I found The Trial, John Mayer’s first book in The Parliament House book series to be a fascinating novel and would recommend it as a thriller with a legal twist! I was hooked after reading the synopsis and liked the fact that it is set in Scotland and written by an Advocate. I was not disappointed!
This is an intriguing story which is very well written. The author clearly describes the scenes in great detail, sometimes over wordy, but certainly in a way that you feel yourself in the heart of the action in each setting.
There were a lot of twists and I found this difficult to follow at times but perseverance got me through those paragraphs and then I found myself back with the story again.
As mentioned, at times I had some difficulty following the legal terminology but this did not dampen my enthusiasm for the book. I look forward to reading more from this talented author.
I was given this book in exchange for an open and honest review.
Synopsis
An urban legal/crime novel set in the beautiful Scottish city of Edinburgh.
Part 1 of The Parliament House book series
When Glaswegian Brogan McLane completes many years of university education and legal training he crosses that great divide from Glasgow to Edinburgh. ‘Called’ to the Bar of the Scottish Supreme Court, he becomes a member of the most prestigious club in Scotland; The Faculty of Advocates in Parliament House.
When High Court Judge, Lord Aldounhill, is found dead after a transvestite party in his sumptuous home, those who know the killer close ranks and need a scapegoat – who better than ‘outsider’ Brogan McLane?
Out on bail with his career on hold, McLane and his band of blood brothers in the Calton Bar in Glasgow need to get ahead of their enemies or McLane will go down for life after Trial. But every time they discover a piece of evidence, it seems there is a mirror image to contradict it.
Through the murky world of Russian controlled transvestite hotels and with some unexpected police and judicial help, McLane battles against ‘Low Life in High Places in the Old Town’ until the killer is found.
But well protected and knowing all the tricks, will the killer ever stand trial in Parliament House
| AUTHOR | John Mayer |
| BOOK TITLE | The Trial |
| SERIES | The Parliament House Books #1 |
| PUBLISHER | John Mayer |
| DATE OF PUBLICATION | 29 January 2015 |
| PRINT LENGTH | 290 pages |
| ASIN | B00SYZRN12 |
| OBTAINED: | Author |
REVIEW PUBLISHED:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John Mayer’s Parliament House Books website
John Mayer on Twitter, GoodReads
and Amazon
John Mayer (b. 1952) was born in Glasgow, Scotland at a time of post-WW2 austerity. But in 1963 when he heard The Beatles on Radio Caroline, his life path was set. Aged 14 he walked out of school because, in his opinion, he wasn’t being well taught. Every day for the next year, in all weathers, he cycled 9 miles to and 9 miles from the Mitchell Library in central Glasgow where he devoured books of all kinds.
While still an apprentice engineer he was soon teaching men two and three times his age. But in the 1970s he ‘dived off a cliff’ and set out to become a Record Producer. He built his own record company trading in 14 countries. After a court battle with global giants, he went to the University of Edinburgh and became an Advocate in the Supreme Courts of Scotland. He acted for the downtrodden and desperate as well as Greenpeace International. His specialism was in fighting international child abduction.
As an author, John has written non-fiction, legal texts and articles; broadcasting to tens of millions of people on US and UK radio, TV and print media.
The Trial is the first novel in his Parliament House Books series. Set in Edinburgh, it’s an homage to Franz Kafka’s book of the same title. The Trial sees crusading Scottish Advocate, Brogan McLane, fight injustice casually delivered by Low Life in High Places in the Old Town.
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