It seems that lots of celebrities are going down the ‘let’s publish a novel’ route. Perhaps it’s the aftermath of the pandemic when most people were stuck at home and took the opportunity to hit the keyboard. I’ve read a few: some have appealed, others not, some have been well-written, some not, although that is based on my personal opinion and preference and not intended to disparage genuine effort. While I was on holiday this year, I found myself in need of another book; I love the book-swap libraries in hotels! I only had a few days left so didn’t want a great tome and I was going to be lying in the sun so perhaps nothing too heavy either. This one leapt off the shelf and believe me, I read it in a day and a half. I couldn’t put it down!

The author, Rob Rinder, is a celebrity, whose popularity has grown and grown – and he can write! In a rider, he explains that he tries to accurately represent legal procedure while also ‘crafting…an exciting and engaging drama’. The work of the juniors in chambers is not underplayed, nor is the power and influence of the seniors but he serves it with a light hand. We get to know the characters in Chambers, watch the in-fighting and the competition, the bullies and their targets who are vulnerable because there is only one way up the ladder. Rinder writes from experience and in this novel, clearly also uses his experience of the television world. There’s a brief nod to Strictly, reference to a few famous names and a cheeky, unsubtle parody of two well-known chaps, in this case, called Ted and Toby, a Cockney duo who are popular on the Saturday night schedule.

The Suspect is Rinder’s second book in a series about barrister Adam Green and in this one, he combines the worlds of commercial television and life at the UK bar. It’s a legal thriller about what it’s like to be a young barrister. Rinder admits the character Adam Green is loosely based on his own early life and his primary focus is really to demystify the law and explain legal processes. 

It seems whichever way you turn, there are problems and telling the ‘truth’ may not be as simple as it sounds

.A famous and popular television presenter, Jessica Holby, dies in the middle of a programme; the death on screen is witnessed by millions of viewers. It seems she had a fatal reaction to something she ate and the television chef, Sebastian Brooks, had just provided the food. It’s clear cut, everyone, including him, believes he’s guilty but the question remains, was it deliberate or not? He maintains not. Adam Green, a talented junior barrister, believes it was not murder (and importantly, so does his mother) but with only intuition to go on, it will be a hard case to prove. The police are convinced from the start that they have got their man and don’t just treat Brooks as a suspect but as the only suspect and seek only to prove his guilt without considering anyone else. Adam’s suggestions, arising from his investigations, are ignored. This raises an ethical question: what about innocent until proven guilty?

Things are often not what they seem; the camera never lies they say, but it doesn’t always reveal the truth either. Friendships, relationships, professional sparring, the camera definitely doesn’t reflect it all. Reputations are flimsy things, hard won and easily lost. In fact, the actual ‘whodunnit’ aspect of the narrative is almost secondary to the intricacies of life in chambers. The case is actually solved quite suddenly and quickly despite the lengthy court scenes and conversations in chambers leading up to it.

There is also a sub-plot, involving a young boy who finds himself in a lose, lose situation, having become inadvertently involved with the dangerous Petrov gang. What does a barrister advise when the outcome either way is not looking good? It seems whichever way you turn, there are problems and telling the ‘truth’ may not be as simple as it sounds. Is the answer always to follow the law? More ethics to be considered.

The narrative is fast-paced. Rinder’s characterisations are good; they are believable and relationships are credible. Secrets, when revealed, are unexpected but not shocking and Adam Green’s telephone conversations with his mother provide a wonderful humorous escape, for the reader at least. I, for one, loved it.



The Suspect is published by Penguin