Whether we like it or not, a lot of what we do is circumscribed by existing law. We may think a law is unfair (and there’ve been plenty of laws that have changed or been removed for that reason), but the law has a lot to do with the way we conduct ourselves. Even if it’s just a matter of driving faster than the posted speed limit, we’re usually conscious at some level of the law’s impact on us. Laws impact fictional characters, too, and it’s interesting to see how they react, and how the law affects them.

For instance, in Michael Crichton’s (as Jefferey Hudson) A Case of Need, Dr. John Berry is a Boston-based pathologist. One day, he gets a call from a friend of his, Dr. Arthur Lee. It seems that Lee has been accused of performing a botched abortion on Karen Randell, who later died. Lee claims that he is innocent. He admits that Karen visited him asking for an abortion, but he refused, since abortion is illegal (the book was written in the late 1960s). Now Lee believes he’s been ‘railroaded’ because he’s Asian-American. He wants Berry to clear his name. One of the big challenges that Lee faces is that the law is against him. Abortion is illegal. So, no-one is comfortable giving him any help or Berry any information. Eventually, though, Berry traces Karen’s last days and weeks, and finds out who killed her and how it happened.

Felicity Young’s The Anatomy of Death takes place in 1910 London. Dr. Dorothy ‘Dody’ McCleland has just qualified as a forensic pathologist and is very much hoping to work in the Home Office with Dr. Bernard Spilsbury. She’s biding her time working at a local womens hospital while she waits to hear if she will be accepted at the Home Office. When she gets to London, she hears that a women’s suffrage march in Whitechapel has turned ugly, with injuries and three deaths. At that time, the law prevents woman from voting, but several women’s groups and activists are working to change that law. When Dody gets to the hospital to help out, she finds that of the three autopsies she is asked to perform, two have straightforward explanations, and don’t seem to be willful murders. The third, though, is different. Lady Catherine Cartwright has died of blunt force trauma that is unlikely to be accidental. Now, Dody starts asking questions to try to find out what happened. More than once, she runs up against the fact that these women are considered insurrectionists and agitators, and there are people who are just as well pleased to declare Lady Catherine’s death an accident.

Eric Brown’s Murder by the Book takes place in 1955 London, where Donald Langham is a thriller/crime writer and reviewer. One day, his literary agent, Charles Elder, asks Langham for help. Someone is blackmailing Elder because he’s gay at a time when homosexuality is illegal (and some consider, much worse than that). In this case, Elder’s life is profoundly impacted by the law of the time. Elder wants to know who’s responsible for the blackmail, and he believes that Langham has written enough thrillers to know how to go about seeking out and stopping a blackmailer. Langham is reluctant (he being no expert), but he agrees to see what he can do. His search for answers leads him to a series of murders of authors and others in the publishing industry. Now he’s going to have to act quickly if he wants to stop the killing.

In Mette Ivie Harrison The Bishop’s Wife, we are introduced to Linda Walheim, wife of a Utah Mormon bishop. Her role is more or less mother to her congregation, so she knows everyone and has visited most people’s homes. One day, she hears that one of the congregants, Carrie Helm, has gone missing. Carrie’s husband, Jared, says that she left of her own accord, and he wants to find her. Linda isn’t quite sure whether to trust him, but for her, the dissolution of any family is a tragedy, so she agrees to do what she can. As Linda’s search for Carrie goes on, we learn some things about the Mormon Code that directs the lives of most Mormons. There are rules against alcohol and caffeine, and there are other rules that govern things like marriage, divorce, and so on. In fact, Linda has several questions about some of the ways in which Mormon lives, especially the lives of women, are circumscribed, even though she loves her church.

Stef Harris’ Double Jeopardy concerns Frank Winter, who’s retired from the Boston police. One day, he learns that Barry Krupke is being released from prison after twenty years. This is very personal to Winter, because Krupke was also arrested for the abduction and probable murder of Winter’s daughter, Evie. He was acquitted on that charge, but Winter has always believed he was responsible. In fact, he threatened Krupke’s life. So, he’s given a ‘minder’ Detective Nunzio Arabito, to keep him in line. Krupke has his own plans for the future, and they do not include Winter going after him. But Winter isn’t going to let this go. Krupke’s chief protection is that, since he was already acquitted for the abduction and murder of Evie Winter, he can’t be tried again for the same crime even if Winter catches him. Still, even though Winter knows that law, that doesn’t mean he’s going to leave the matter alone. So, both prepare for a confrontation.

There are many other laws, too, that govern and sometimes dictate what we do and do not do. It’s interesting to see how they impact our lives, even if we don’t think about it, and how fictional characters react to that.

*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Leonard Cohen’s The Law.