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Antony Maitland #3
The Third Encounter: An Antony Maitland Mystery
“I’m afraid you may have to resign yourself to the fact that your husband is getting mixed up with that gang of thugs in Whitehall again,”
The phone call was interrupted! Who could have wanted viciously to strangle kindly Dr. Martin to death while he was on the line with his old friend Antony Maitland?
According to the police, guilt lies with Dr. Martin’s impecunious scapegrace cousin Gerry, who was the good doctor’s heir. Anthony Maitland and his Uncle Nick are tasked with providing hapless Gerry with some sort of credible defense. Along the way Antony to his horror begins to suspect that an implacable old enemy from his wartime past has his malign hand in the whole affair. It seems that more is involved with Dr. Martin’s death than first meets the eye! Antony finds himself pressed into working surreptitiously with the U. K.’s Secret Intelligence Service, which puts him not only in into conflict with Scotland Yard but in peril of his life.
This gripping courtroom drama from 1963 features an introduction by crime fiction historian Curtis Evans.
“Subtle and suspenseful with deft characterizations, this is superior fare, written with thought and elegance,” Newsday
179 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
About the author
Sara Woods
131 books19 followers(Lana Hutton Bowen-Judd)
UK (1922 - 1986)
aka Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek
Born in England, she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Filey, Yorkshire.
During the Second World War, she worked in a bank and as a solicitor's clerk in London. Here she gained much of the information later used in her novels. Lana married Anthony George Bowen-Judd on April 25, 1946. They ran a pig breeding farm between 1948 and 1954. In 1957 they moved to Nova Scotia, Canada. She worked as a registrar for St. Mary's University until 1964. In 1961 she wrote her first novel, Bloody Instructions, introducing the hero of forty-nine of her mysteries, Anthony Maitland, an English barrister.
Her last years she lived with her husband at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
UK (1922 - 1986)
aka Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek
Born in England, she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Filey, Yorkshire.
During the Second World War, she worked in a bank and as a solicitor's clerk in London. Here she gained much of the information later used in her novels. Lana married Anthony George Bowen-Judd on April 25, 1946. They ran a pig breeding farm between 1948 and 1954. In 1957 they moved to Nova Scotia, Canada. She worked as a registrar for St. Mary's University until 1964. In 1961 she wrote her first novel, Bloody Instructions, introducing the hero of forty-nine of her mysteries, Anthony Maitland, an English barrister.
Her last years she lived with her husband at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 1, 2026
This is the third in the Antony Maitland series, published in 1963. However, while Britain may be in the throes of Beatlemania and the start of the Sixties, this is a mystery set very much in the past.
Antony Maitland receives a phone call from Dr Henry Martin, but there is only silence when the call is put through. Later, Maitland hears he was murdered and Martin's rather wayward cousin, Gerry, is under arrest. Maitland and his uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding, take on the case but the investigation leads Antony in places he does not want to go. Back to November 1943 in fact, when he was an Englishman, undercover in occupied Paris and arrested by the German Kommandant, Herr Ohlendorff.
This then is more of an espionage, wartime thriller, than a crime novel. We have a murder, but also we have long wartime shadows and a real sense of fear from Maitland as he has to confront the past which feels very realistic. I really enjoyed learning some of Antony Maitland's backstory. An interesting addition to the series.
Antony Maitland receives a phone call from Dr Henry Martin, but there is only silence when the call is put through. Later, Maitland hears he was murdered and Martin's rather wayward cousin, Gerry, is under arrest. Maitland and his uncle, Sir Nicholas Harding, take on the case but the investigation leads Antony in places he does not want to go. Back to November 1943 in fact, when he was an Englishman, undercover in occupied Paris and arrested by the German Kommandant, Herr Ohlendorff.
This then is more of an espionage, wartime thriller, than a crime novel. We have a murder, but also we have long wartime shadows and a real sense of fear from Maitland as he has to confront the past which feels very realistic. I really enjoyed learning some of Antony Maitland's backstory. An interesting addition to the series.
