A highly entertaining read!

This is the story of Lewis Miller, a guy born on the wrong side of the track, who is now working for a prestigious law firm.
He's adamant to find out the truth about why a client of the firm wants to pay £100000 to the family of Maria Brennan to keep them quiet. Did she commit suicide as the police say or is there something else behind her death?
Maria worked for a firm called Ever Sine which is spearheading a clean power revolution and specializes in green energy but was fired by her boss and mentor Robert Carlson. Is Robert as clean as he wants people to think, what is up with his daughter and who is the mysterious Russian? Finally, why was Lewis asked to do this job?

A brilliantly written story that keeps you guessing till the end!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow! I read this book in a day!

Beginning after the death and suicide of Maria Brennan - Lewis Miller, a young and hungry lawyer trying to make his name at his law firm, is given the task of getting Maria’s family to sign an NDA and accept a large cheque from Maria’s: employer.

But when Lewis meets with Maria’s mother it is clear that she believes her daughter was murdered and that her employers have lots to hide.

4.5 stars out of 5 stars
What started as a simple task to please the boss, turns into Lewis getting sucked deeper and deeper into uncovering the mystery of Maria’s death,… and all the suspicious activity leading up to it. Until it’s very clear that Lewis is now in danger himself.

This book was brilliant. It was so totally gripping and tense. It was twisty and it felt like everybody had something to hide.

Buckler’s writing was great and the whole style of writing gave me big Linwood Barclay vibes - which is always a good thing!

Will be keeping my eye out for any new upcoming releases from this author.

I found The Simple Truth to be an OK read. It had a lot of characters and plot lines throughout and I did struggle to keep everything straight in my head at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This was such a slow burner of a book I very nearly put it down. However I persisted and was so glad I did. The book was fantastic.

There was a lot about this book I enjoyed but equally lots that I didn’t. There are lots of characters and plenty of sub plots but these were well handled by the author. The main issue for me was how the reason for Maria’s problem. It was so unbelievable for me the book was spoiled by it.

5⭐️

A brilliant and gripping read, guaranteed to prevent you putting this read down. 🔥

A young woman is dead.
A very wealthy client needs a favour. You're newly qualified as a lawyer and this could be your big break, so you jump at the chance.

The case is about to be closed.
All you have to do is talk to a family, ask them to sign some papers. How difficult could it be? Their daughter was found dead at a beauty spot on the outskirts of London in what you're told was a tragic suicide.

Only you can uncover what really happened.
But the truth is never that simple. And this case could cost you your life...

Buckler’s writing is immaculate and he has fabricated both a perfect plot and read. Packed with action, a well thought out and fresh plot, and edge of your seat moments, this legal thriller was the perfect read. 😍

I devoured this thriller fairly quickly as it was so difficult to put down. I’ve read legal thrillers before, but this just felt so different and refreshing to what I have previously explored. I praise Buckler for how each individual chapter, told from a different POV, kept me second guessing and intertwined and brought the reader one step closer to the grand revelation. 🤯

A unique aspect to this read is that all of the minor details mentioned were weaved into the plot as a whole to make them more significant than just a passing comment. I think this helps to immerse the reader. 🔥

I really liked the MC, Lewis, as he was young, ambitious and put his own job in jeopardy to find the truth. I hope we get another thriller with Lewis! 🤞

If you’re looking to kick start your new year reading with a brilliant book, then I highly recommend this read which is published 5th January 23!

Many thanks to James Buckler,, NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press for this ARC! 📚

⚠️ Please check out the trigger warnings! ⚠️

#Bookstagram #NetGalley #TheSimpleTruth #JamesBuckler #ARC #LegalThriller #ThrillerBooks #BookReview #Bibliophile #BookRecommendations #AvidReader

This book starts with a bang with an innocent dog walker finding an apparent suicide victim. The minute the victim's mother is offered money to sign an NDA you know it is not that straightforward.
The story has interesting characters who have worked hard to achieve their positions in life - there are similarities between Lewis and Maria - their backgrounds, their belief in fairness.
The pace is fast and the story is riddled with twists and turns, not all relevant to the main story. Very topical with green energy projects part of the story and the oiling of greasy palms to achieve one's aims.
Would make a good film with all the action.
Three and a half stars for me!
Many thanks to Netgalley/James Buckler/Random House UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is Buckler’s second novel, although I hadn’t heard of him prior to this. The synopsis really caught my eye and it sounded like it would be right up my street. Unfortunately, the execution for me fell a little short.

Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot to like. I loved the main plot with the intrigue and mystery surrounding the death of Maria Brennan and there were plenty of twists to keep me gripped but there were also some plot points that didn’t really need to be there. There’s a connection revealed between some of the characters that to me just felt unnecessary and like Buckler was just trying to throw everything at this book. The main plot had enough going on without needing this extra plot that almost seemed like an after thought.

Some of the dialogue didn’t feel very natural to me either. I did read that Buckler came from a background in television so maybe his style is more suited to script work where the actors add emotion and context but a lot of it felt quite flat to me. I think Buckler could have cut the extra plot and spent more time fleshing out the characters and the main plot and it would have improved it immensely.

I liked Lewis Miller and Buckler did a fairly good job of showing how conflicted he was between his job at a high flying law firm and his working class background. I could also see how a series could quite easily be built around Lewis’ character with a little more work given to world building.

Overall, it was a fairly enjoyable thriller.

Wow, I absolutely devoured this book in 24 hours!!!!!!! Following a junior lawyer who has sent to do a small task take on justice was gripping beyond belief…an excellent book that had me buzzing with adrenaline!!! Loved it!

I really enjoyed this lawyer-led crime thriller from James Buckler, I was hooked from the start. In'' The Simple Truth', Lewis is an East End boy who's worked hard to fit into the middle class world of legal London. He is still a junior member of the team so when he's invited to serve a non-disclosure agreement on behalf of one of his company's most prestigious clients, he jumps at the chance. Lewis quickly becomes embroiled in a search to uncover the truth about what happened in relation to an apparent suicide, where Maria, a young woman who works for a clean energy company has been found dead after inhaling toxic chemicals. Lewis has to call on some of his East End knowledge as well as trying to break through the barriers put in his way at all levels of his investigation.

This was unlike anything I've read before; the pitching of the story was perfectly placed, with the balance between Lewis's old life and his new ambitions being brilliantly balanced. The stories and motivations of the more nefarious characters was also well portrayed; if you don't make it out of your world by brains, where else do you turn? The business world and all of its players also felt true to life and the various storylines connected brilliantly. I hadnt read James Buckler before but will certainly look out for any of his work in the future.

I never repeat the blurb. This was a slow burn but I was so pleased that I stuck with it. Really pertinent and on point for 2022. Great stuff!

A great legal thriller with lots of characters to get your head around along with a good story plot. I found this a real page turner from start to finish.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This is a lot!! There are so many side plots and strands all trying to tie in that it can get a bit much. It feels like it could be a good story and may have been easier to follow if it'd been a tv series or such but as a book, it's a lot of characters to remember and I didn't find most of them unique and well written enough to have super clear images and ideas of who each one was so you could understand motivations and such. If you like busy legal thrillers then you'll probably love it though. There's certainly a lot going on but I just personally prefer a most simple plot and cast

Lewis is a newly qualified lawyer & when he is asked by an important client to get a NDA signed he looks on it as a chance to be noticed & make a good impression. However, he is rather baffled as to why this NDA is necessary. A brilliant environmental scientist. Maria Brennan, has committed suicide & the NDA is for her mother to sign. When Lewis arrives at the lawyer's office, it is obvious that the money that goes along with the NDA would make a big difference, but even though Maria's brother is keen to get the money her mother refuses. She maintains Maria's death was not suicide. Lewis is doubtful but his science teacher girlfriend tells him there is something odd about the method of suicide. Even though Lewis is very ambitious he is unable to ignore the fact Maria has been murdered& searches for the truth- as a good lawyer should!

This was a fast paced story that kept you on your toes. There were some great characters- good & bad & I really liked Lewis. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

A solid legal thriller with sympathetic main character ánd a very unsympathetic main character… small surprises, big surprises and a very unexpected ending. The story had all the right ingredients, from the young woman who worked her way up to the young lawyer who basically did the same – and only careful planning prevents the young lawyer from suffering the same fate.
Yes, I could relate to Lewis Miller and therefore I liked the end a lot. It’s an interesting book for a debut too. The fact that it took me more than a week to finish it is because my mind kept wandering and I didn’t have the urge to keep reading. So the three stars is not the book, it’s me. There is nothing really wrong with the book, I just feel it could be more ‘right’.

Thanks to Netgalley for this review copy.

