Ms. Smith (herself a barrister and Inner Temple resident) nicely balances scenes of legal and detective work, peppering the narrative with details about her characters' personal lives and back stories. Gabriel grows as an attorney and human being by embracing the empathy he feels for his clients and other citizens. With its lawyerly shenanigans and emotional poignancy, A Case of Life and Limb is a real corker, as a policeman who sometimes counsels Gabriel might say.

The Wall Street Journal

I enjoy this series because I find Gabriel Ward fascinating . . . While Smith provides brief hints about Gabriel's backstory, I hope we learn more in the books to come. What circumstances led Gabriel to become a man who lives most comfortably in his own sharp and febrile mind? Future installments of this charming series may tell us.

The California Review of Books

There's something in Sally Smith's books-which are set in the elite world of London lawyers in the early 1900s-that brings to mind the classic mysteries of Dorothy L. Sayers or Sarah Cauldwell. They have clever plots with a bit of levity to them-and a bit of surprise that never becomes too gory.

ELLE, The Best Mysteries and Thrillers of the Year

Exciting . . . I loved Sir Gabriel as a detective . . . This novel is perfectly paced with lots of twists and turns and an intellectually satisfying denouement . . . I sincerely hope the author continues with this series.

The Historical Novel Society

Former barrister Smith injects her entertaining sequel to A Case of Mice and Murder with a jolt of wit and sweetness . . . Smith keeps things delightfully unpredictable . . . Elegant prose, expert pacing, and a well-drawn protagonist whose kindness and acuity never feel heavy-handed result in a thoroughly appealing yuletide mystery. This series deserves a long life.

Publishers Weekly, starred review

The pleasure of reading Smith, who is as deft, nuanced, and prepossessing a writer as Gabriel is a lawyer, is that she pulls readers fully into his world and his own sense of the unfolding of his cases. That focus deepens the atmosphere and extends the worldbuilding. It is a lovely writerly turn in books that are quickly becoming appointment reading.

Library Journal, starred review