This is the second in the Judge Walden; I will be very desperate to read a third. The first was interesting to see the differences between the it system and ours, but there was no drama, only tedium. I understand Murphy also writes mysteries...I’ll give a couple of them a try.

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kaulsu | Dec 30, 2018 |

Walden of Bermondsey door Peter Murphy

A fun, lighthearted look at British jurisprudence. But the Honourable Judge Walden left a bad taste in my mouth when he basically bribed the head Grey Smoothie at the end of the book. I guess he is only human, fiction or no, and I am wishing for a Saint.

I may have the opportunity to meet the author if he actually makes good on his promise to visit my friend’s book club.

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kaulsu | Dec 13, 2018 |

The Heirs of Owain Glyndŵr: A Historical Legal… door Peter Murphy

July 1st 1969 and the Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales provides the backdrop to this story. It starts in the court room and then goes back to show the reader how we got there.

In 1961 Trevor Hughes takes over a bookshop in Caernarfon which is well known for its Nationalist leanings. He soon gets to know Arianwen, her brother Caradog and their friend Dafydd and joins them against the 'English' government. Just how far are they prepared to go and are they all equally committed?

Although book four in the series its very much a stand alone novel with only a brief mention of a previous storyline.

This book has many facets, friendship and loyalty, national pride, a courtroom drama and some Welsh history so should appeal to a wide audience.

I have visited the area and found the descriptions very accurate and made the story come to life and the inclusion of some Welsh added to the authenticity of the story.

I particularly liked the developing relationsip between Trevor and Arianwen which blossoms with serious consequences which have a huge impact on the way things develop.

Howver this is supposedy a series of stories about the barrister Ben Schroeder and it didn't feel like that at all. He seemed only to be there because the story results in a court case and not a central character but that in no way detracts from the story at all.

The way the story develops and changes direction towards the end of the book took me by complete syrprise although it did answer a niggling question I'd had before that.

Some of the scenes where Caradog refuses to speak English and gets a translator are very funny and add to the sense of frustration felt by him. The anguish of Arianwen leaps off there page at times and as a reader you really feel for her plight which she is powerless to change

A good easy read which I can recommend… (meer)

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Northern_Light | Dec 20, 2016 |

And Is There Honey Still For Tea? (Ben Schroeder) door Peter Murphy

1965. The British Establishment is reeling after a series of defections and acts of treachery by high-ranking Intelligence Officers. When Francis Hollander, an American academic, accuses Sir James Digby QC, a Baronet and a leader of the Bar, of being a Soviet spy
I was very apprehensive when i received this book as it is not the genre that i would normally read. Unfortunately this book did nothing at all to change my mind. The story was very slow and I thought it would appeal to a very limited audience. I know nothing of this spies or the plot before hand and was quite glad of that because i would of probably not completed the book if I did. I do not hold much interest for chess either with kept being referenced throughout the book.
I found it very slow and hard going, definitely not a page turner, only completed it because i felt I needed to complete the review.… (meer)

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dally33 | 3 andere besprekingen | May 17, 2015 |

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