An Honest Man

Hi Karen,
My next review is as follows:-

"An Honest Man", written by Simon Michael and published in paperback by Urbane Publications on 7 July 2016. 352 pages.ISBN-13: 978-1911129394

In his earlier book "The Brief" Criminal barrister Charles Holborne may have just escaped the hangman by proving he was framed for murder, but his life is now in ruins. His wife is dead, his high-flying career has morphed into criminal notoriety, and bankruptcy threatens. When the biggest brief of Charles's career unexpectedly lands on his desk, it looks as if he has been thrown a lifeline. But far from keeping him afloat, it drags him ever deeper into the shadowy underworld of 1960s London. Now, not only is his practice at stake, but his very life. Can Charles extricate himself from a chess game played from the shadows by corrupt police officers and warring gangs without once again turning to crime himself? Based on real Old Bailey cases and genuine court documents, An Honest Man is the second in the series of Charles Holborne novels by barrister, Simon Michael, set in the sleazy London of the 1960s.

Set towards the end of 1962, Charles debts are mounting up and he is not getting any work as a barrister and as the costs associated with his chambers are one of his debts he is considering giving it all up when he is asked to represent this other barrister who has been arrested and charged with with very serious crimes. Charles who is the honest man in the title has to grapple with bent policemen and other problems as he tries to check into the background of the case before it gets to court, The court is the Central Criminal Court known as The Old Bailey and if you have ever done jury service there, as I have some years ago, it is a very impressive place to be in and the nuts and bolts of a court case occurring there are very daunting but also very interesting. The author who was a barrister himself for over 30 years is able to describe the details of being one of that profession with amazing detail.

This is a book that once started kept me absolutely gripped until the final page. It was absolutely brilliant. The author has done a lot of deailed research into the background of the times that this book was set and I found it very believable. So if you want to read a historical mystery set in the mid twentieth century with a very interesting and detailed legal basis than this is the one to get. I have already bought his first book to read later. Strongly recommended.

Best wishes,


Terry
(to be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

This is the second book in the series, The Brief being the first. I liked the main character, Charles, who is a barrister. He is wrongly accused of murdering his wife and the plot centres round his struggle to get his life back together. The setting is in the 60's and it was a good plot, with the Kray twins popping up. Great characters and a great read. I would recommend this book. Thank you Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Amazon and Goodreads.

An Honest Man is a extremely well crafted novel by someone with a vast knowledge of his subject and an incredible gift of the storytellers art.Well written and captivating it conveys its message brilliantly and the reader is left wanting more.I fully intend to follow this Authors career