2006-04-16 Rumpole and his crooked cronies

There are four stories in this collection - all very entertaining and done to perfection by a stellar cast, including the excellent Timothy West playing the reprehensible Rumpole and the incomparable Prunella Scales playing his bossy but long-suffering wife, Hilda. The stories are:

"Rumpole and the Primrose Path", in which Rumpole is alerted to shady activities involving the sudden death of a patient and the possible involvement of nursing staff at the Primrose Path nursing home, where he has gone to convalesce after a heart attack.

"Rumpole and the Vanishing Juror", where a murder leaves a little boy orphaned. But who murdered the mother and why has the child been snatched away and hidden? And where has Rumpole's most promising juror disappeared to?

"Rumpole and the Scales of Justice", involves an apparently strict and straight officer of the law going off the rails. And much as Rumpole dislikes the man, he works to defend him.

"Rumpole Redeemed", sees Rumpole invited to a dinner at his local prison where he learns a thing or two about some of the inmates. Soon after, crimes are committed that fit the modus operandi of one of those prisoners. Rumpole smells a stitch up though.

I thoroughly enjoyed every story. Not a dud amongst them. Recommended.