A really gripping account of a murder trial told through multiple viewpoints - with an interesting twist at the end. As you might expect from this author, this is packed with legal detail. You are really drawn into the trial and the lives of the legal teams and the defendants. An engrossing read.

"The Cut Throat Trial" by S. J. Fleet is a legal thriller that takes you right into the heart of a major murder trial. The book is written by S. J. Fleet the assumed name of "The Secret Barrister," who is a real-life criminal barrister, And there is a real sense of that authority of somebody who has really been there. The story revolves around three teenage boys accused of a brutal murder, each pointing the finger at the others, hence the name of the book inspired by the "cut throat defence" that each defendant is running.
This means the book is packed with authentic details about how the legal system works, and you see the trial unfold from multiple perspectives: This gives you a really comprehensive and immersive view of the proceedings.
The plot is designed to keep you guessing, And there's an authenticity in the pointlessness and hopelessness, which is typical of so many criminal trials. There are no winners only losers. It's a twisty plot where your opinion about what happened changes all the time.
It's not just a whodunit , And it's certainly not a cosy mystery such as the novels of Rob Rinder. Instead, it's a authentic look at the stresses and strains placed on our buckling criminal justice system told from the perspective of those involved.
The story was never going to be a fun one and I found the details quite harrowing, so four stars from me but that's purely my preference.

A cut throat trial which sees three young men accused of having brutally stabbed an old man to death - and it’s told from multiple viewpoints (all three of the accused, one of their barristers I think, the judge, and the prosecuting barrister). The varying points of view means that we slowly (and it is fairly slow) begin to see all the details and nuances that make us reevaluate what we think we know and realise it’s not quite as black and white as innocent old man and vicious attackers… it was quite a delay to the denouement, and I admit it was hard to like any of the characters really! But it was well written and with a satisfying final wrapping up that makes you reconsider everything you thought you knew about the story and people!

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

High Stakes..
The most sensational trial of the year- three teenagers accused of a brutal murder, the victim an elderly retired teacher. Each points a finger at the other, none of them confirm their own guilt. As three barristers prepare for battle, a tenacious prosecutor is determined to win. A spectacular courtroom thriller where stakes are high, tension is palpable and peopled with a wholly credible cast of characters. Edgy and tautly plotted with twists aplenty whilst never losing sight of a thread of empathy and humanity.

This is a completely compelling novel that weaves the voices of the legal team and those who are being accused of a violent attack and murder. Written in multi-narrative form, the structure increases the tension of what might otherwise be a crime, or courtroom drama novel. Unlike many other multi-narrative novels, each character is relatable and well developed, and what knits them together is the crime itself and tight storyline of 'whodunnit'. Super-clever stuff, this, and the number of twists as the evidence is revealed creates numerous hooks in what, I admit, could have been quite a long and drawn out story. Brilliant. I'll be adding this novel to my reading list on my undergraduate 'crime & thriller module'. Highly recommended. My grateful thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the early read.

A very interesting story set in a courtroom. Full of unexpected twists and turns and seen from a multi character aspect which added an extra dimension. It kept me hooked and guessing.

Having completed a lengthy stint of Jury Service myself earlier this year, I was keen to see how my experience of our legal system matched with this book – I can say that it felt comparable in many ways! The plot is interesting and exciting, and the author creates a gripping atmosphere from the very beginning. The crime those on trial are charged with is brutal and the detail into which the author goes is, in places, intense, but given the nature of the crime that has been committed, the detail is needed to emphasise the grim situation each of the offenders finds themselves in. I liked the fact that the tale is told from multiple points of view, so the reader gets to hear each defendant’s story, and their take on the truth. I was pleased that the perspectives are easy to differentiate between, as with so many viewpoints I could easily have got lost without the chapter headings.

The whole book is both fascinating and thought provoking, and that ending? Well, it blew me away. All in all, a very clever piece of writing.

A very different kind of legal crime thriller and I loved it!

4.5 🌟 rounded up!

