#Blogtour To Become an Outlaw by Peter Murphy

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour To Become an Outlaw by Peter Murphy.

'When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw' - Nelson Mandela

About the Author

Peter Murphy graduated from Cambridge University and spent a career in the law, as an advocate, teacher, and judge. He has worked both in England and the United States, and served for several years as counsel at the Yugoslavian War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. As well as Verbal, the seventh book in the Ben Schroeder series, he has written two political thrillers about the US presidency, Removal and Test of Resolve. His latest series, featuring Judge Walden, returned in 2019 with a fresh series of cases. He lives in Cambridgeshire.

About the book

1964, Apartheid South Africa. Danie du Plessis, the son of a conservative Afrikaner family, is poised to start a glittering legal academic career at one of South Africa's leading universities, when he falls in love with a student, Amy Coetzee. But there's a problem: he's white, she's not. Facing arrest, imprisonment and ruin, the couple flee South Africa, and settle in Cambridge, where friends find them positions at the University. They marry and have two children, and have seemingly put the past, and South Africa, behind them. But in 1968 Art Pienaar enters their lives, and, insisting that they have a duty to fight back, enlists their help in increasingly dangerous schemes to undermine the South African regime.

When Pienaar and a notorious drug dealer, Vince Cummings, are found murdered together, Danie's activities come to light, and he and his family find themselves in mortal danger. Danie is also threatened with criminal prosecution on behalf of a government desperate to maintain good relations with the apartheid regime. Danie knows he's sailed close to the wind. But has he become an outlaw? Can Ben Schroeder persuade a jury that the answer is no?

Review

I think this is an interesting one, and slightly different for this particular author. It wades into a complex political and human rights issue, that has faded into the chests of history a little. I can remember the global pressure and outcry to demand an end to apartheid. Of course that is what people tend to remember and not the many years of oppression, the victims of the segregation laws, and certainly not the nameless people fighting against the oppressive system.

In this eighth book in the Ben Schroeder series a question arise of what exactly constitutes an outlaw, a criminal - an enemy of the state. Aside from the minutiae details of the actual legal case, there is a bigger discussion about whether the people who fight against the rule of law of a country or state are indeed outlaws if the rule of law or the government/dictator in charge are guilty of the crime of oppression, human rights offences or any crime considered an atrocity to the greater world. 

The word domestic terrorist, activist, rebel and outlaw take on a completely different meaning when the opponent is cruel hatemonger. It's neither a lack or white answer - it all depends on each variable. It's an interesting legal crime read, which is fleshed out by the story that is very much the bigger picture in this premise.

Buy To Become an Outlaw at Amazon Uk . Publisher: No Exit Press; Published 21 April 2022 - Paperback - £9.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at No Exit Press.

#BlogTour A Statue for Jacob by Peter Murphy

 It's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour A Statue for Jacob by Peter Murphy.

About the Author

Peter Murphy graduated from Cambridge University and spent a career in the law, as an advocate, teacher, and judge. He has worked both in England and the United States, and served for several years as counsel at the Yugoslavian War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. 

He has written nine novels: two political thrillers about the US presidency, Removal and Test of Resolve; seven historical/legal thrillers featuring Ben Schroeder, A Higher Duty, A Matter for the Jury, And Is There Honey Still for Tea?, The Heirs of Owain Glyndwr, Calling Down the Storm, One Law for the Rest of Us and Verbal. He is also the author of three Judge Walden of Bermondsey collections of short stories. He lives in Cambridgeshire. 

Follow on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit petermurphyauthor.co.uk,

About the book

'This debt was not contracted as the price of bread or wine or arms. It was the price of liberty'  -Alexander Hamilton

Kiah Harmon, a young Virginia lawyer, is just emerging from the most traumatic time of her life when actress Samantha ('Sam') van Eyck walks into her office, unannounced, with the case of a lifetime. She asks Kiah to recover a 200-year-old debt from the US Government - a debt that Alexander Hamilton may have acknowledged. 

The selfless generosity of Sam's ancestor, Jacob Van Eyck, in making a massive loan of gold and supplies at Valley Forge, during the freezing winter of 1777-1778, may well have saved George Washington's army, and the War of Independence, from disaster. But it reduced Jacob to ruin. Despite the government's promises, the debt was never repaid, and this hero of the American Revolution died in poverty, unknown and unrecognised. Two hundred years later, Sam and Kiah embark on a quest to change that. But first, they will have to find the evidence, and overcome a stubborn Government determined to frustrate their every move. Will there ever be a statue for Jacob?

Review

In good faith and in pursuit of liberty. If Jacob made the same gesture in the 21st century and it made the difference in a battle of unprecedented importance for the country of America, well the family would sue and the majority of the country would support them in their decision.

