Good evening all. I'm sorry I went missing in action last week. A nasty virus managed to fell me, and there was no way I could even contemplate looking at a computer, let alone writing a review. I even struggled a bit with reading namely because I spent most of the time asleep. But I feel recovered now and am looking forward to sharing a cracking read with you that has been enjoyed by our family.

Read my Review of Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh

Today's review and first choice from My To Be Read Pile for Autumn is a legal thriller written by Barrister Rob Rinder. It is a cracking well written page-turner. let's get stuck in shall we.

When hero policeman Grant Cliveden dies from a poisoning in the Old Bailey, it threatens to shake the country to it's core.

The evidence points to one man, Jimmy Knight has been convicted of multiple offences before and defending him will be no easy task. Not least because this is trainee barrister Adam Greeb's first case.

But it will quickly become clear that Jimmy Knight is not the only person in Cliveden's past with an axe to grind.

The only thing that is certain is that this is a trial which will push Adam..and the justice system itself...to the limit.

I have to confess to a fondness for Rob Rinder. When he starred in reality courtroom show Judge Rinder, I (wrongly) assumed he was chasing celebrity. And then the good works and passion that he has for the legal system came out very much under the radar. He assisted his former dance partner from Strictly in delivering aid to Ukraine, where her family were from. He has been awarded an OBE for his services to Holocaust Education and an honorary doctorate for his legal work. This is all done under the radar, without fanfare or hysterical publicity. Instead Rinder seems to quietly go about his works.

And it is similar here. There is no big fanfare, no ghost writer, just an intelligent and insightful look at the legal system through the eyes of Adam Green, our hero. Adam is a pupil Barrister, working for Stag Court Chambers. Chosen from 400 applicants, Adam has a year to prove himself and hopefully be taken on as a Barrister. He is guided in this by his ghastly pupil master Jonathan Taylor Cameron who seems more interested in keeping up with his coterie of women and giving Adam no encouragement.

This all succeeds in providing a fascinating glance into the world of Barristers. Prejudice exists, this appears to be the world still of bald, middle-aged, white men and Taylor-Cameron is more interested in how his hair looks on TV than the justice system. But in Adam, we have someone who is determined to fight for the innocent even when the press have tried, convicted and hung said individual.

As Adam interviews witnesses, we realise that the case for Jimmy Knight is not quite as clear cut as previously thought. And then begins a race against time to ensure that Knight receives the best defence possible. Jonathan Taylor-Cameron may have washed his hands of the case, choosing to focus on a more lucrative case, but Adam is not giving up.

This is peppered with the most wonderful insights of what it is like to be part of a case at the Old Bailey, the nuances, the judges quirks and provides a fascinating glance into a legal world that hopefully most of us will never get to use. Because of Rinder's expertise this has substance. It is also patently clear that Rinder is passionate about a fair legal system for all.

But at it's heart, this is a cracking read. I struggled to put it down, and finsihed it very quickly. I enjoyed it so much, I very nearly ordered the next in the series, The Suspect, but this is still only available in hardback.....hmmmm I feel a treat coming on.

Enjoy my loves! This is an excellent read.