August 8, 2011
Maitland gets a phone call from his old friend Dr. Martin, but the call is cut off before the barrister can even speak to him. Maitland figures that a patient walked in or Dr. Martin was otherwise interrupted and thinks little of it until it's time to close up shop at the office. When calls Martin's number, a familiar voice answers--but not that of Dr. Martin. It is Inspector Sykes of Scotland Yard. The kindly old doctor has been found strangled to death and the police are pretty certain that they've got the culprit all sewn up. Gerry Martin, the doctor's free-loading cousin, had a rather public argument just a day or so ago and he just happens to be the doctor's heir.
Maitland and his uncle, Sir Nicholas, are called upon to defend Gerry with Maitland quite sure that Gerry may be a lot things, but he's no murderer. Maitland is even more sure when he finds subtle hints of leftovers from his from his intelligence work during the war and the lingering shadow of an old enemy--the man responsible for his capture in Paris and his war injury. He sets about making inquiries with his colleagues in intelligence and finds himself drawn back into a web of secrecy and espionage. He will have to walk a fine line to dig up proof of Gerry's innocence without upsetting an international applecart....or losing his own life to the one man he fears most.
Woods does a good job connecting the past and the present in this story of the likeable Antony Maitland. She provides the background needed without miring the story in the past and she provides a good setting for Maitland to put some of the demons from his war experience to rest. It also helps substantiate the reasons behind his playing such a lone hand--and getting himself in danger. An interesting plot, with perhaps a too limited selection of suspects--which makes it fairly easy to spot the villain/s and anticipate the final twist. Still, a well-told and exciting entry in the series. ★★★ and 3/4...rounded to four here.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Maitland and his uncle, Sir Nicholas, are called upon to defend Gerry with Maitland quite sure that Gerry may be a lot things, but he's no murderer. Maitland is even more sure when he finds subtle hints of leftovers from his from his intelligence work during the war and the lingering shadow of an old enemy--the man responsible for his capture in Paris and his war injury. He sets about making inquiries with his colleagues in intelligence and finds himself drawn back into a web of secrecy and espionage. He will have to walk a fine line to dig up proof of Gerry's innocence without upsetting an international applecart....or losing his own life to the one man he fears most.
Woods does a good job connecting the past and the present in this story of the likeable Antony Maitland. She provides the background needed without miring the story in the past and she provides a good setting for Maitland to put some of the demons from his war experience to rest. It also helps substantiate the reasons behind his playing such a lone hand--and getting himself in danger. An interesting plot, with perhaps a too limited selection of suspects--which makes it fairly easy to spot the villain/s and anticipate the final twist. Still, a well-told and exciting entry in the series. ★★★ and 3/4...rounded to four here.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
September 11, 2007
Barrister Antony Maitland gets involved in what seems to be a straightforward case. But in no time at all, he finds himself plunged into a race for his life against a familiar opponent--the man who captured him during World War II. The man is now in England, living under another name, but he's just as dangerous. Antony barely survived their last meeting, but this third encounter may prove even more deadly. He finds himself framed for murder, so if the real killer doesn't get him, Scotland Yard will.
A really exciting read. I love this author and really recommend this one as one of her best works.
A really exciting read. I love this author and really recommend this one as one of her best works.
May 21, 2018
The third book in the Antony Maitland series involves secrets from Antony's past working during the war. Dr. Martin is murdered after telephoning Antony but not reaching him, and although the police quickly nab the man's ne'er-do-well cousin Gerry, Antony believes the man's undercover work during the war might have brought someone to murder. He suspects that Dr. Martin might have seen someone from the past who is supposed to be dead. Unfortunately, proving this brings him uncomfortably close to being charged with murder himself, as well as making him a target for deadly enemies from his own past. Kind of a grim storyline, but well plotted.
February 22, 2021
This book was a bit on the slow side, really very little happened until the last 20 or so pages. The back story of Antony's damaged shoulder is revealed and WWII ghosts who should have been dead are resurrected. There are several passages were the characters are talking and they know what's not being said but it's frustrating for the audience, particularly one reading 50+ years later.
October 12, 2026
This has the overall feel of a British wartime thriller rather than a straight detective story - not my favourite sub-genre. However, I really enjoyed this, nevertheless, thanks to Sara Woods' engaging style. I will be seeking out more books by this author for sure.
Rating : 4 stars
Rating : 4 stars
October 30, 2026
I really like the three main characters in this series. This entry was more of a spy thriller than a murder mystery and not my favorite genre. The secondary characters were not particularly distinctive, making the plot a bit hard to follow.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews