The Courageous Witness

A rising star at The Bar, barrister, Amanda Buckingham is persuaded by the Head of Hartington Chambers to take on a case that she instinctively would have preferred not to. The defence counsel, as the Trial neared its denouement, had surely done enough to cast sufficient doubt in the minds of the jury. Amanda was hurtling towards a career defining loss. There was something though that Amanda just couldn’t reconcile – something she had forgotten in the evidence that had been put before the Court which had re-opened memories of her own traumatic past. To turn an acquittal into a conviction Amanda needed to delve deep into her own personal nightmare as well as finding the key evidence before it was too late for her and Sarah.

This is the seventh volume in the Novella Nostalgia Series, which links cinema classics with modern stories, it is the second in the series to be written by Oliver Richbell. His last one 'Gloriana' is a very topical read, which I enjoyed, however I found this one to be more to my liking. The protagonist, Amanda Buckingham first appeared very briefly in 'Twelve Troubled Jurors' so I was delighted to discover her character has been developed into one of the main characters for 'The Courageous Witness'. I think we may well hear more of this character in forthcoming publications, as the back of this novella includes a potted life history of Amanda Buckingham. Is she I wonder going to feature in the author's forthcoming novel? We will just have to wait and see, I personally hope so because as much as I am happy to read and review this series I much prefer to have longer stories to immerse myself in. In my opinion ' The Courageous Witness' is a well written and engrossing legal novella which I devoured in one evening. An office party goes terribly wrong, leaving the female protagonist Sara accusing her colleagues of rape! For those looking for quick reads, then I certainly recommend not just this title but the entire series, Novella Nostalgia is certainly a name to look out for as more titles are added to the collection.