Published by HarperCollins UK
Publication Date: 15th May 2018
Genre: Legal Thrillers
Book Description:
Set in the Inns of Court in London, where justice and corruption go hand in hand. J L Butler’s taut, gripping legal drama brims with suspense and obsession, and only you can solve the case…
Fatal Attraction meets Apple Tree Yard. This debut novel will be your new obsession.
Francine Day is a high-flying lawyer about to apply for silk, ambitious and brilliant. She just needs one headline grabbing client to seal her place as Queen's Counsel … Martin Joy. The attraction is instant. Obsessive.
They embark on a secret affair and Francine thinks she can hold it together. But then Martin's wife, Donna, goes missing. And Martin is the prime suspect.
As the case unravels so does Francine, because the last person to see Donna Joy alive, was her.
My client. My lover. My husband. My obsession.
My Thoughts:
Professional people: lawyers, bankers, doctors and the like. We never really think about the person behind the job, do we? JL Butler takes us behind the doors of Chambers, into the world of a barrister who has worked hard to get a good reputation in order to be considered for her dream job of Queen's Counsel. So when the prestigious banker Martin Joy requests that she represents him in his divorce case she is keen to accept the high profile case. It can only help get her noticed. But when Martin's soon to be ex wife Donna disappears, the headlines are hardly the ones Francine had hoped for when she signed up with him.
Francine and Martin quickly grow very close to one another, crossing professional boundaries which are there for a reason. Some people are quick to judge and others can see an opportunity to exploit what they think they know about the couple. Francine knows that this could bring her whole world crashing down but common sense seems to have left the building when she took on this case.
There are a really nice selection of characters in this book. The genuinely good through and through people who you would want on your side - the few that Fran has filtered into her life over years of building up her career and allowed into her personal life. Then there are the new, less attractive ones who have crashed onto her radar whether she wants them there or not. What are their intentions? She doesn't know them well enough to understand whether they have her best interests at heart or their own. We build a picture of the mess Fran's life has become and come to understand why she may have ended up where she is, with detectives on her tail and her oldest friends asking her to step away from them for a while.
I very much enjoyed this book as I genuinely had no idea whether Martin Joy was guilty in assisting with his wife's disappearance or whether she was the epitome of the trophy wife who was trying to manipulate her way into a bigger divorce settlement. The suspense continues right through to the final chapter and not all the loose ends are tied up by the final page. I don't usually like an ending which isn't completely tidy but in this case it kind of suits the overall story.
My thanks to the publisher for initially approving my request on NetGalley however I did actually end up purchasing the book in its final form and this is what my review is based upon.
About the Author:
JL Butler is the pseudonym for the Sunday Times bestselling author Tasmina Perry. Her debut thriller Mine has been optioned by Sony Pictures and is in development with Original Film.
She is a former lawyer and magazine editor and lives in London with her husband, son and too many shoes. For further information on Tasmina Perry or JL Butler visit her website www.tasminaperry.com or follow her on Instagram @tasminaperry @jlbutlerauthor
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