The Trial by Rob Rinder

4 Stars from me

In all honesty, I didn’t expect much from this book – could Rob Rinder, a criminal barrister, TV star, also be a good novelist?

Well, yes, yes he can! In The Trial, much respected and beloved police officer DI Grant Cliveden suspiciously collapses before he can give evidence in the witness box of a high-profile case. The book follows trainee barrister Adam Green who has to support on the case to defend Jimmy Knight who is accused of DI Cliveden’s murder. Unfortunately for Adam, both his mentor and the case seem to stink – not helped by his rival for the pupillage appearing to be unable of putting a foot wrong.

Likeable characters abound in this exciting and engrossing read. The courtroom scenes are unsurprisingly brilliant and the murky underworld that comes to light once the case is underway is cleverly revealed.

To lighten the overall tense and heavy sections, there are some lovely sidebars with Adam and his mum. Very cute.

Overall, this book is fast-paced and full of unpredictable twists and turns – I really enjoyed it and would happily read more by Rob Rinder.

Blurb: ONE MURDER. ONE IMPOSSIBLE CASE. WHO IS GUILTY?

When hero policeman Grant Cliveden dies from a poisoning in the Old Bailey, it threatens to shake the country to its core.

The evidence points to one man. Jimmy Knight has been convicted of multiple offences before and defending him will be no easy task. Not least because this is trainee barrister Adam Green’s first case.

But it will quickly become clear that Jimmy Knight is not the only person in Cliveden’s past with an axe to grind.

The only thing that’s certain is that this is a trial which will push Adam – and the justice system itself – to the limit.