Cry guilty

This splendid thriller shows us Antony Maitland as Prosecutor, an unusual role for him. Another unusual factor is that, although complete in itself, the story is in a sense a sequel to Weep for Her . A young man has been charged with receiving stolen goods—to wit, a Rubens painting. Since the painting had been found hidden in his rooms, and since it was undoubtedly stolen, his guilt seems certain. But Maitland has his doubts. He becomes more and more intrigued by the prevalence of art thefts, and the violence and death that has taken place, apparently to conceal the identity of the leader of the gang that stole the pictures. In the dock [in another case] is a woman who has confessed to the murder of her husband. Maitland becomes Assistant Prosecuting Counsel for reasons that are not simple. He has a secondary objective; he is not wholly committed to establishing the guilt of the accused. [Publisher’s blurb]