"Fatal Proof" by John Fairfax

Barrister William Benson has an unusual defendant in a murder trial. Karmen Naylor is the daughter of Tony Naylor, the leader of one of London’s two crime families. Karmen appears to be the exception – she left home early, made her way to university, and stayed away from London. She only returned to care for her father after he suffered a stroke. She’s charged with the murder of one her father’s top lieutenants. 

Of course, Benson himself is unusual, especially for a barrister. He served 11 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, studied law, and determined that he would become a criminal defense attorney. He has a string of legal victories over some of London’s top prosecutors. The prosecutors, and sometimes the judges, hate Benson and believe he was guilty. His assisting attorney is Tess De Vere, who hails from one of London’s top legal firms. She’s a top-notch investigator, more than attracted to Benson, and struggling with her own demons from the past.

 

The case against Karmen Naylor is largely circumstantial, complicated by the fact that the victim’s body has never been found. Investigators found his blood, and a lot of it, at the office where he worked. Traces of his blood were found in Naylor’s car and her boat. But the case is becoming more complex. More evidence unfolds. More witnesses emerge. And Benson is warned that if his client walks free, Benson and his associates won’t live to enjoy the victory. 

 

John Fairfax, aka William Broderick

Fatal Proof is the fourth William Benson novel by British author John Fairfax. Like its predecessors, it’s finely written, a gripping story that grabs you by the throat. Fairfax throws so many curves at his legal heroes that you wonder how they’re going to overcome them. But Benson’s prison time, extraordinary mind, and knowledge of the law will see the story through. More problematic is his relationship with De Vere, which is full of its own seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

 

John Fairfax is the pen name for British writer William Brodrick, the author of the Father Anselm mysteries. Under the Fairfax name, he’s also published Blind Defence and Forced Confessions. Brodrick was a friar in the Augustine order before he became a barrister and a writer. The Father Anselm mystery A Whispered Name won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award in 2009, and Forced Confessions was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Award in 2020. Brodrick lives in France. 

 

Fatal Proof and the other William Benson novels, like the Father Anselm stories, are among the very best mystery and legal thriller novels being written today. Fairfax / Brodrick has a gift, and I’m glad he’s sharing it with his readers.

 

Related:

 

Forced Confessions by John Fairfax.

 

Blind Defence by John Fairfax.

 

Summary Justice by John Fairfax.

 

My review of The Day of the Lie by William Brodrick.

 

My review of Brodrick’s The 6^th Lamentation.

 

My review of The Gardens of the Dead by William Brodrick.

 

My review of A Whispered Name by William Brodrick.

 

My review of The Discourtesy of Death by William Brodrick.

 

My review of The Silent Ones by William Brodrick.

 

Some Monday Readings

 

Ten of the Most Important Battle Sites in the United States – Aaron Spray at The Travel.

 

Hitting the Road with Gettysburg – Elliott Drago at Jack Miller Center.

 

One Island in Time – Jeffrey Bilbro at Current Magazine reviews A History of the Island by Eugene Vodolazkin, as does J.C. Scharl at The European Conservative.

 

AI Is a Lot of Work – Josh Dzieza at The Verge.

"Forced Confessions" by John Fairfax

Sometimes you read a mystery novel and are dazzled. Sometimes you read one. and you don’t think you’ll ever be able to look at mystery novels the same again. And sometimes you read a mystery and think this isn’t a mystery, this is a literary work. 

Forced Confessions is the third Will Benson courtroom thriller by John Fairfax. It dazzles, it surpasses most mysteries written today, and it qualified as a literary effort. To read it is to open a literary kachina doll, with mysteries inside mysteries, crimes within crimes, and stories inside stories. And at the end, the reader is left with the realization that evidence does not equal truth, and the law is administered very imperfectly indeed.

 

Will Benson is the barrister who is a convicted murderer. He served 11 years in prison. To be able to have even a very small chance of practicing law, he had to confess to the crime he was accused of. Through two sensational cases, he has gained a fame, and notoriety, that many attorneys might envy. The London legal profession hates him; the current Cabinet Minister for Justice wants to destroy him. 

 

He’s defending a husband and wife in a case in which the husband is accused of killing a Spanish doctor who was having an affair with the wife. The wife is charged as an accessory. Her best friend will testify against them both. There was motive and opportunity, and the husband was seen leaving the crime scene shortly after the victim’s body was found.

 

John Fairfax, aka William Brodrick

Benson is having something of an existential crisis; his mentor, the woman attorney who guided him and encouraged him (and defended him in his own trial) is dying of cancer. His father and brother believe he was guilty of the murder he was convicted of. And his associate Tess de Vere has ignored Benson’s plea and has been investigating the murder he was accused of. And the stories and crimes begin to swirl together and inside each other. Nothing, including the murder 11 years before, is what it seems to be.

 

The result is one outstanding story.

 

John Fairfax is the pen name for British writer William Brodrick, the author of the Father Anselm mysteries. Under the Fairfax name, he’s also published Blind Defence and Forced Confessions. Brodrick was a friar in the Augustine order before he became a barrister and a writer. The Father Anselm mystery A Whispered Name won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award in 2009, and Forced Confessions was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Award in 2020.. