entire subplot from the prior book was recycled here almost verbatim, and none of the participants seemed to notice (the "Marjorie wants a divorce and asks Rumpole to represent her" subplot). I'm not an expert on the circumstances of these books, and I read it in the 1st Omnibus form, so perhaps somewhere between tv show, short story, book, book in omnibus, things got shifted around.
Other than that, I very much enjoyed it. For the first time this one has an overarching plot line, with smaller cases and situations also popping up and being decided along the way, and I thought that format worked very well (much like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and how it reinvented television arcs, with episodic monsters plus a 'big bad' for the season).
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s.)
Other than that, I very much enjoyed it. For the first time this one has an overarching plot line, with smaller cases and situations also popping up and being decided along the way, and I thought that format worked very well (much like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and how it reinvented television arcs, with episodic monsters plus a 'big bad' for the season).
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s.)
fictionfan's review against another edition
4.0
Following a string of lost cases tried in front of Judge Bullingham, Rumpole has taken this as a sign and retired with She Who Must Be Obeyed to live out his twilight years in Florida, at the home of his son and his son’s American wife. However a very little of the Florida lifestyle is sufficient for Rumpole, so when he gets a letter from the lovely Phyllida née Trant (Rumpole prefers to forget her married name) asking his advice about a matter of blood, he sneaks off, flies home, and resumes his career, much to the annoyance of the young man who has moved into his room in chambers in the interim.
The Rumpole books are always entertaining, and this is no exception. All the regular characters appear, and all the running jokes are reprised. While any of the books can be read on its own, they do sometimes rely a little on the reader having some familiarity with the characters and how they’re connected to each other, either from previous books or from the excellent TV series which actually came before the books. I was sorry to find that the wonderful TV Rumpole, the late Leo McKern, had never done narrations for the books, but Robert Hardy made an excellent substitute. The books are matched so closely to the TV series that I could see all the characters in my head, and somehow that really enhanced the audiobook experience. Thoroughly good fun!
The Rumpole books are always entertaining, and this is no exception. All the regular characters appear, and all the running jokes are reprised. While any of the books can be read on its own, they do sometimes rely a little on the reader having some familiarity with the characters and how they’re connected to each other, either from previous books or from the excellent TV series which actually came before the books. I was sorry to find that the wonderful TV Rumpole, the late Leo McKern, had never done narrations for the books, but Robert Hardy made an excellent substitute. The books are matched so closely to the TV series that I could see all the characters in my head, and somehow that really enhanced the audiobook experience. Thoroughly good fun!
ncrabb's review against another edition
3.0
Just when I think I’ve visited England’s most famous fictional barrister for the last time without repeating books, I stumble on another one I haven’t read. This one is delightfully short and a grand read by any measure.
Poor Horace Rumpole has essentially been forced into retirement. His son is teaching in the U.S. in Florida, a grandchild is months away from birth, and She Who Must Be Obeyed, (Rumpole’s wife for those of you who have never read the series), is adamant that what the old lawyer most needs is a life filled with sunshine and ease. That’s especially true when you consider that Rumpole has lost most of his last several cases. But sunshine and ease are the last thing the curmudgeonly Rumpole needs.
A casual letter nonchalantly sent by a colleague back home stirs Rumpole back to life and to a decision to return to England. His colleague casually mentioned a murder and had a simple question about blood. Rumpole knew he had to go back home, especially after a bizarre encounter with a member of a sunshine cult left him mildly disturbed. Better yet, he reasons, he can go home without She Who Must Be Obeyed and perhaps start a peaceful life where no one nags him or makes unreasonable demands on his time.
So back he goes to find his office filled with a new attorney. No problem; Rumpole simply moves back in anyway, essentially crowding the young new guy out. This is easy-to-read legal fiction that will take you through the streets of Florida into the compound of a cult and bring you up against a smut publisher.
Only days after his peaceful return home, Rumpole’s wife shows up with all their luggage and the determination that it is her duty to be wherever he is. I think secretly, despite his bluster, he’s glad she’s back, but you don’t ever get that explicitly in the book, so I could be wrong.
This is a super-quick read; I started it before breakfast and had it all but finished when I stepped out of my car at my office door. Literally a few minutes of a lunch hour put the final touches on this, and I was satisfied that Britain was once again in good hands legally. I’ll miss the irascible old fellow, cause now I think I really have read everything out there.
If the book has a down side, it is that it feels a bit contrived. That Rumpole would have a chance meeting with the representative of a cult that would play a major role in the solution of his case back home seems like a rather large stretch. But it’s a small price to pay for the privilege of spending time with a guy you’d definitely want on your side should you ever get into a legal scrape in merry old England.
Poor Horace Rumpole has essentially been forced into retirement. His son is teaching in the U.S. in Florida, a grandchild is months away from birth, and She Who Must Be Obeyed, (Rumpole’s wife for those of you who have never read the series), is adamant that what the old lawyer most needs is a life filled with sunshine and ease. That’s especially true when you consider that Rumpole has lost most of his last several cases. But sunshine and ease are the last thing the curmudgeonly Rumpole needs.
A casual letter nonchalantly sent by a colleague back home stirs Rumpole back to life and to a decision to return to England. His colleague casually mentioned a murder and had a simple question about blood. Rumpole knew he had to go back home, especially after a bizarre encounter with a member of a sunshine cult left him mildly disturbed. Better yet, he reasons, he can go home without She Who Must Be Obeyed and perhaps start a peaceful life where no one nags him or makes unreasonable demands on his time.
So back he goes to find his office filled with a new attorney. No problem; Rumpole simply moves back in anyway, essentially crowding the young new guy out. This is easy-to-read legal fiction that will take you through the streets of Florida into the compound of a cult and bring you up against a smut publisher.
Only days after his peaceful return home, Rumpole’s wife shows up with all their luggage and the determination that it is her duty to be wherever he is. I think secretly, despite his bluster, he’s glad she’s back, but you don’t ever get that explicitly in the book, so I could be wrong.
This is a super-quick read; I started it before breakfast and had it all but finished when I stepped out of my car at my office door. Literally a few minutes of a lunch hour put the final touches on this, and I was satisfied that Britain was once again in good hands legally. I’ll miss the irascible old fellow, cause now I think I really have read everything out there.
If the book has a down side, it is that it feels a bit contrived. That Rumpole would have a chance meeting with the representative of a cult that would play a major role in the solution of his case back home seems like a rather large stretch. But it’s a small price to pay for the privilege of spending time with a guy you’d definitely want on your side should you ever get into a legal scrape in merry old England.
raehink's review
4.0
Rumpole, retired, is pressed back into legal service by a colleague and finds himself knee deep in bloody letters, religious cults and pornography. I had the opportunity to hear Mortimer in person...he's most entertaining and quite bawdy!
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