Simon Michael introduces a new legal thriller series The Brief, with protagonist Charles Holborne, a lawyer who is married to Henrietta, daughter of a Viscount, practices Criminal Law at the Temple and simply does not fit into what is considered an elitist Practice.
He is Jewish by birth, had a ‘good war’ as a Spitfire pilot and was State Educated! He is good, very good at what he does which has caused resentment in the close-knit ranks of Barristers. He is a Londoner, a ‘Cockney’, through and through. In moving away from his Jewish background, he has also lost his London accent.
Life is good in the Courts but not so much at home as he and Henrietta are drifting apart – he works long hours, she loves to socialise, which sees them facing the issue of Divorce. Things go badly. When Charles is charged with Murder he finds he is on the run and needs to tap into the Criminal element of men he has successfully defended over the years, to find out who set him up.
Set in 1960’s London, a time of corruption within the Metropolitan Police Force, the notorious Kray Brothers ruled the world of Gangs and the Underworld, The Brief is slow to begin as Michael sets up the storyline character by character, delivering a sense of time and place that is authentic.
Based on his life as a Lawyer working in Criminal Law the story follows to some degree his life, and the people who passed through his practice over the years, many of whom are now represented in the pages of this impressive Crime Thriller series.
The Brief is an excellent read, slow: steady and immersive concluding in an unexpected manner.
Book Two in the Charles Holborne Legal Thrillers, An Honest Man is available now.
