Richard Trahair invites you to an insider view of the British Criminal Justice System and the life of a church organist in two entertaining short stories. Two tales of misadventure and crime, illustrating the role of both a church organ and its player, and also of a lay Justice of the Peace, drawn from the author’s experiences in both title roles.
In The Organist, a well-known elderly organist slumps into a coma while giving a recital to a packed church audience. The regular organist, a mysterious young lady, has vanished. In a plot that sweeps from a country town in England to the Rock of Gibraltar, the stakes could not be higher after nefarious plans which could lead to an international crisis are uncovered.
The Magistrate is an adventure tale of kidnap and revenge. When the Justice becomes the victim of a man who holds some kind of grudge against him, he unwisely pursues his own investigation. Contrasting characters then emerge to demonstrate the avenues open to magistrates to exercise common-sense justice while at the same time coping with the sorry state of the criminal justice system.
Richard Trahair is a retired chartered surveyor and a parish organist of more than thirty years. As Presiding Justice in the local Magistrates’ Court, he served for a quarter of a century enduring government incompetence and exercising justice and common sense alongside his colleagues. He is the author of three novels and has also published his reminiscences of managing Church property.
Richard says, “In a rather different approach, my purpose is to explain the working of two activities in which I have longstanding personal experience, but using the form of storytelling. Not a ‘docu-drama’ but a ‘docu-novel’. Between the Anglican church organist and the magistrate, I cover two quintessentially British roles that are so often overlooked; it is my hope to shine a light on the work of these two little-known professions from the inside while also providing an entertaining story at the same time. Serving as a magistrate for three days a month in the same city in which I worked; and as a church organist every Sunday (plus weddings and funerals) in my local villages, has been a rewarding experience.
Taking time out for these from my daily professional routine as estate manager was deeply absorbing, constantly challenging and hugely fulfilling. These roles undoubtedly enriched my business skills and confidence, and I would recommend to anyone the practice of doing something entirely different alongside their career.
At times, government neglect and incompetence continue to undermine the steadfast service of unpaid lay magistrates in our towns and cities, and it is important that wider society gains a better understanding of what we try to do on its behalf.”
Release date: 28.11.2023
ISBN: 9781915853622
Price: £8.99