Richard Trahair knows how to tell a good story, often using events from his own life to enhance his narrative. I always enjoy reading his books and the skilled simplicity of his style. This book is a special treat containing two excellent novellas.
THE ORGANIST-starts with a murder in a church, using a murder weapon that is as bizarre and unique as the one used in The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers. There's a lot of fascinating detail about the way in which church organs work in a plot involving spies and political tension.
THE MAGISTRATE-takes one behind the scenes of a court with a wealth of legal detail about the workings of this part of our flawed justice system. It looks at the shortcomings and one man's frustration at not having a free hand to implement his own ideas.
The author writes with honesty and a clear passion for his subject matters. It is the personal touch which makes these stories so special.

This is a volume comprising of two short stories by British chartered surveyor, parish organist and magistrate, Richard Trahair.
The Organist: The final note of the recital that visiting organist Sir John Winnersley plays at St Aldhelms Abbey ends his life. Detective Inspector Simon Neish and his team are quickly on the scene, the cause of death determined to be a tiny poisoned cylinder in the back of his neck. But how it was administered within the cramped confines of the organ case is a puzzle, until Detective Constable Jonathan Mayne, himself an organist, casts an experienced eye over the scene.

The names of all the recital attendees are gathered, and a possible suspect followed up, but the regular organist is inexplicably missing, causing Canon Ben Hoskins concern but also putting her under suspicion. A search of her quarters indicates she may not by quite whom she claims. The fact that Sir John was standing in at the last minute for yet another organist muddies the waters as to the intended victim.

Trahair manages to squeeze quite a bit into this short tale: the effect of Brexit on a certain tiny British colony in Europe; foreign powers trying to wield trade influence in the region by creating unrest; intelligence agents and plotting dissidents; at least three organs and a good deal of information about organs and their workings. Clever and fairly topical. 4/5

The Magistrate: a father disgruntled with the length of his son’s prison sentence decides to kidnap the presiding magistrate’s dog. Concerned for the welfare of his elderly red setter which is dependent on regular medication, James decides to do a little investigating on his own, and discovers more than he bargained for.

This story is heavy on judicial procedure which becomes way too wordy and rather tedious as the protagonist digresses into various aspects of the magistrate’s role. He even admits that he’s having a bit of a rant, a diatribe on the difficulties of doing a magistrate’s job well in the face of relentless bureaucracy, which might have others in the English legal profession nodding in agreement, but there’s rather too much soapbox and not quite enough story to keep the reader’s interest. 2/5
Overall, 3/5
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and The Book Guild