Force of Evil
A seemingly simple case leads Charles to a shocking discovery…
London, 1965
After a series of successful cases, Charles Holborne’s reputation is on the rise.
He is asked to work pro bono to represent a widow in a recent accidental death case.
The deceased was a Sergeant Maynard, an RAF policeman who worked at the Cardington base in Bedfordshire.
It seems his death was the result of a tragic motorcycle collision, but Mrs Maynard insists her husband was murdered.
Though sceptical at first, Charles soon realises she could be right.
And as he delves further, he realises that the RAF base could be the centre of a much bigger criminal undertaking…
As rifts in the corrupt Metropolitan Police are revealed, and the threats to Charles and those he loves escalate, he begins to wonder — has he finally bitten off more than he can chew?
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Simon Michael
Simon Michael, often referred to as “the British John Grisham”, is a barrister (trial attorney) and the author of the best-selling Charles Holborne Legal Thrillers.
The books are set primarily in London in the 1960s and 1970s, a period of huge social change, and they explore loyalty and prejudice and what happens when justice collides with a corrupt Establishment. They’re historical and legal crime novels, but they’re also about memory, moral compromise, and the long shadow history casts over the present.
At their centre is barrister Charles Holborne, born Charlie Horowitz, a former East End boxer and occasional criminal who is drawn into cases shaped by gangs, organised crime, political interference and institutional corruption.
Moving between London’s courtrooms and the criminal underworld, the novels explore the tension between professional ambition and personal integrity, and the fragile line between justice and expediency. The series does not shy away from the class tensions and prejudices embedded within the legal profession of the time, including the racist, antisemitic and classist attitudes faced by those entering the Bar in the middle of the last century, echoes of which still resonate today.
Combining legal authenticity with gritty urban realism, the series uses crime as a lens to examine how power operates within institutions, who the law ultimately serves, and what it costs to pursue truth when the system itself is under pressure.
Charles Holborne Legal Thrillers
Charles Holborne Legal Thrillers consists of eleven books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
