A Matter For The Jury by Peter Murphy

A Matter For The Jury

By Peter Murphy 

When I read ‘A Higher Duty’ by Peter Murphy, Ben Schroeder was my favourite character. So when I heard that he was going to feature as the main character in a new book I was really keen to read it.

This book sees Ben firmly ensconced in chambers and about to defend a capital murder trial. Billy Cottage is charged with murder and rape, and because a piece of jewellery was stolen in the course for the crime, that makes it a capital offence. Ben, working with solicitor Barratt Davis and his assistant Jess, and QC Martin Hardcastle, a man with more than enough problems of his own, sets out to try to save Billy Cottage from the gallows.

There are some great sub plots supporting the main plot. Ben and his colleagues also have to defend a vicar under suspicion of assaulting a choirboy. Is there more to this than meets the eye? The way this case is handled by Ben and the others sets the scene for later events.

And another thread takes us on a chilling journey to discover exactly what might have motivated someone to apply for the position of public executioner. This is dealt with very factually, which makes it all the more chilling.

One of the subplots also delivers a huge and unexpected twist towards the end of the novel, for which I was totally unprepared.

We also get to see some insights into Ben’s personal life. It is his growing friendship with Jess and events in his own family that lead to some of the most tear jerking and emotional moments of the novel.

I was pleased to see some other characters from ‘A Higher Duty’ reappear in this story. Harriet Fisk is still sharing a room with Ben and provides a foil when he wants to chat about the case, and about their shared past. And Clive Overton, who was such a pivotal character in the first book, has an interesting cameo towards the end.

The repercussions of dealing with a capital murder case take their toll on all involved and this book left me feeling very glad that we no longer have the death penalty in this country, and hoping that no future government, however right wing, will attempt to bring it back.

I really thought this book was a great read and I recommend it to lovers of crime and courtroom dramas. I will be looking forward to more books featuring Ben Schroeder in the future. 

Thanks very much to the publishers for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more here.

You can read my review of 'A Higher Duty' here.

A Higher Duty by Peter Murphy

 

A Higher Duty

by Peter Murphy

Set in the 1960s, A Higher Duty is a complex tale of law, crime, passion and ambition.

We follow the fortunes of members of Bernard Wesley’s chambers throughout the book.  In particular we meet Kenneth Gaskell, who lets his emotions get the better of him in a potentially disastrous way, and Ben Schroeder, a pupil whose background threatens to make him an outsider in the privileged world of the bar.  

The story starts with a shocking incident which resonates throughout the book, but which you will probably feel differently about before you reach the end, and along the way touches on some dark areas of human life.

The author has had a career in the law and this shows in the richness of detail about life in chambers and in court which is threaded through the book. I liked this aspect of the book, and found the details convincing and absorbing.

A large number of significant characters carry the story and a couple of times during the reading I felt that I was being pulled in too many directions and that my ability to sympathise with all the characters was in danger of being diluted. However, in the end all the strands are pulled together successfully and do need to be there.

The author pulls off a very effective job of making the reader sympathise by the end with characters who at the beginning seem wholly unsympathetic. Again, this makes for a very satisfying read.

Overall, I recommend this as a novel for those who enjoy crime and/or law stories complete with some excellent and unexpected touches.

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more and buy a copy here.