Three teenage boys are standing trial for the brutal murder of septuagenarian Bernard Cooper, on New Year's Eve. It looks a clear-cut case - they went out looking for a victim, the prosecution say (and the evidence seems to support); the blameless Mr Cooper was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But maybe it's not quite that simple...

In true cut-throat style, each of the boys - and their lawyers - seeks to put the blame on the others.

We hear within the narrative from two of the boys, Craig and Arron, and the barrister for Jamal, the third - Jennifer Rennie, who has her own reasons for not wanting to take this particular case. We also hear the perspectives of prosecution barrister Aliyah Arshad, in desperate need of a win, and of the judge, Jeremy Letts (a self-satisfied sexist, of whom there are no doubt many).

This was a really, really good courtroom drama by the still-anonymous Secret Barrister (writing here as S J Fleet). Obviously, they know their legal stuff, and it all has the ring of authenticity. Grim in places, but very readable.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review.

Excellent court room drama! A brutal murder of an elderly teacher on New Year’s Eve, 3 teenage suspects, all of whom deny their involvement whilst trying to implicate the others.
The story is told from multiple POVs (8 in total) which took a bit of settling into, but it didn’t detract from what was a brilliant written and twisty trial. Brilliantly written and with good pacing, as a reader I felt I was part of the jury watching the drama unfold. Excellent rad, highly recommend.

Thanks to Net Galley and Pan MacMillan for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

never read a book like it.

what a brill read and it laid out excellent.

story holds you all the way though.

cant wait for more.

‘The Cut Throat Trial’ by S. J. Fleet - another pseudonym for The Secret Barrister - is a dark, gritty and often depressing courtroom procedural which demonstrates exactly what the author has preached in their previous non-fiction books: that the justice system is broken but also the best and most important thing we have.

I was gripped by hearing from the prosecution, defence and the three defendants themselves in a gruesome joint murder trial, and appreciated how absolutely nothing was black and white!

The novel felt very realistic and informative but could have explored the motivations of various characters more… the sheer number of narrators meant that no-one managed to garner much sympathy.

This gets four stars from me… I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Pan MacMillan via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I liked the concept for the storyline but struggled to settle into the story and without the description at the top of each chapter, I would have struggled to recall who was who and their role in the story.

From the very first page, The Cut Throat Trial pulled me in and didn’t let go. Written by S. J. Fleet—better known as The Secret Barrister—it’s a legal thriller that feels startlingly real, as if you’re sitting in court yourself.

The story begins with the savage assault of a retired teacher on New Year’s Eve. Three teenage boys are charged, but each denies guilt and blames the others. This sets up a tense courtroom drama where nothing is straightforward. The narrative switches between the defendants, the lawyers, and the judge, giving a full, layered picture of the trial.

What I liked most is how authentic it feels. The barristers’ strategies, the behind-the-scenes manoeuvres, even the judge’s sharp interjections all ring true. Yet it’s never bogged down in detail—the pace keeps you turning the pages. The characters, from flawed defence lawyers to an ambitious prosecutor, are drawn with real depth.

Fleet keeps you guessing right up to the end. If you enjoy courtroom dramas with heart, intelligence, and grit, this one is a must-read.

What a great debut novel from S.J. Fleet!! I loved all the different perspectives, the way they were written you really felt that you were seeing the case from that character’s point of view.
I thought it was really clever how the whole story was played out through the court case and people’s recollections. And while it was definitely a court room mystery, there were still the twists and turns and some bombshells dropped at the end to make it a good story.

I hope there is more to come from the author!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

This book really is something special. It will absolutely be in my top reads for the year and possibly my number one.

The character development is exemplary, the plot is meticulously detailed and yet it doesn’t become confusing at any point as it is so well written.

The story is narrated by the prosecuting barrister, the judge, the three defendants and their respective barristers. All with their own opinions and anxieties as the legal teams skilfully navigate through the evidence from the night of a brutal murder.

When we started to hear from the three defendants, I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the terrible childhoods they had. The author did a brilliant job of making every character feel real, from the Judge, down to the accused teenagers.

Towards the end, some twists emerged and I was utterly gobsmacked! The manipulation of the legal system was shocking and the implications unquantifiable.

Brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, S. J. Fleet and Pan Macmillan for an ARC of this book.

