PROLOGUE

by Judge Rinder

This book is the closest one can get to the authentic first hand action of a judge’s chambers without having to qualify (perhaps the main reason I love it). The dry wit of Walden and the richly drawn characters, especially his – often frustrating – colleagues, set against the interference of the civil service, make it feel incredibly contemporary.

I don’t especially like comparisons, but working in TV, I am often asked to describe a book or a programme. Walden defies description. It’s like Rumpole meets Agatha Christie, with a bit of Judge John Deed thrown in – only with none of the absurdity. It could only have been written by someone with years of first hand experience, an acute sense of irony, and an ability to listen and absorb facts and convey them to a jury (or reader) with the type of effortless mastery of detail that only the great advocates possess.

Peter Murphy gives the reader an insight into the hidden – often mundane – world of the court with its eccentricities and often amusing banalities, and never forgets that at the heart of any case (and good book) is the story. The mystery is so utterly absorbing: I found myself walking into a train door. I don’t want to give too much away, but Walden is impossible to put down. As soon as you’ve finished, I challenge you not to order the rest in the series immediately.