John Mortimer died a few weeks ago and I figured I’d honor his memory by reading one of his books. Rumpole’s Last Case contains seven of Rumpole’s cleverest cases. I should admit right here that I think John Mortimer was one of the best short story writers I’ve ever read. His deceptively simple stories are both cannily constructed and cunningly balanced between the immediate case Rumpole is trying to solve and other, personal, issues of the characters. For example, in “Rumpole and the Old, Old Story” Rumpole and his wife, Hilda (aka “She Who Must Be Obeyed”) separate. Despite that drama, Rumpole goes ahead with his case and finds key evidence. No Rumpole story I’ve ever read has seemed too long. Mortimer never lets the story get bogged down in unnecessary detail. In “Rumpole and the Bright Seraphim” Rumpole takes a role in a court martial. Lesser writers might have spent much of the story structuring the military proceedings, but Mortimer, with just a few flourishes, keeps the story’s momentum. I highly recommend all the Rumpole collections, especially this one. GRADE: A.