Showing results by author "John Fairfax" in All Categories

Convicted of murder 16 years ago, William Benson is ostracised by the establishment and his family. Supported by a close-knit group including solicitor Tess de Vere, he's defied them all and opened his own Chambers. Now he faces the case of his life - and the terminal illness of Helen Camberley, who helped him leave his prison life behind. Jorge Menderez, a doctor from Spain, has been found dead in a deserted warehouse in East London. A troubled man, he'd turned to counsellor Karen Lynwood seeking help.

She was found hanging in a dingy London bedsit with a blood orange in her mouth. Diane Heybridge, a young woman without a past or much of a future, has captured in death the compassion denied her in life. For the prosecution, this seeming suicide is nothing more than a bungled killing, and a disgusted public looks to Court 2 of the Old Bailey for justice. Her callous, jilted partner, Brent Stainsby, stands accused of her murder, and he's turned to the maverick legal team William Benson and Tess de Vere to defend him.

William Benson knows what it's like to be accused of something you didn't do - the fear, the vulnerability and the nightmare of watching your life unravel. Now he speaks on behalf of those who have no voice, defending anyone who claims to be innocent. This time, it's Karmen Naylor, estranged daughter of a south London crime boss, fighting a murder charge and desperate to be believed. But Benson becomes trapped into a grudge match between two rival clans, endangering himself and those he loves.

The last time Tess de Vere saw William Benson, she was a law student on work experience. He was a 21-year-old, led from the dock of the Old Bailey to begin a life sentence for murder. He'd said he was innocent. She'd believed him. Sixteen years later Tess overhears a couple of hacks mocking a newcomer to the London Bar, a no-hoper with a murder conviction, running his own show from an old fishmonger's in Spitalfields.

Hun tror, han aldrig kunne myrde nogen. Men han kan ikke fortælle hende sandheden. Hun blev fundet i en ussel etværelseslejlighed i London. Med en blodappelsin i munden. Diane Heybridge, en ung kvinde uden fortid og uden nogen nævneværdig fremtid, har i døden fået den medfølelse, hun blev nægtet i livet. For anklagemyndigheden er dette tilsyneladende selvmord intet andet end et sjusket drab, og offentligheden retter med væmmelse blikket mod retssal 2 i håb om retfærdighed.

William Benson er strafferetsadvokat. Med et vist særpræg. Han er selv dømt for mord. Sidste gang, Tess de Vere så William Benson, var hun jurastuderende i praktik. Enogtyve år gammel blev Benson eskorteret væk fra anklagebænken i Old Bailey for at påbegynde afsoningen af en livstidsdom for mord. Han havde fortalt Tess, at han var uskyldig. Hun troede på ham. Seksten år senere overhører Tess et par højrøstede middagsgæster, der sidder og gør nar ad et nyankomment medlem af Londons advokatstand: et håbløst tilfælde, der kører sit eget show fra en gammel fiskehandel i Spitalfields.