As far as a NetGalley find goes, The Barrister and the Letter of Marque was a hidden gem. I wasn’t very into it at first, but as it picked up speed, I became very intrigued.
In 1818 London, young lawyer William Snopes has hit a high point in his career of representing the average person rather than the upper-class lords and ladies of the ton. However, that streak is about to be broken when Lady Madeline Jameson asks him to take a case that no other lawyer wants to touch: her cousin, Captain Tuttle, has been accused of piracy and is in danger of losing his life. His defense? He was sailing under a Letter of Marque from the Prince Regent that disappeared between the time he docked and the time he was accused – a matter of minutes. While Snopes is doubtful about the case, the deeper he looks into the matter, the more convinced he becomes that he’s smelling a pretty big rat. Can Snopes and his team of young attorneys save Captain Tuttle from the gallows?
I found The Barrister and the Letter of Marque to be a very intriguing read. At first, I was a little underwhelmed, but as I got to know the characters and the mystery better, I was quickly drawn into the plot. I found William Snopes to be a complex, heartfelt character, one with a grudge against the upper crust of society, but who was honorable enough to take a case because he sensed something fishy about it. He is quite a progressive lawyer for his time, always bending the interpretation of the law to suit his case, which hasn’t earned him a lot of friends among judges. It’s funny because we’re used to lawyers reaching and twisting, these days, but in 1818 things must have been more cut-and-dry.
I was sincerely impressed with the mystery aspect of this story; I thought the plot was very well done and it kept me guessing until the end. I certainly didn’t see how it pieced together until Snopes threaded it all through for me. Johnson’s writing style helped immensely with this, as he showed us enticing bites of the evildoers’ machinations, but not enough to give us the full picture. It was a good move and showcased Johnson’s talent for storytelling.
I liked the interactions between both Snopes and his team and Snopes and Lady Jameson. Snopes rescued his team out of the orphanage and educated them in the workings of the law. They’re indebted to him for his kindness and belief in them, but he doesn’t take advantage of it in the slightest. It makes them a well-organized group as they each know each other’s strengths. With Lady Jameson, Snopes shows a little bit of a romantic streak. However, this barely took up any of the book at all, which I really liked for a change. It was very much a minor side element of the book, and all of his energy focused on winning the case for her cousin. If Snopes becomes a series, I would be intrigued to see how this whisper of a tendresse between the two might evolve.
As Todd M Johnson was an attorney for over 30 years, you can expect this novel to focus on court proceedings and legal language, and it certainly does. However, the detective work that Snopes does (I suppose he would call it evidence-gathering) is critical to the novel and is the bulk of the story outside of the courtroom. So, you won’t be bogged down with a bunch of legal drama with this read. Johnson also does a good job of clarifying any terms that readers may not know, mostly through subtly placed explanations using characters throughout the book. For instance, I had no idea what a Letter of Marque was – now I do!
All in all, I think this book was very well-written. It was engaging, had a believable plot, and there weren’t any events that didn’t make sense or loopholes that could have caused the entire plot to unravel. I definitely enjoyed reading this and would read more of Snopes in the future.