About The Book
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…
THE WAXWORK CORPSE, based on a real Old Bailey case, is the fifth crime novel in an exciting historical series, the Charles Holborne Legal Thrillers — gritty, hard-boiled mysteries set in 1960s London.
My Review
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. This is book five in the Charles Holbourne series but the first that I have read. I had no issues with following the storyline, it works perfectly as a stand-alone. And it left me wanting to know more about the lead character and his family.
According to the synopsis there are two situations in this novel that Charles has to deal with. The trial concerning the death of the woman found in Wastwater and a personal threat to him concerning events in his past. These events form the opening chapter for the book and showed how much life had changed for Charles since then.
But for me there was a third thread and that concerned his family life and how his reluctance to accept their faith caused a rift. Strangely for a legal drama it was this part of the novel that was my favourite, even though I did enjoy the other storylines. His relationship with his parents, especially his mother, was one that had me rolling my eyes but also smiling. And I always enjoy reading about different cultures and religions. The way his faith also affected his relationship with his colleagues was also one I found fascinating, and unfortunately believable.
The court proceedings were interesting, they made me think how a case such as this would be handled if somebody so powerful was stood in the dock. A favourite part was when the suspect was giving his explanation of events, I wasn’t sure whether to feel sympathetic or revulsion. Surprisingly I did guess correctly about what the end result would be, it’s cleverly done.
I will definitely be following this series, I want to know more about the gangland association, his family life and what cases he faces in the future.
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