Naked Villainy

Antony Maitland #48

by Sara Woods

A Black Mass held in the wine cellar of a staid London mansion? It seemed impossible, although Antony Maitland had a scandalous snapshot and a scrap of paper scribbled with mysterious conjurations. Then the man who had complained of the blasphemous doings turned up dead, his own son accused of the unfilial crime. Six solid citizens swore to the young man’s guilt. But Maitland had his own suspicions—and the devilish task of proving the witnesses were witches—and one of them a killer. (Publisher’s description)

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

(Lana Hutton Bowen-Judd)
UK (1922 - 1986)
aka Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek

Born in England, she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Filey, Yorkshire.

During the Second World War, she worked in a bank and as a solicitor's clerk in London. Here she gained much of the information later used in her novels. Lana married Anthony George Bowen-Judd on April 25, 1946. They ran a pig breeding farm between 1948 and 1954. In 1957 they moved to Nova Scotia, Canada. She worked as a registrar for St. Mary's University until 1964. In 1961 she wrote her first novel, Bloody Instructions, introducing the hero of forty-nine of her mysteries, Anthony Maitland, an English barrister.

Her last years she lived with her husband at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

Reviews

[David]

Take about coming in at the end! I grabbed this one at random off the library shelf without knowing that it was #48 in a series of 48. Very much a lawyerly novel, with courtroom proceedings intercut with evenings at home in learned company. A fascinating underworld, though: satanism.

[John Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s in my experience impossible for Sara Woods to write a bad Antony Maitland story and I give this one four stars.

There was one thing I found a little wearying though. It’s no spoiler to say that this case involves witchcraft and the saying of the Black Mass, but that’s just it. It’s always the Black Mass—never “they’ve scheduled a Black Mass for tomorrow” or “they’ve been celebrating Black Masses every month”. Always in the singular with the definite article. And almost always followed, when mentioned by our regular characters, with “the worst form of blasphemy”, or words to that effect. But it’s sort of, “Satanism? If it keeps them from boredom. Spell-casting? A silly waste of time, but who cares? Orgies? Some people may like that sort of thing. Drugs? They’re only hurting themselves. The Black Mass? Goodness gracious, saints above, boggleboggleboggle, how could they?” At times I felt that the murder might have been dismissed as insignificant compared to the—excuse me, The—Black Mass.

Still: great courtroom drama, and a wonderful visit with the residents in Kempenfeldt Square.

[Chris Browning · Rating 1 out of 5]

This cost all of a pound and I still feel cheated. I thought at the very least a murder mystery loosely draped around possible black mass in the upper classes would offer some camp fun. But no, we get tiresome upper class law types tutting loudly over coffee describing things that have happened whilst never actually showing any bloody thing actually occurring. Mostly they seem upset at the thought of a black mass because it’s not the done thing, like someone moving over the road to them putting up some brash and tasteless curtains. There should be a huge seam of comic value at the very least to mine here, but Woods can clearly not be arsed to do that (or isn’t capable of harnessing that idea for any sense of irony), so instead it’s just more boring people talking boringly to other boring people until a faintly amusing outburst about satan in a court of law brings the whole tiresome affair to a juddering halt

Terrible

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good crime thriller & I really enjoyed the first 2/3 then I lost interest as the court case was ongoing. I think I got roped in by the witchcraft in the beginning then when it got too serious, I switched off!

All the same I’d still recommend & perhaps I need to give it another go.

[☯Emily Ginder · Rating 4 out of 5]

12/17/23: This is the last Antony Maitland book written by Sara Woods before her death. It deals with witchcraft and Black Mass as well as the death of the brother of one of the participants. It was clear from the first page what the case was about, but trying to prove it was difficult. It was easy to read with small intervals of confusion and not one of Sara Woods' better mysteries

2004: I love all of Sara Woods' books about Antony Maitland. I wish they would be reprinted so I can read more.

[Cece · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am sad that I have now finished all the titles I can find from this series-although the necessary "character intros" that Woods repeated in each book did get a little samey when reading them again and again, the stores themselves had variety and invention up to the last. I will definitely search out the titles I have not been able to find-all on my "used book sale" list in case anyone is feeling generous.

[Eunira]

Just arrived from BookMooch.