SETTLED OUT OF COURT, by Henry Cecil (Michael Joseph, 13s. 6d.).
A MAN, surely unique in being physically unable to tell a lie and forced to react to the lies of others by a violent change of colour, is convicted of murder through the machinations of a woman business rival.
How can he prove his innocence and get his revenge? The only way is to escape from prison and arrange the kidnapping of a judge, counsel, and witnesses and hold a mock trial. He clears himself, but his murdering rival, for whom he has a strange affection, finds a way out in the end.
It seems a preposterous story, but it gives the author another opportunity of brightly entertaining the reader with legal puzzles and lore. An ingenious idea, pleasantly handled.
M.B.