Three teenage boys are on trial for the brutal murder of Bernard Hooper. an elderly man who had popped out on New Years Eve for a bottle of champagne
Each defendant has their own barrister, each of the barristers cleverly try to point the finger, play with the facts to push the blame to the other two defendants.
The prosecutor is hoping for 3 guilty verdicts, he is over worked and under pressure. the lead detective on the case has added to his stress as he definitely does not have all his ducks in a row, so to speak.
The judge is opinionated and arrogant.
Each boy is facing a life sentence, the courtroom drama plays out rather spectacularly, as the reader I could feel the tension in the room and between the barristers as they each fight for their individual client..
The story is thought provoking, authentic and pulls the reader in, the batting of back and forth questioning is brilliant, who is telling the truth ,who is lying under oath, why did the 3rd defendant not take the stand? Some great twists and reveals which change everything as the story concludes.
An overall very enjoyable legal thriller.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Pan MacMillan for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I found the setting in the court as three lads were charged with the murder of an elderly man to be intriguing. It was told through the eyes of each barrister and each boy and the prosecuter. Who was guilty? Were they all guilty? How reliable were the witnesses? Did the police present all the evidence? The story was well written, although at times it moved to slowly for me. However, perhaps this is normal court procedures. I would not have liked to be on the jury as I couldn't decide whose story I believed. Even the epilogue added to the confusion at the end.
A recommended read if you enjoy court trials.

Apologies for a late review. It took me a while to get into this book.

I’m glad I wasn’t sitting on the jury for this very complex trial! We hear from 6 different characters - two out of the three defendants, three out of the four barristers and the judge. None of these characters were likeable and I found that hard. I like to be rooting for at least one character. The thing that kept me reading was the plot. I wanted to know what had really happened on New Year’s Eve and whether the three young men on trial were responsible.

We certainly got a taste of the complexities of court and how evidence can be interpreted and manipulated by different barristers. It felt like a real trial. But was justice served?

Thank you for letting me read The Cut Throat Trial.

I love a legal thriller and was looking forward to reading The Cut Throat Trial. Unfortunately it didn't hold my interest as I expected it to.

What a read!

Didn't know what to expect as only follow the author on social media and have never read anything by them before, but will definitely be on the look out for more novels from S.J. Fleet.

It took me a while to get used to the style because every chapter is written from the perspective of a different person (the KC, The Judge, The Defendants, etc) and it can be jarring sometimes to switch from quite eloquent thought processes of the judge, for example, to the expletive ridden narrative of defendant B. But once you get your head around it you cannot stop reading.

Won't spoil anything but almost the entire story takes place in the courtroom in almost real-time as we bounce back and forth from the perspective of each of the main characters. You are all the way through guessing who is telling the truth, who is lying, and who doesn't really know what the truth is.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

A behind the scenes look at a harrowing case, full of legal complications and procedural detail.

A complex, twisting narrative with three teenagers each looking to pin a horrific murder on the others. You are left feeling very little pity for these boys- there are very few redeeming qualities in the characters. This is a dark read, with very little to lift the seriousness of the subject. As such it can feel quite hard going- especially with the detailed legalese and procedural feel. Some readers will very much enjoy this depth, and the dramatic writing style that adds flair and suspense. This will equally put some readers off- especially those more used to lighter styles of writing, especially when re-living the same events over again, just from a different viewpoint.

Not a light, holiday read but more of a complex book, one to mull over with a good wine and a long evening.

This book leans heavily on the cultural and procedural elements of the British legal system as we follow the trial of 3 teenage boys accused of the horrific Murder of an elderly man, killed in an Alley.

The use of multiple points of view in the telling of the story is interesting, given that each of the three boys is trying to place the blame for the killing on the others, and their defence lawyers are trying to do the same. None of the characters feels particularly sympathetic, though the boys' socioeconomic circumstances are certainly worthy of compassion.

Overall, it is suspenseful - if at times feeling a tad repetitive. I found the "legalese" heavy going, so this one is probably best suited for those interested in legal thrillers in particular. It gets 3.5 stars.