I’ve read books by the secret Barrister but haven’t ventured much into UK legal crime books, so this book was a nice change! I’d be really keen to see if Fleet writes more Fiction!

⚖️🔪⚖️🔪

Premise:
Three teenage boys are on trial for killing a pensioner on New Year’s Eve. They are each pointing the finger at each other and one claims to not even be there.

But with eye witnesses seeing them flee, DNA evidence and a text chain incriminating them, it should be an easy win for the prosecution. At least, disgraced Silk, Aliyah needs it to be!

But none of their stories are adding up, so who knows what really happened…

⚖️🔪⚖️🔪

My thoughts:

It’s an interesting book because you find yourself liking the defendants way more than the Barristers. Despite their past actions, and what they’ve potentially done, they are far more relatable at times than the legal professionals, especially as the book highlights at times the ridiculous nature of the language used in court and how your average person can barely keep up. Although I will say, whilst I didn’t like him, the Judge, Jeremy Letts’, was very funny! He’s rather brutal but with such dry humour which broke up some of the more serious elements of the book!

The book also highlights the quite broken nature of our criminal justice system, similar to what the secret barrister first set out to do. And whilst it’s a more dramatised version, it’s not too over the top to feel off the mark. With the determined nature of Aliyah to fix her career through this case no matter what and the mess ups of the officers involved, it doesn’t seem ridiculous.

The plot itself was really well put together with lots of little nuggets along the way. I was certain I knew what had gone down but was completely wrong by the end! Even the way the background for Jennifer (one of the Barristers) surprised me. Fleet put a good number of red herrings in!

All in all, a solid crime thriller that I was quick to get through and I’m excited to see what fiction Fleet writes next! I’d be curious if he keeps it in the same world! The character I would hope to come back is the judge, so let’s see!

Here’s a legal thriller that goes to great depths about the way the law is used, abused and contorted to get a verdict, whether it’s the right one or not. With three defendants, 4 lawyers/barristers, a judge and jury, it’s complicated and at times, for me, a bit hard going. However, it’s definitely a book that grips you and you really do need to finish it, especially with such an ending that left me stunned. Can’t say that I enjoyed it, but it’s a page turner.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

‘The Cut throat trial’ was an enjoyable and engrossing read. The Secret Barrister’s professional knowledge shines through the court-room based thriller, the intricate details helped flesh out the narrative.

I do feel in part that it slowed in pace, and at moments I grew tired of the constantly changing POV; at moments I mixed up two of the defendants and couldn’t remember which one was which.

I know that this isn’t the part of a usual court case, with the ‘public’ knowing the juries thoughts and feelings, but I wish we could understand more their verdicts at the end of the novel. Whilst I didn’t expect the ‘twist’ something had to happen so it wasn’t unexpected, who was lying and who wasn’t.

All in all I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to fans of thrillers and crime novels.,

I was looking forward to reading this and if you enjoy court room type books this is definitely for you! I like the story, at times I get it was slow but that didn’t put me off too much. The end I’m in two kinds about to be fair. It hasn’t put me off though!

I’ve enjoyed the non fiction titles from the secret barrister and was delighted to see a fiction title from the same author. It’s an absolute cracker. A real courtroom thriller that takes the reader not only to the heart of the trial, but inside the key p,Ayers; the three defendants, the prosecuting barrister, the three defence barristers and the judge. The reader is in the position of a juror; here’s the evidence and argument of innocence presented by each party, but someone is lying and why? This is complex and multi layered as it explores the world of wanton teenage violence. It’s simply brilliant, breathtaking and I can’t wait for more.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I enjoyed the setting and the premise of coming to a crime via the trial and being drip-fed the facts and watching how these get twisted by the prosecutor and the defense attorneys in orer to fit each of their narratives. The - way too may - POVs made me kind of lose focus at times, especially because some of these (the two defendants, mainly) sounded exactly the same. There were unexpected revelations at the end but it was a bit meh and unsatisfying, perhaps because i'd already figure out a couple of things. What I did really like about this book was how every single one of its characters was so extremely unlikeable, no matter if POV character or not, they all came out as quite 'real' for being so unpalatable, sometimes detestable, other times annoying - like real people, in real life.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange of an honest review.

