Corrupted by Simon Michael is the 4th book in the excellent Charles Holborne series and it is another page turner that is very well paced and written.

The story has a number of twists and turns but the author's description of the courtroom scenes are brilliant.

This is a very enjoyable series of books and one that I thoroughly recommend

‘Nobody’s innocent.’

London, 1964: gang warfare and widespread police corruption are part of the landscape. If you pay the right people enough money, you can get away with just about anything. Charles Holborne’s reputation as a respected and successful barrister continues to rise. He and his former clerk Sally have moved into a house together: the future is looking good. But Charles is restless. He knows that he is still on the radar of the Kray twins, and despite well-intentioned advice from others, he wants one last boxing fight before he is too old.
Charles is training hard and that, together with his work, leaves him less time to spend with Sally.

And then he is approached in an unorthodox fashion, seeking his help to defend a young boy, Teddy, accused of murder. There’s nothing straightforward about this case: Teddy is accused of murdering an associate of the Kray twins, and he’s reluctant to talk. Senior politicians are involved, Teddy is also in danger, and Charles tries to keep him safe.

In the meantime, Charles has a fight to prepare for. He’s under pressure from both his Chambers and the Krays to drop his defence of Teddy, and Sally is not happy. Life is further complicated when he is photographed with the Krays and Sonny Liston, and when a glamorous American actress enters his life.

There’s a twist in this story I didn’t see coming, as well as a couple of developments that had me wanting to throw the book across the room in frustration. How, I asked myself, could such an astute observer of humanity be so stupid? And that’s the thing with this series, Charles Holborne is both flawed and (mostly) likeable. His legal brilliance is tempered by very human frailty.

This is the fourth novel in the Charles Holborne series, and while I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first three, I’ll certainly be looking to read the next one.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This is the 4th Charles Holborne book I’ve read so the author must be doing something right.! I was really excited to be offered it as a review copy and once again immerse myself in Charles’s life as a barrister in 1960s London.
One of the things I really enjoy about this series is the historical detail and in this book we also get a famous boxer and a glamorous actress to add to the mix.
Charles gets involved defending a young boy, Teddy, who is accused of murdering one of the Kray’s henchmen and he has to ensure that Teddy is kept hidden as the gangsters are looking for him too.
His personal life seems to be looking up. He has moved in with his former clerk, Sally, and he is mending bridges with his family although his mother still treats him badly which makes it hard for him to commit fully to his own relationships. Charles is a flawed but likeable character who always tries to do the right thing even if he doesn’t necessarily succeed.
We also get a taste of the boxing world when Charles decides he wants one last fight before he gets too old. Again the research is excellent and Charles’s gym and the people who inhabit it are really well described.
The author is obviously drawing on his own experiences in his writing and this shows, particularly when he is describing legal processes and it would not surprise me if he had done a bit of amateur boxing too!
As ever the book is fast paced and compelling and with a plot involving the Kray twins there is no shortage of excitement as Charles has to use all his wits to stay out of their clutches and protect his young client.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review