Description
Book SynopsisThe last time Tess de Vere saw William Benson she was a law student on work experience. He was a twenty-one year old, led from the dock of the Old Bailey to begin a life sentence for murder. He''d said he was innocent. She''d believed him.
Sixteen years later Tess overhears a couple of hacks mocking a newcomer to the London Bar, a no-hoper with a murder conviction, running his own show from an old fishmonger''s in Spitalfields. That night she walks back into Benson''s life. The price of his rehabilitation - and access to the Bar - is an admission of guilt to the killing of Paul Harbeton, whose family have vowed revenge. He''s an outcast. The government wants to shut him down and no solicitor will instruct him. But he''s subsidised by a mystery benefactor and a desperate woman has turned to him for help: Sarah Collingstone, mother of a child with special needs, accused of slaying her wealthy lover. It''s a hopeless case and the murder trial, Benson''s first, starts in
Trade Review
Intriguing . . . packed with accurate legal detail, the story never loses its grip - it is no surprise it's been optioned for TV -- Geoffrey Wansall * Daily Mail *
An all-action court drama * Sunday Times *
An elegant, intricate legal thriller with nerve-shredding courtroom action * Sunday Mirror *
Benson is a compelling character.The court scenes are irresistible, with as many twists and turns as you could want * Irish Times *
I followed his trials, tribulations and eventual triumph with great enjoyment. This unusual courtroom drama is quick-witted and vividly imagined * Literary Review *
[Summary Justice] works superbly as a classic courtroom drama, in which nothing is as it seems - even though it really does seem it. Yet what makes the book particularly impressive is that there's far more to it than just brilliant plotting. It also has genuine heart, plenty of interesting things to say about the law and a highly appealing troubled hero. With "a major television drama series" already in the offing, I suspect we'll hear a lot more of William Benson in
the years to come
* Readers Digest *