I found this interesting as it worked the way. Through a complex court case. The book goes carefully through the event on New Year’s Eve where an elderly man died.
It was interesting listening to the arguments of the barristers and the often conflicting view of the defendants. I was looking forward to the jury’s decision at the end but I found the summing up tedious as it covered ground already stated during the questioning. For me, this made the book unnecessarily drawn out.

The Cut Throat Trial by S.J. Fleet is an interesting courtroom drama with a solid premise and a good level of intrigue, but the execution left me a bit torn.

The story itself had real potential, and I was drawn into the case early on. However, the pacing felt quite slow and the book ended up feeling longer than it needed to be. Much of that seems to stem from the structure, having a prosecutor and three defence lawyers naturally leads to a lot of repetition, which probably couldn’t be entirely avoided, but it did start to feel tedious after a while.

The ending was also frustrating. While things technically came together, it left me with more of an “oh… okay” than a real sense of payoff or satisfaction. It lacked the impact I was hoping for after such a drawn-out build-up.

Overall, I appreciated the premise and the detail, but the story would’ve benefitted from tighter editing and a more satisfying conclusion.

Three 17 year olds stand trial accused of the brutal murder of an elderly man.
What really happened in Garth's yard and is everyone guilty or innocent.
Follow the thoughts of the prosecution and defence barristers as well as the accused.
Can you decide who it guilty and who is not.
Great read with interesting twists. Better than a John Grisham thriller and less predictable.
If you like crime and court room dramas you will enjoy this.

I found this book fascinating with the insight it gave in to a British murder trial. I'm assuming it was fairly true to life having been written by a Barrister. I liked the way it was written from different viewpoints, including the 3 defendants and their barristers, as well as the prosecution and judge. It was interesting to see how the viewpoints weaved together to take the reader through aspects of the case. I found myself feeling sorry for Jamal at various points and then disliking him strongly in others. I liked getting a chance to get to know the defendants and their (true /untrue) stories so as a reader, I could form my own opinions about the different characters. The plot is pretty plausible throughout which kept it moving and stopped me wanting to put it down until I had finished. I won't say any more about the plot in case I give anything away!
I look forward to more from this author.

New Years Eve and Bernard Hooper is brutally murdered on his way home from the local shop. Three teenage lads, Craig, Aaron and Jamal are charged with his murder, this is their story.
This book was totally different and unique from any other courtroom drama novel I've read.
Told from all perspectives from the judge, the prosecution, 3 defence lawyers and the defendants, this novel will have you tied up in knots as you listen to all the information given in court.
Yes, I found it slightly wordy and I felt could have been shorter but it was a fascinating read. It would make an incredible film or TV series

A great courtoom drama as told through the eyes of several different people.
Three young men are on trial for the murder of an elderly gentleman, and all three are not totally honest about the events of that night.
Each boy has excellent representation, but will that be enough to set them free?
A great read, and it was interesting to see each person's perspective of the same incident.

My thanks to Pan MacMillan publishing and NetGalley for a copy of “ The Cut Throat Trial “ for an honest review

I was really impressed by “The Secret Barrister “ so I was excited to be able to read this first fiction book by “S. J Fleet “.
The book definitely didn’t disappoint, I was hooked from the beginning , and my opinions on ,what had actually happened during the attack , at the centre of the trial, changed throughout..”The Barrister” obviously includes a lot of their professional knowledge into the story , and this makes the book even more compelling
I really enjoy reading , or watching anything based around a courtroom, even though I’d dread having the stress of sitting on a jury.
The background stories for all the main characters adds a a different level to the novel , and shows things aren’t always straightforward
I think this book would make a very entertaining and thought provoking tv series, and I hope there is more fiction to come from S J Fleet .