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John Mortimer's latest Rumpole story, Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders takes us back to the great barrister's first big case. The story is told looking back after a conversation in chambers convinces Rumpole to write his memoirs. The story jumps back and forth between Rumpole's recollections of events interrupted only by the occasional (but highly amusing) bit of conversation with Hilda, she who must be obeyed, and his colleagues in chambers.

It is the early 1950s and Rumpole is young, eager, and ready to begin his career as a barrister He has found himself working for C.J. Wystan, the head of his chambers and the father of an assertive young daughter named Hilda. Simon Jerrold has been arrested and accused of the murder of his father and one of his father's friends. Each of the deceased flew for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and this was of no small consequence for the national press. All the evidence available points to Simon as the murderer. A conviction seems a certainty to all, including Simon's lead defense attorney, Wystan. Wystan has selected Rumpole to act as a silent assistant after Hilda suggests for some unknown reason that Rumpole is a man with a future in the law. It should surprise no one that Rumpole does not bow down to the conventional wisdom concerning his client's guilt. The story takes us through the remarkable series of events through which Rumpole assumes control of the defense and takes the case through trial.

As always, Mortimer writes with wit and verve. Mortimer first describes the appearance of Wystan as one that made him think of a "lobster who had been snatched from a peaceful existence at the bottom of the sea and plunged into boiling water." Followed immediately by a slight retraction, "but I have no wish to be overly critical of my future father-in-law."

By taking us back to his first case as a callow, slender youth Mortimer has invigorated and fleshed out (no pun intended) Rumpole considerably. We first came to know Rumpole as an aging overweight, hen-pecked curmudgeon who adheres to obsolete concepts of justice and the presumption of innocence when all around him expediency and decorum prevails. Mortimer shows us flashes of this in Penge Bungalow. We see the character traits: the wit, sarcasm and sense of fair play in its formative stages. We also find out how the young Ms. Hilda Wystan became the infamous she who must be obeyed. It is clear that once Hilda set her mind on something she is not easily denied.

The beauty of the Penge Bungalow Murders is our glimpse of Rumpole as a young man. His character is immediately recognizable. His body may have changed but his inner-self has remained constant. As one of Rumpole's favorite authors once said in Merchant of Venice, "I never knew so young a body with so old a head."

Rumpole and Penge Bungalow Murders is an excellent book. I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Please do buy this!

Events, how people look and what they say are recorded faithfully and with master of observation Bill Bryson's wonderful facility for making you laugh out loud, there are plenty of reasons for doing so. His running commentary on a radio broadcast cricket match, a game about which he knows nothing, is brilliantly inventive. There's not a single actual word or expression associated with the game but the nuance is stunning. Spiky conversations with his English producer friend as they drive to Ayres Rock, the sighting of a rotary clothes-line in the depths of the outback, confrontations with receptionists and waiters, a beer-drinking man at the bar of the Nambucca telling him "Dining room's closed mate. The chef's crook. Must have ate some of his own cooking" and a full tuckerbag more, are entertainingly, albeit rather hastily, delivered by the reader. --Running time 3 hours

I have recommended this book to several friends and have no complaints!

After surviving his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and then enduring a summer holiday with the dreadful Dursleys, Harry is ready and raring to get back to his school friends. But something is trying to stop him, and after missing the Hogwart's Express he just about makes it to the school gates on time courtesy of a flying car and rather a lot of magic. But the eventful journey back to school is just the beginning and when rumours about the mysterious Chamber of Secrets start to spread Harry realises that his second year is going to be just as eventful as the first.

Matching Stephen Fry's endearingly snooty vocal chords with Rowling's superb storytelling skills was a stroke of genius: Fry manages to give further depth to an already complex and utterly absorbing plot by adding an irreverent wit and a deep-rooted touch of class to a compelling and magical tale that, once heard, will never be forgotten.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a fantastic book, and this stupendous audio version is perfect for long car journeys and sleepless nights, and is an ideal way to introduce reluctant readers to the awe-inspiring world of Harry Potter. Age 9 and over --Susan Harrison
Enjoyable for all ages, 2001-05-22
I love Stephen Fry's reading of this book. Although it is typically recommended for 9 years and up, my daughter, who is just five, is already hooked. Fry's clear reading makes the story easy to follow even for younger listeners.

All in all however an absolute treat .