- You're twenty four years old
- You're the daughter of a famous lawyer and very much in his shadow
- Your only legal experience so far is defending a political activist on a minor charge of obstructing the highway
- And you've just been called upon to defend a man with no past on a murder charge.
Soraya Wallace arrives home from the park with her daughter Huette and grandchildren, just as workman Calvin Coffey comes running from the house. In the kitchen, Soraya finds the body of her husband, Walter, lying battered to death in a pool of blood, with a blood-stained hammer nearby. Calvin insists that he is innocent - that he arrived there to give a quote for a loft conversion, and found the body. But Soraya knows nothing about any such planned building work. And when Calvin is arrested for the crime, the police can find no trace that he even existed before six months ago. Thus begins Dan Cogan's twisty, suspense-filled, debut legal thriller.
Fast forward six months: Emily du Lac, a young, pretty law pupil at St Jude's Chambers, is pulled from her other duties to defend Calvin. Her supervisor, Nigel Farringdon KC, is the first black head of Chambers and was once the law pupil of her estranged father. But he has seen the spark of determination in Emily's feisty demeanour.
At first, it looks like an open-and-shut case. But Emily is not afraid of the challenge. She grew up around the Old Bailey and jumps at the chance to play the role of a strong female lead in what she sees as an exciting drama. But will her recklessness turn her from a tenacious heroine into the proverbial woman in jeopardy? The answer appears to be
Yes, because, as the mystery deepens - with whispers of "nepotism" swirling around her - she is ready to put
everything on the line to catch a hammer-wielding murderer -
including her life.
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"If you like a good thriller, read it" - DAVID GREEN
"Loved this book...received it on the Monday and finished it by Wednesday!" - Y D MARSON
"a gem of a book - keeps you turning the pages even though you don’t want it to end" - THREE PEBBLES
"Every time I thought I’d figured it out, another twist came along and blew me away" - ADVA
" For those who like complex thrillers, this is very good book" - ARAMAT
"a totally captivating British courtroom drama that skilfully weaves murder, mystery, and colourful characters" - SHIMMY SHAMIR
Watch out for the thrilling next book in the series:
Joint Enterprise