From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Death Has Deep Roots: A Second World War Mystery

Michael Gilbert,

Martin Edwards (Editor)

Start date: September 1, 2022

Finish date: September 30, 2022

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: Winner of our September poll.
[close] Winner of our September poll.

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Group reads

* December 2025 group read - Winner!
By Judy · 28 posts · 32 views

last updated Oct 15, 2025 10:39AM

* Oct 25: Murder Included (#1 D.I. Price) by Joanna Cannan
By Susan · 11 posts · 17 views

last updated Oct 02, 2025 10:38AM

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What Members Thought

Aug 22, 2022 Susan in NC rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: want-to-reread, tbr-with-gr-groups, library-book, audiobook, favorites

This was a wonderful, exciting, atmospheric and gripping mystery. Gilbert did a wonderful job combining and juggling the Old Bailey courtroom drama with the on-the-ground desperate hunt for evidence in England and France. He really immerses the reader in the rather melancholy atmosphere of post-WWII England and France, without being mawkish or overly sentimental. Thanks to whoever nominated this excellent mystery for the Reading the Detective group’s September read.

In the intro, Martin Edwards p This was a wonderful, exciting, atmospheric and gripping mystery. Gilbert did a wonderful job combining and juggling the Old Bailey courtroom drama with the on-the-ground desperate hunt for evidence in England and France. He really immerses the reader in the rather melancholy atmosphere of post-WWII England and France, without being mawkish or overly sentimental. Thanks to whoever nominated this excellent mystery for the Reading the Detective group’s September read.

In the intro, Martin Edwards points out that the author doesn’t have just one hero detective character, he has several working together to try and clear Vicky Lamartine of a murder charge. She is a likable, honest young woman who has been through the hell of wartime: worked with the French Resistance, captured by Gestapo. She had a baby, by a British intelligence officer parachuted behind enemy lines, she claims; the baby was born in a Nazi hospital, and later died of malnutrition. She came to London through a French aid organization, found work in a hotel. She is accused of killing the English Major who worked with the Resistance during the war - basically, the victim was her boss. She had been trying to reach him since the end of the war to get word of her lost English lover - she’d last seen him when he was captured by the Nazis in September 1943. The prosecution says the dead major was the father of her child, and she stabbed him to death. Vicky vehemently denies this, says he was her friend, and her only lead to finding her lover, she would never kill him!

As the book opens, Vicky has decided to switch her defense counsel, who shows signs of believing her guilty. She has settled on Nap Rumbold, a friend of the murder victim; he meets Vicky in prison, believes her, and brings in his father, also senior law partner, along with Hargest Macrea Q.C., ex-commando Angus McCann, and his friend, Chief Inspector Hazelrigg of Scotland Yard. Surprisingly, this switching between points of view moves the pacing along briskly, ratcheting up the tension as young Nap and McCann investigate in England and France, while Macrea and the senior Rumbold hold down the fort as the trial begins in London. As Edwards points out in the introduction:

This technique, of drawing on a bank of nicely differentiated characters who can contribute to a complex storyline without ever outstaying their welcome, was utilised by Gilbert throughout his long career, and is one of the reasons why he was able to write such a diverse range of crime novels.

This is my third Gilbert mystery, and I would love to read more! His humor, in-depth legal knowledge, and wartime experience lend authenticity to the plot, and he is a very good writer. Highly recommended! I enjoyed the beautiful British Library Crime Classics paperback from my library (love the covers!), and listened along to the wonderfully performed audiobook. Highly recommended!
...more

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Sep 04, 2022 Susan rated it liked it

Michael Gilbert is somewhat neglected as a crime author now and I have enjoyed previous books by him, but this one never really worked for me. Published in 1951, the Second World War (which Gilbert was involved in) was clearly still within living memory and this involves a court case with - as the title suggests - roots in the past.

