William McIntyre is a Scottish lawyer who has written about 10 books in his Best Defence series featuring a defence lawyer, Robbie Munro. He also has a standalone novel and some non-fiction to his name.
It's been a long while since I read any crime fiction with a legal lawyerly slant and McIntyre's books might be a good place to start, especially as they contain elements of humour.From Fantastic Fiction
Based in Scotland and drawing on his thirty years as a criminal defence lawyer, there is a rich vein of dry-humour running through the series, which William describes as an antidote to crime fiction featuring maverick cops chasing a serial killers, emphasising that justice is not only about convicting the guilty, but also about acquitting the innocent.
The two I've managed to acquire are the seventh and eighth in his series. Ideally I would pick up the first and work my way forwards to these. Time and finances may dictate otherwise!
For reference the series opener is Relatively Guilty
Present Tense (2016)
Criminal lawyer, Robbie Munro, is back home, living with his dad and his new-found daughter. Life as a criminal lawyer isn't going well, and neither is his love life. While he's preparing to defend the accused in a rape case, it all becomes suddenly more complicated when one of his more dubious clients leaves a mysterious box for him to look after. What's in the box is going to change Robbie's life - forever.`Crime with an edge of dark humour. The Best Defence series could only come out of Scotland.'-Tommy Flanagan, Braveheart, SOA, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Good News Bad News (2017)
Life's full of good news and bad news for defence lawyer Robbie Munro. The good news is he's in work, representing Antonia Brechin on a drugs charge. The bad news is that she's the granddaughter of notorious Sheriff Brechin.Meanwhile, another of Robbie's clients, Ellen Fletcher, has won the lottery and asked Robbie to find her husband Freddy, who disappeared having swindled the evil Jake Turpie. Unfortunately, Jake's not willing to bury the hatchet - not unless it's in Freddy's head.
Robbie juggles cases and private life with his usual dexterity, but the more he tries to fix things the more trouble everyone's in.
"McIntyre's outstanding third mystery featuring Scottish defence counsel Robbie Munro perfectly blends humour and investigation...Readers will want to see a lot more of the endearing Robbie.""--Publishers Weekly *
These do sound interesting, Col. I like the Scottish context, and I always do appreciate an author who can weave wit into a story, but still keep the focus on the story itself. I'll be interested in what you think of these.
ReplyDeleteMargot I do enjoy Scottish settings and crime fiction and it has been a while since I read anything with a legal slant. I'm looking forward to McIntyre's work.
DeleteThese look fun. They look to be doorstops, though, judging by your second photo of them.
ReplyDeleteI think there's a lot to be said for skipping the early volumes of a series. I can see the disadvantages, too, but at least all the rough edges will have been smoothed after the first book or two. Well, maybe.
Approx 360 pages each in these two. Not short but hopefully not overlong. Print size is decent and not tiny.
DeleteThat's a great point and one I have never really considered.
This author is new to me and his books sound darn good. On the list he goes. Thanks, Col.
ReplyDeleteElgin, I hope you enjoy yourself if you do take the plunge.
DeleteI don't read a lot of legal mysteries and the setting in Scotland is a positive. I will keep this series in mind.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same regarding legal mysteries. This might be a good place to break that trend.
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