★ 競價售出影集改編權！
★CWA金匕首獎作家新作！

The first book in a brilliant new series, set to become a major television drama.

William Benson is a convicted murderer who has served time and trained as a barrister. Though innocent, he had to admit to the murder in order to get parole and qualify for legal work.

Tess de Vere was the intern on the defence side at his trial, and was convinced of his innocence and devastated by his conviction. When she discovers years later that Will has been released, qualified as a barrister, and is now trying to forge a career despite the collective resistance of the entire legal establishment, she is compelled to find him and offer to join forces as his solicitor.

What she discovers is a person of great application, a history of depression and panic attacks induced by his time inside, and a consummate knowledge of the criminal mentality – a haunted figure, but one determined to make it in the very arena that sealed his fate as a young man. Their bond is instant and deep, though later Tess needs to prove to herself that Benson did not commit murder, so great is the impact of working with him on her career.

Each Benson and de Vere novel will be powered by a murder trial, while developing the relationship and the backstories of the two protagonists. SUMMARY JUSTICE follows the trial of a desperate young woman with a disabled son – a feature of her life that chimes with Benson’s pre-conviction history. Against all the evidence, Benson believes in her innocence, and that he can go the distance to get her off and silence his critics, a gamble that could stop his legal career before it has even started.

 

John Fairfax is a pseudonym for William Brodrick, who was born in Bolton, Lancashire in 1960. He studied philosophy, theology and law, worked with homeless people in London, and then became a barrister, joining a set of chambers in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
He is the author of six Father Anselm novels, with which he won the CWA Gold Dagger 2009, the Granice Crime Fiction Award 2012, and was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club. He is married with three children and lives in France.