Before we move onto the actual review I just have to say that I am reviewing this book as part of a blog tour organised by Rachel’s Random Resources. This isn’t the first blog tour I’ve taken part in and you can check out the others by clicking here, here, here, here and here. Anyways, even though this is part of an official promotional tour, you can still expect it to be as honest, unbiased and fair as any other review on my site.
Okay next up, let me introduce you to the author real quick, The Cinderella Plan was written by Abi Silver, a lawyer and author who lives in Hertfordshire, but is originally from Yorkshire. This will be her third published book featuring Judith Burton and Constance Lamb. You can find out more about the author by checking out her site, and support the author by following her on Facebook and Twitter.
Now a quick bit about the book before we get on to the review properly, It’s called The Cinderella Plan, and as I mentioned above it’s the third installment in a series featuring a legal representatives, Judith Burton and Constance Lamb. They previously featured in The Pinocchio Brief (which was published in 2017) and The Aladdin Trial (which was published in 2018). The Cinderella Plan follows an entrepreneur who is on trial after the self driving car designed by his company crashes into a young family, he is on trial and he risks either losing his personal freedom or his company that he worked so hard for. Burton and Lamb are called in to defend him, and work our fact from fiction, and even manage to discuss issues regarding technologies impact in our lives.
Let’s hope that sounds appealing, but now on to the actual review, first off even though this is the third standalone book in the Burton and Lamb series, it’s my first time reading it, but by this point, I can already tell that the author is becoming more polished in regards to style and character. It’s also worth noting that as a Lawyer herself the author can provide a much needed realism to the proceedings, but as an author, she can also pick and choose when you digress from reality for a better story. It’s pretty much what I like about police procedurals except this more closely follows the court aspect of the crime, which is different from what I usually read but was very interesting nonetheless.
So I touched on the character above, being dropped in the middle of things in the third book in a series, standalone or otherwise, can be a little daunting but to be honest you still get a strong grasp of who the characters are. Additionally, the character of James, the defendant in the case comes across so real, you really connect with the central human conflict of this story, he’s truly stuck between a rock and a hard place and you engage with his dilemma because not only is it understandable but also it’s riveting because you can feel what he is feeling.
I also mentioned above that I don’t usually read courtroom thrillers, no particular reason why, and it’s strange as I love crime fiction in general. Perhaps because what I enjoy most is the story unravelling and being solved, whereas by the time it comes to court that should already have been wrapped up. Perhaps this is just a fallacy though, but I can say that Abi Silver’s novel has certainly opened my eyes to the appeal of a courtroom thriller, particularly one as engaging and well researched as this one. So I will be keeping my eyes peeled for more books Silver in the future, and will also be more open to reading courtroom thrillers as well.
I don’t want to spoil this book by revealing too much but honestly this is such an engaging story, it has real world applications regarding technology and self-driving cars, self-responsibility vs corporate responsibility and even ruminations on right and wrong seen through the veil of law, and defending someone who might want to go to jail, innocent or not to protect their greater legacy.
So with all that in mind I can recommend you check out this book, it’s honestly a must read and I give it a solid 5/5. You can grab the book for yourself by heading on over to Amazon.
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