Sam walks into Kiah's office  with the case of a lifetime - trying to recover a debt from the US government, a debt they made 200 years ago. To also gain recognition for the selfless act of a patriot who possibly helped to determine the outcome of the American War of Independence.

From a fictional perspective it's a great homage to a man who appears to have been forgotten when it comes to the narration of history. From a factual perspective Judge James Turner made the wrong ruling. Jacob's story and the subsequent case is not so dissimilar to descendants of victims trying to regain possession of property stolen in wartime and as such should be given a specific dispensation when it comes to the statute of limitation.

Murphy does an excellent job of bringing this hidden, forgotten and quite important injustice to light in this fictional story. The core element of the Jacob's tale is turned into a riveting historical fiction read, which is simultaneously also a legal thriller and a story about a family fighting for justice for their ancestor.

Buy A Statue for Jacob at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Oldcastle Books pub date 5 July 2021. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Verbal by Peter Murphy

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Verbal by Peter Murphy.

About the Author 
Peter Murphy graduated from Cambridge University and spent a career in the law, as an advocate, teacher, and judge. He has worked both in England and the U.S., and served for several years as counsel at the Yugoslavian War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. He is the author of six historical/legal thrillers featuring Ben Schroeder, including A Matter for the Jury and And Is there Honey Still for Tea? The Heirs of Owain Glyndwr, Calling Down the Storm and One Law for the Rest of Us. He is also the author of the Walden of Bermondsey series. He lives in Cambridgeshire.

Follow on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit petermurphyauthor.co.uk, Buy Verbal

About the book
A clever, accomplished Cambridge graduate with a good job and an attentive lover, Imogen Lester seems to have the world at her feet. But when her parents are murdered abroad while working for the Diplomatic Service, she is suddenly thrown headlong into a murky world of espionage and organised crime.

When she is charged with drug trafficking, even Ben Schroeder’s skills may not be enough to save her – unless a shadowy figure from Ben’s past can survive long enough to unmask a web of graft and corruption…

Review
The world seems cruel enough when Imogen learns of the tragic brutal death of her parents in a foreign country. It appears as if they were in the middle of something politically complex and yet when Imogen returns to London and her world is turned upside down she realises there is so much more at stake than simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's a legal thriller with elements of spydom, politics and police procedural. It's a fast paced read that takes the reader in the direction of one thing and wanders slowly into a dark layer of corruption.

I recommend reading the Author's Notes at the end of this story. It gives an interesting insight into the plot and the historical factual basis some of the story is based on.

When you read urban crime and police procedurals that take place in a certain timeframe there is most definitely a line drawn in the sand when it comes to corruption and reputation of the police. Mentioned under the almost amusing catch phrases of tough policing, turning a blind eye and a sense of fear that stemmed from knowing lawlesss often included the very men who were meant to uphold the law - it defined the way policing was perceived.

What worth does a system have when the people in charge are as corrupt as the criminals they are supposed to be apprehending? How much respect can they expect when everyone knows it isn't the truth or justice that counts, instead it is all about profit, greed and hiding the uncomfortable truth. You turn a blind eye for one thing and before you know it is worth your while to turn a blind eye to everything.

Murphy brings that element of the Flying Squad and their notorious corrupt ways, although they themselves would say they did enough good to balance out the occasional black mark. Easy enough to live by when you aren't the person who has to suffer from the corruption.

Kudos to Murphy for a great read and for the really well explained political and cultural landscape of former Yugoslavia.

Buy Verbal at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: No Exit Press; pub date 25 Jun. 2020. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at No Exit Press.

Read my review of Walden of Bermondsey by Peter Murphy.

Walden of Bermondsey by Peter Murphy

Think Judge Deed, with less moral constipation, with a flair of Kavanaugh QC and a smidgen of Rumpole of the Bailey. Walden of Bermondsey is the legal procedural equivalent of a cosy mystery.

I was highly amused by the way Charlie Walden kept referring to his wife as the Reverend. Their relationship is well-balanced, and she is the Tuppence to his Tommy. His hands are bound when he learns facts which could influence the outcome of a case he is presiding over, however legally he is not in a position to act upon the information.

His wife, the Reverend, seems to think she remembers the name of one of the men involved in the case Walden is concerned about. She stumbles upon something that could blow the whole case apart.

Murphy gives the reader fascinating insight into the UK legal system, combining facts with his fictional story to create a pleasurable read. He balances the legal case with a little mystery and a room full of cantankerous colleagues, who all have their very own personal input when it comes to legal cases.

Murphy is definitely an author I would recommend to readers who like Robert Thorogood or G.K. Chesterton. Readers who enjoy the more comfy read, as opposed to the crime read filled with gratuitous violence.

Buy Walden of Bermondsey at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

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