#BlogTour
The Waxwork Corpse
by
Simon Michael
Hello and welcome to my stop on the #BlogTour for The Waxwork Corpse by Simon Michael. Firstly a massive thanks goes to the publishers Sapere Books and the author for a copy to read and review.
Blurb:
A deadly crime has been dragged to the surface…
London, 1965
Charles Holborne, maverick barrister, will never fit in at the Bar; he is too working-class, too Jewish and too dangerous.
But that makes him the perfect outsider to prosecute a shocking murder case which has already made its way to the press.
By chance, a body was found, dumped in a lake. It had clearly been there for some time, but the conditions in the water have meant that it was nearly perfectly preserved.
The police have managed to match this ‘waxwork corpse’ to a missing woman and if her husband — a senior judge — was the one who killed her, the scandal threatens to rock the British justice to its foundations.
The waxwork corpse is not the only thing to be raised from the past. The investigation also dredges up a violent mistake made by Charles in his youth which, if revealed, could put his own life at stake…
Review:
I am quite new to reading legal thrillers and only really started a few years back. I am not sure why I never read this genre having loved TV shows & movies which are. However I may have been late to the show but I am so glad I started. I have not read a bad one yet. This is the second Charles Holborne novel I have read having read The Brief last year. The Waxwork Corpse is book five of the series. The good thing about this book is you can actually read it as a stand alone and not have read the previous four. I will at some point though go back and read books two, three & four in the series. Not only because my OCD is getting in the way but the two books I have read so far have been fabulous.
I love that this book is set in the 1960's in London. It gives you a sense of what life was like back then without all the modern technology that is available these days to help with cases. The main character Charles is a great lead. He is not your goody two shoes everything by the book man of the law. He has a past that could be classed as dodgy which he can never leave behind. He knows the Kray twin Ronnie & Reggie who in the two books I have read are mentioned which adds a non fiction feel to the situation.
The story itself was fantastic. A cold case as such. The main suspect being a Judge and Charles is asked to assist by the police in gathering evidence to bring it to trial. As you read along your mind swaps between he is guilty, he is not guilty which makes you want to read on. Not only is Charles having to concentrate on this case he is having to deal with issues in his own private life which I found you could relate to. We all have jobs and sometimes our private life is not that perfect. It is how we juggle the two. I must say however I have never had to deal with anyone blackmailing me for something I did when younger haha.
If you love legal thrillers or even fiction from this era I think you will love this book. I found it very enjoyable, easy to read and I actually read this in just over a week which is quick for me. I will now go back and read the other books in the series and look forward to future books involving Charles Holborne.
Have you read this book? What did you think? Let me know...
Speak soon
CBailey31
About the Author:
Simon Michael is the author of the best-selling London 1960s noir gangster
series featuring his antihero barrister, Charles Holborne. Simon writes from personal experience: a
barrister for 37 years, he worked in the Old Bailey and other criminal courts
defending and prosecuting a wide selection of murderers, armed robbers, con
artists and other assorted villainy. The
1960s was the Wild West of British justice, a time when the Krays, the
Richardsons and other violent gangs fought for control of London’s organised
crime, and the corrupt Metropolitan Police beat up suspects, twisted evidence
and took a share of the criminal proceeds.
Simon weaves into his thrillers real events of the time, the cases on
which he worked and his unusual family history in the East End.
Simon was published here and in
America in the 1980s and returned to writing when he retired from the law in
2016. The Charles Holborne series, The Brief, An Honest Man, The Lighterman, Corrupted and the latest, The Waxwork Corpse, have all garnered
strong reviews for their authenticity and excitement.
