Gary Bell QC

I liked this very much, but I didn't love it.

Elliot is not concealing his past from the Bar Council and the head of his chambers thankfully - just from everyone else - I feared a "Suits" type scenario. I liked him as a character and Zara as his pupil and their working relationship.

On the other hand, I found it a little long-winded in places; there was a lot of explanation of how e.g. the legal process works, which slowed things down. I appreciate that part of the point of the story was that a court case does not necessarily reveal the whole truth, but I always find the resolution of the case after the verdict skews the momentum somehow. It was very much a legal drama - the solution was more satisfactory from an intellectual perspective than an emotional one.

Still, I would be keen to read the next in this series.… (mehr)

Hiding his youthful indiscretions, Elliott Rook has reinvented himself as a pillar of the legal profession. A QC with an enviable track record in court he is also recently divorced, overweight, a smoker and a drinker. When a former friend insists that Rook defends him on a murder charge, Rook is forced to confront his past - not based on an Eton education but in the mining areas of Nottinghamshire and a life of petty crime. His client a white supremicist, the crime racially motivated murder and Rook has a lot to lose.
On the positive side this book has a lot of promise. Co-authored by an eminent QC the legal aspects are clever and clear and Rook is an interesting anti-hero. On the negative side the plot gets a little tangled and the twists are just a little too convenient. It's a promising start but the writing team needs a little more development to really make this series fly.… (mehr)