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Red Mass

by Rosemary Aubert

Red Mass, by Rosemary Aubert, continues the story of a disgraced judge, Ellis Portal, who lives in Toronto, Canada. Ms. Aubert has written two other novels about Ellis Portal since The Feast of Stephen, which I reviewed last – and since I haven't read either, I can't say whether or not her sense of mystery writing improved there; but I can say that with Red Mass Rosemary Aubert certainly has created the necessary suspense. Ms. Aubert tells a good tale, and does it well. Perhaps some of the ingredients consistent to the best kind of murder mystery are missing, but Red Mass is a fine read nonetheless.

Ellis Portal has risen from drugs, alcohol and living on the street to becoming a lawyer – a job he once held prior to becoming a judge before his fall. Red Mass refers to opening courts with a church service at which all the dignitaries or justices of the court are present in their scarlet robes. And as Red Mass opens, Ellis is found among the lawyers at the rear of the church, looking at his former best friend and present hated adversary, Supreme Court Justice Puisne John Stoughton-Melville. Stoughton-Melville is known as Stow.
Then as the service begins, Stow is arrested and marched down the aisle.

Ellis naturally wonders what the judge has done, but he doesn't have long to wait, since Stow, from prison, hires Ellis as the lawyer to represent him in the case where Stow is accused of murdering his wife, Harpur. Stow has somehow gotten the two women Ellis most responds to on his side – Ellis' former wife Anne, and his new attraction, Queenie. But Stow is completely silent about anything concerning Harpur, or her final hours in the hospital. Harpur was evidently dying of an incurable disease, and Stow is accused of hastening her death. Ellis is left to try and construct a case for his defense without any help at all from the defendant.

In the courtroom, Ellis is the defense lawyer facing his own daughter Ellen, who is counsel for the prosecution. And it isn't until Stow himself takes the stand that the truth is presented to the jury. Whether or not in real life such an accused witness would be believed by those in the jury seats I have no idea, but it makes a good ending to the suspenseful story.

Rosemary Aubert's writing has improved considerably since The Feast of Stephen (maybe she just has better editors!) – Ms. Aubert no longer leaves loose ends flapping, and she ties her tale up neatly into a complete package. Red Mass is a good mystery with believable characters, and I can recommend it. Rosemary Aubert has latched onto a very interesting protagonist in Ellis Portal, and the slow regaining of his once exalted position remains a fascination which Ms. Aubert has obviously learned to exploit.

Alan Paul Curtis

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