Saturday 2 January 2016

FACTUAL REVIEW: Richard III: A Ruler and his Reputation - David Horspool

Release Date: 22/10/15
Publisher:  Bloomsbury

SYNOPSIS:

I'm not a typical lawyer. I don't maintain a pretty office filled with mahogany and leather. I don't belong to a big firm, prestigious or otherwise. I don't do good works through the bar association. I'm a lone gunman, a rogue who fights bad systems and hates injustice . . .

Sebastian Rudd takes the cases no one else wants to take: the drug-addled punk accused of murdering two little girls; a crime lord on death row; a homeowner who shot at a SWAT team.

Rudd believes that every person accused of a crime is entitled to a fair trial - even if he has to cheat to get one. He antagonises people from both sides of the law: his last office was firebombed, either by drug dealers or cops. He doesn't know or care which.

But things are about to get even more complicated for Sebastian. Arch Swanger is the prime suspect in the abduction and presumed murder of 21-year-old Jiliana Kemp, the daughter of the assistant chief of police. When Swanger asks Sebastian to represent him, he lets Sebastian in on a terrible secret . . . one that will threaten everything Sebastian holds dear.

Gritty, witty, and impossible to put down, Rogue Lawyer is the master of the legal thriller at his very best.


REVIEW:

A British King that I’ve always wondered about as whilst I know the supposed history attached to him, a lot of what I know was propaganda at the time, emphasised by those who took over the realm as well as accepted by writers like Shakespeare as he didn’t want to upset the royal personage of the day who was related to Henry VII.

The book is one of discovery, both for the author and the reader with the former doing a lot of digging to try and flesh out the Kings life. Its well written, brings the time into focus for the reader and helps them paint a picture of their own about the crippled king in their own right. Whilst it will always be subject to conjecture as to who killed the princes in the tower, many including the author allude to Richard’s knowledge of the act, however personally I’m more a believer in it being Margaret Beaufort (as it set her son Henry VII in a solid position for Kingship.)

All round it’s a well written book and one that I got quite a lot from making David an author I’ll be keeping an eye on for future outings. Magic.


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