It begins wel. A young French woman, Mademoiselle Victoria Lemartine, stands accused of the murder of Major Eric Thoseby in a London hotel. She insists she is innocen ...more

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Sep 24, 2020 Maine Colonial rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, world-war-ii, british, historical, espionage, mystery

I have enjoyed several British Library Crime Classics, and this is among the best of them so far. That’s no surprise, considering that it’s by Michael Gilbert, author of one of my absolute favorite Golden Age mysteries, Smallbone Deceased.

This is an excellent melding of an investigation story and courtroom drama. What’s more, it’s a bit of a locked-room mystery [i]and[/i] historical novel.

The story opens in a London courtroom, a few years after the end of World War II. Victoria Lamartine is on I have enjoyed several British Library Crime Classics, and this is among the best of them so far. That’s no surprise, considering that it’s by Michael Gilbert, author of one of my absolute favorite Golden Age mysteries, Smallbone Deceased.

This is an excellent melding of an investigation story and courtroom drama. What’s more, it’s a bit of a locked-room mystery [i]and[/i] historical novel.

The story opens in a London courtroom, a few years after the end of World War II. Victoria Lamartine is on trial for her life, accused of murdering Major Thoseby, whom she knew when both were working for the French resistance. The circumstantial evidence against her is strong, and her counsel wants her to throw herself on the mercy of the jury.

She insists she is innocent, so there is a change of counsel. This is how barrister Macrea enters the case, with only a few days to find out what really happened. He manages it by sending off his investigator to see if the “deep roots” of the crime lay in France, and by clever witness cross-examination that reveals the weaknesses of the prosecution’s case.

Michael Gilbert’s characterization and scene-setting are so vivid that the book easily plays like a movie in your head. I listened to the audiobook, which may make that visualization a little bit easier, but I feel sure I would have felt the same way if I had read a print edition.

The audiobook narrator was fine, but not outstanding. I did wonder if he wears dentures, because whenever his characters said “yes,” it sounded about halfway between “yes” and “yesh.” And there is a lot of saying “yes” in the book considering how much of it is taken up with courtroom examinations of witnesses. I should also note that I think it’s a bit of a misnomer to call this part of the Inspector Hazelrigg series. He has a cameo part in the book, but doesn’t have any active role in the plot.

This is an excellent choice if you like Golden Age mysteries, especially if you like them with a World War II element or if you’re fond of courtroom dramas. ...more

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Sep 06, 2022 Carolien rated it liked it

Shelves: 2022, english-mystery

3.5 stars. A French woman who has been working in England is accused of murdering an English man, both of them having worked in the French Resistance in WWII. But the woman claims she is innocent, and her legal team sets out to provide the evidence by investigating not only the current murder, but also the disappearance of a spy in the war. Enjoyed it very much and planning to read more by the author.

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Apr 17, 2023 Teri-K rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-mystery, z-permanent-bookshelf, mystery, zz-2023-bought

My second book by this author, and again I couldn't stop reading this once I started. A young French woman, a former resistance worker now living in England, is on trial for murder and changes her representation at the last minute because she realizes her current attorneys assume she's guilty. This forces her new solicitors to scramble to defend her. The story moves between the trial and the adventures of these who are trying to find any exculpatory evidence. I normally don't like books that bou ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 Annarella rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'm more than happy I requested this ARC because I discovered a new to me author and a great courtroom mystery.
It's engrossing and entertaining, it keeps you hooked till the end and it perfectly pictures how the impact of WWII and how it was just after the end of the war.
The mystery is solid and it kept me guessing.
I loved this novel and I strongly recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine. ...more

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Mar 31, 2020 ShanDizzy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Michael Gilbert does it again with this twisty, riveting thriller. Major McCann is one of my favourite characters.

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Sep 08, 2022 Frances rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery-series

This was an interesting and well-written mystery set in post-WW2 London but which involves investigation back into the history of the Resistance in France. There are dramatic courtroom scenes interspersed with investigators travelling to various parts of England and France to trace the history of the suspect and victim, and to solve the present and past mysteries. An enjoyable read.

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