We discuss Edmund Clerihew Bentley’s iconic novel, ‘Trent’s Last Case’, from chapters 6-11. Our third venture to a coroner’s inquest this year sees us delving into the many oddities of the presentation of Sigsby Manderson’s corpse. From scratched wrists to a peculiar state of dress and a nigh-inexplicable lack of blood, there’s no doubt of foul play, but what ties it all together. Trent meets with Manderson’s internationally-sourced workforce to find more about how he treated them. A terrible possibility occurs to him, and all he has to do is ask Mabel the right question before submitting his theory, but can he tear his emotions away from the mess he has found himself in?

We also speak with Lisa Ballantyne, author of ‘The Innocent One‘. A decade after The Angel Murders in Lisa’s debut novel ‘The Guilty One‘, we return to the world of Sebastian, the boy accused of murdering his friend at age 11, and his solicitor Daniel. Sebastian is now an adult, and finds himself in a prickly situation after his university tutor dies in hauntingly similar circumstances to the victim of the decade-old case from the previous novel. How has the world of courts changed in our narratives since ‘Trent’s Last Case’?

Thank you to Pegasus Books for copies of ‘The Innocent One’ and arranging our time with Lisa.

Check out Part One and Part Three here!