Neil White Author | Little Bookness Lane

Publisher: Bonnier Zaffre

Publication date: Kindle – 9th March 2017 / Paperback – 10th August 2017

All hail the first in a new British legal thriller starring Dan Grant, and what a firecracker it is!

If someone would have said I’d have enjoyed reading anything about courtrooms I’d have said, “no, you’re alright thanks.” Except for the occasional Perry Mason episode it wouldn’t be my first choice of entertainment. So it’s a damned good job I was familiar with Neil White’s writing from reading his crime thriller “The Domino Killer” or I probably would have passed on this one, and THAT would have been a huge mistake!

I was mightily impressed by just how much the aspects of case preparation and court procedure intrigued me – the truth chasing, deciphering the witness testimony, the late additions of ‘forgetful’ interviewees, alongside lawyers’ etiquette and conduct both in and out of the court room.

Forget pages of endless paperwork and lengthy ‘lawyer talk’, the time just flew by as I was reading. From the Shadows excels when representing the demands placed on a defence lawyer with integrity and it genuinely kept me on the edge of my seat. What makes you suspect someone isn’t telling you the whole truth and everything but the truth? What if your appraisal of the evidence is off the mark and your case fell apart along with your client’s life? More importantly, what have you actually achieved if you succeed and the guilty go free? So many questions, so little time face Dan Grant, a lawyer with a moral compass directing him to places he may regret visiting.

Grant is the last hope for some and has earned a reputation for providing legal assistance with a conscience, both inside and outside the courtroom. Occasionally his work is shrouded in a mystery that is impossible to unravel, like this case involving a ‘creepy’ bloke accused of murdering a young woman in her bedroom was literally thrown to him like a hot potato after a rival law firm stated ‘conflict of interest’, plus there was only two weeks to the trial date.

With the help of his freelance assistant, a previous client he defended after she killed her abusive boyfriend in self-defence, they uncover witnesses who are too reluctant to talk to the police because of their personal ‘experience’ of them or for a gut feeling that Dan and his assistant cannot pin down, until it steps out From the Shadows.

Conflicting facts and maintaining chameleon-like social skills to adapt to people from all walks of life is emotionally and physically demanding, especially when the only thing you can believe is that your client is holding something back. But that doesn’t mean they are not entitled to have representation to convey their version of events before a jury. After all, what if ‘the whole truth’ hasn’t been revealed yet?

This story shows anything can be waiting in the shadows. Tremendous work, Mr White – I loved it!

Rating: 5/5

(My thanks to the publisher for offering me the opportunity to read a digital copy of this title for which it is my pleasure to provide an unbiased review.)

(Courtesy of Amazon UK)

Mary Kendricks, a smart, pretty, twenty-four-year-old teacher, has been brutally murdered.

Robert Carter stands accused of killing her.

According to Mary’s friends, Robert watched her, harassed her, stalked her.

But did he kill her?

Dan Grant is Robert’s lawyer. He and his investigator Jayne Brett have two weeks before Robert Carter goes to trial. Two weeks to prove whether or not he killed Mary.

Together they will get to the truth – whatever the cost . . .

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(Currently £0.98 at the time of publishing this review!)

(Courtesy of Author’s own website)

I’m a criminal lawyer and I’m a crime fiction writer. I have published nine books so far, and my new series is now out in ebook, the first called From The Shadows, published by Bonnier Zaffre, involving defence lawyer Dan Grant and private detective Jayne Brett. The paperback will follow on 10th August 2017.

My previous books include the Jack Garrett series, published by HarperCollins, four of which were top twenty ebook bestsellers, with Cold Kill spending a month at number one and becoming one of the biggest selling UK ebooks of 2011. The books in the Parker brothers trilogy were published by Sphere from 2013, with the last in the series, The Domino Killer, was released in paperback on 1st December 2016.

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Publisher: Sphere (Little Brown) | Publication Date: 30th July 2015 | Edition: Kindle (Netgalley)

I’m delighted to be taking part in Neil White’s The Domino Killer book tour. Today, I review his excellent book – PLUS you will find an author profile for this talented chap at the end of the post.

BOOK SUMMARY:

When a man is found beaten to death in a local Manchester park, Detective Constable Sam Parker is one of the investigating officers. Sam swiftly identifies the victim, but what at first looks like an open and shut case quickly starts to unravel when he realises that the victim’s fingerprints were found on a knife at another crime scene, a month earlier.

Meanwhile, Sam’s brother, Joe – a criminal defence lawyer in the city – comes face to face with a man whose very presence sends shockwaves through his life. Joe must confront the demons of his past as he struggles to come to terms with the darkness that this man represents.

Before long, Joe and Sam are in way over their heads, both sucked into a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to change their lives for ever…

Neil White My Review Domino Killer

The Domino Killer is a sinister concoction of ingredients, brewed methodically to perfection.

Joe Parker represents criminals for a living, not all of them as innocent as they plead. As a lawyer, it’s his job to offer the best The Domino Killer by Neil White defence, regardless. His detective brother, Sam, catches the wriggling blighters.

While accepting a new client to defend for suspected arson of his own car, the brothers are drawn into the sociopathic world of a serial killer who has a penchant for young girls and a shedload of misery. As their sister was killed eighteen years previously, the investigation into her unsolved murder is unofficially reopened like an old wound exposing all kinds of nasties and guilt.

First impressions are deceptive in this tale. The story creeps along like a snakes belly, leaving a tricky trail of clues in its wake. Why this viper struck in this way makes no sense; the discovery of a man’s body in a park will lead the brothers and those they care for into a personal hell, where someone is setting them up for a fall in a clever little cascade.

It goes without saying that a lot of people are going to get hurt, as they are manipulated from a shady chat room scene. But what exactly connects each of them? It will take all of the Parker brothers’ resolve to join the dots, especially when suspicion comes knocking on one of their doors.

Sam, Joe and Joe’s assistant, Gina, an ex-copper who worked on his sister’s case, are soon faced with dilemmas galore – their professional ethics tell them one thing, their moral compass will steer them somewhere else entirely.

Trust. Grief. Revenge. The good guys contend with all of this. They are not heroes. They are portrayed as ordinary folk and are therefore guilty of a ‘severe lack of judgement syndrome’. This creates a more plausible and compelling plot, as they’re only human after all.

Can they stop the domino effect before one of them falls? Only if a dark truth from the past is revealed.

Although I did have an inkling of the final outcome it was still well played. It’s the first Neil White book I have read, but it certainly won’t be the last.

Most definitely recommended by me.

Rating: 4/5

Note: Although this is the 3rd book in the Parker Brothers’ series it can be read as a stand alone.

Buy the book: The Domino Killer Published on 30th July 2015.

Author links: Twitter | Website | Amazon UK

Thanks for stopping by,

Wendy sig

(My sincere thanks to @Lizzy11268 for organising the Neil White book tour. Thanks also goes to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book for review.)