Maria Brennan is dead by her own hand; her family are alleging harassment and her ex-boss wants them to sign an NDA – in return for a hundred thousand pounds. The boss, Robert Carlson, gets his lawyer to arrange this transaction and he, in turn, sends Lewis Miller, the most junior lawyer in his company, to meet with the family. Lewis is a former East End kid “chosen” to interact with the family because of that background. Although they, Maria’s mother, and brother, live in a high-rise block in Whitechapel the mother, Irina, refuses to sign. She believes that Carlson had fired Maria, his closest and smartest assistant, for no reason and then trashed her reputation to ensure she couldn’t get another job. Lewis, worried that his failure might affect his own career, tries to resolve the problem but finds himself embroiled in a complicated situation. Was this really a suicide? How does it relate to Carlson’s plans to build a huge Hydrogen production plant to provide green energy Carlson is a hero to environmentalists, but his company is in trouble and he is being funded by dodgy investors. Did Maria find out something that would damage his image? What connection, if any, does Maria’s brother, Drew, have to her death? Unlike his sister he hasn’t escaped from the tough East End world and earns most of his money by threatening or beating up people to order.
The story is fairly linear, mostly following Lewis’s investigation into the death, and Carlson and his associates attempts to hinder this. There are also a few apparent subplots around the family histories of Lewis and Drew, as well as problems in Carlson’s family life. Despite this complexity, the sentences, paragraphs and chapters are all quite short which move the reader along quite quickly. This is helped by the simplicity, almost naiveite, of the language. There is also a lot of tightly written jeopardy, but there isn’t much in the way of mystery – some of the minutiae of the plot is unbelievable but none of it is actually surprising. Overall, I think it is a 3.5 which I have to round to 4, but that is generous.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

A recently qualified lawyer working for a major company in London, Lewis Miller, is offered a job which would bring him in favour of a very senior manager. It looked to all intents and purposes an easy task however it turned out to be anything but and ended up putting his lfe at risk. A woman, had apparently committed suicide in wetlands near London and Miller was to get an NDA signed by the mother of the deceased but she in turn insisted that it was no suicide. Miller took matters into his own hands to gain favour with his boss however he uncovered considerably more than he expected.
This is a wonderfully crafted book from James Buckler. The story has many twists and turns and is very fast paced with lots of action and mystery.Once you get into it you will not want to put it down and will be eager to get onto the next chapter. The characters are very believable and range from multi millionaires to street criminals doing illegal tasks to earn money. It is the first book I've read from this author but certainly won't be the last!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off strong, but it just ended up getting too muddled. There were too many characters with various plot lines, which ultimately ended up making it feel quite messy. It was fast paced, but felt like a struggle to read.

This book was incredible. It sucked me in right from the moment that Lewis, a young lawyer, is given the task of delivering a cheque and asking a family to sign non-disclosure agreement. When he arrives at the family home of the witness, it seems that everything is about to go wrong and all is on Lewis to deal with.
Lewis is a newly qualified lawyer and you can feel the nerves in the writing that he would be experiencing. Eager to please, but also reluctance to break the law.
There was so much more to this novel as the chapters unfolded and this was just not as clear cut as getting an NDA signed.
I really enjoyed Lewis and I saw so much of myself in him.
In this book, the chapters are told from different viewpoints and we learn about two different worlds, the corporate world in London and the London underground gangland world.
The book is extremely addictive, with short snappy chapters to match the pace. The reader is really kept on their toes in this novel.
I honestly cannot recommend the book enough and I hope that this is the start of a new series!
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel!
Legal thriller fans - go preorder now!

A young woman is found dead at a local beauty spot, an apparent suicide. You're a newly qualified lawyer, and an extraordinarily wealthy client needs a favour. This could be your big break, so you jump at the chance - all you have to do is talk to a family and get them to sign some papers. How difficult could it be? After all, the truth is simple, right?

The Simple Truth is a pacey and atmospheric thriller with conspiracy theory vibes. Despite quite a few cliches - rookie lawyer, climate change warrior, Russian oligarchs, East End wideboys and more - the story is gripping enough to keep you too interested to look away until the last page.

The story is told from several points of view, which works well within this multilayered plot; in short, sharp well focused chapters, we learn about our plucky working class lawyer crusader and the supporting cast of heroes and villains; the trouble is it's hard to know who is on which side and is it even that clear cut?

The story plays out in a similar vein to a John Grisham novel but without the well-honed finesse. I think The Simple Truth would transfer well to a television drama; in fact, it may even be better on screen.

Murder or suicide? That is the not-so-simple question.