The Cut Throat Trial is a good read and very believeable in todays world. Three teenage boys are accused of murder and we follow them and their lawyers during the court trial. Is all as it seems though and what exactly happened that night? And are all three guilty? With sloppy police work, late disclosures and three lawyers for individual defendants who all point the blame at each other this felt like a book I would enjoy. It didn't wow me though or become the page turner I hoped for. The authors writing is good and I liked the story being told through different characters. The writing feels repetitive at times though as the same facts are retold and changed to suit the lawyers and their clients best interests. So my attention dipped a few times at different parts of the story. The plot is good and has quite a few surprises along the way. I struggled to like the defendants and a few other characters which did have an effect on how much I enjoyed this read. Overall a good read just not a great one for me.

New Year's Eve and a man is stabbed to death in an alleyway in Ableford. Three teenage boys are arrested and when the case comes to court all three blame the others. For the three defence barristers it is about winning their case, for the prosecutor even more so, all have vested interests in success.
This book manages to straddle the divide between being an entertaining novel and being a really gripping one. It feels a little over-written at the start but settles into a rhythm. The use of multiple narrators is great, it conveys the different viewpoints and is a good method of getting changes in the plot across. The twist at the end is fairly well flagged up but it doesn't make the book any less gripping.

I found this to be a difficult read, the subject matter is the death of an old man on New years eve and the book follows the trial of 3 boys accused of murdering him in an alley. The book is told from different perspectives, all in first person.. 2 of the accused, the judge, sollicitors, a barrister and the judge. What mostly made for difficult reading was the legal technical details of the trial. Not something I know a lot about and I am not much wiser now I have read this. The different points of view and evidence presented is confusing but do add up to an intricate account of what happened and give insight into what the jury must be feeling when presented with this evidence and trying to decide whether or not someone is guilty. My own thoughts on this question changed continually. I was not keen on any of the characters either, the youths have all had a disadvantaged start to life though any sympathy you might feel for them is reduced by some of their thoughts and/or actions.
Trawling though the evidence and court procedures was too much of a chore and there was a fair bit of repetition. Saying that, I am intrigued to see where the author goes next.
thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

This is the debut crime fiction novel of an English barrister and blogger. Known as The Secret Barrister, he has also previously written three non-fiction memoirs about his experiences of the courts under that name, but here has used the pseudonym S.J. Fleet.

In this legal thriller, three seventeen year old boys (Craig, Jamal and Arron) are accused of the horrifically violent murder of an elderly man on New Year’s Eve. Each boy blames the other two for the killing and now it’s up to the courts to sort the innocent from the guilty. The prosecutor wants to prove they are all guilty while each of the three defence lawyers want to persuade the jury their client isn’t guilty. The only problem is none of the boys are telling the whole truth.

The author’s inside knowledge of how the English courts work makes this a fascinating and gripping thriller. He manages to make the reader feel they are sitting in the court listening to the evidence and following the reasoning of the KCs, barristers and the Judge. The proceedings are seen through the eyes of most of those involved, which sounds confusing but isn’t as the characterisation is so well done as to to give each of the players a distinct voice. This allows the reader to hear their internal thoughts, misgivings and anxieties and also adds some humour to the proceedings.

As the case proceeds, the suspense increases right up to the jury’s verdict. However, that’s not the end of the tale as a huge twist is waiting in the wings to deliver a terrific ending. I definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys legal thrillers, in particular the nitty, gritty of realistic courtroom scenes.

I have to say that this book disappointed me. It was far too long, repetitive, and unremittingly grim. There are so many characters, but some are too indistinguishable from one another to make it easy to follow. The characterisation of the main players is lacking, and there is just so much detail of what is going on in the accuseds’ minds at any given time, the reader gets bogged down. That is before we even start with the legal personnel, jargon, arguments and points of law. Not to mention the personality clashes amongst counsel, and the presiding judge’s sarcasm and superciliousness.
It is all just too much, and I found it completely indigestible. There is no lightness anywhere, at any time, so it is not an enjoyable read in any way. Normally I enjoy legal thrillers, and have read quite a few.
I really think a judicious edit or two would have been useful.
I find it hard to believe that a senior police officer would be so very incompetent. He was perhaps the only well- drawn character, he came across as a loathsome slob of a person, and described by the prosecuting counsel as ‘thick’, as well as grossly incompetent.
Having read the first 30%, I skim read to near the ending. The final “twist” was just a step too far, in my humble opinion. The narrative became beyond far fetched at that point.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.