‘My brother George was in his chair by the fireplace. His right temple, the whole of that side of his head, was smashed. I did not take it in immediately, but there was a large crystal of uncut amethyst lying on the floor at his side. It usually stood on the desk for use as a paperweight. It looked as if Harte had snatched it up and hit out wildly.’ ‘My lord!’ Maitland was on his feet. ‘My learned friend will agree with me that that is a most improper remark.’ Antony Maitland’s client is Malcolm Harte, a nice, hard-working young man—and an accused murderer. Harte was a jeweler’s assistant, until the night when a fortune in jewels disappeared and the jeweler himself was found murdered. Then Malcolm Harte went on trial for his life, with the evidence strongly against him. Even Maitland is not very sure of his client’s innocence, but he decides to see what he can uncover in his own investigations. A brilliant addition to the chronicles of Antony Maitland, the detective-barrister who challenges lawyers and criminals on their own ground. “The jury, passing on the prisoner’s life, May in the sworn twelve have a thief or two Guiltier than him they try.” —Measure for Measure, Act II, scene i