A lawyer gets uncomfortably close to a former client, crossing a dangerous line, in this edgy debut thriller.
Daniel, a criminal barrister, is working all hours on a sensational trial at the Old Bailey, defending a client he believes is wrongfully accused of a grisly murder. Determined to keep Rod out of prison, he begins to neglect his wife—and soon afterwards suspects she’s having an affair.
After Daniel triumphs in court, the bond he’s formed with his newly acquitted client grows even stronger. Then Rod offers Daniel a favour that he really shouldn’t accept . . .
When things take a catastrophic turn, Daniel realises his conduct has veered from unprofessional to indefensible—and that he’s trapped in a nightmare of his own making . . .
My thoughts: this was a really interesting, clever and gripping legal thriller. Daniel is a bit too uptight and tense, you don’t ever imagine him being someone who might bend or break the rules, even the unwritten ones.
He finally lands a big case, defending a suspected killer, at the Old Bailey, he’s also recently got engaged to Micaela, a journalist. Riding high on his successes, he makes a few mistakes, that will in time, prove to be very costly.
Becoming friends with a client, even an ex-client is a big no no, but Daniel does it anyway, Rod is very good at winning people over. While on a weekend in Barcelona, Rod makes Daniel an offer he swears he refused – Micaela is having an affair, has in fact left him, and Rod offers to sort things out.
When Daniel sobers up, and repeatedly after, insists he didn’t agree to Rod’s offer, he never would. But this now threatens to destroy everything, his career, his relationships. So he comes clean and starts trying to put a stop to Rod’s threats and the fear Daniel now feels. How did he end up here?
There’s twists and turns and a few genuinely nasty moments, a lot of the characters seem to operate in a morally grey area – even Daniel for all his seemingly black and white morality. It’s quite hard to trust any of them as protagonists, between all the betrayal and lies. You’d think someone who understood the law so well would be able to predict circumstances but no, Daniel really doesn’t seem to be able to read people or events very well.
The ending is a shock, and I wonder whether any of them can ever come back from this, credibility completely gone, and be able to rebuild their lives.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 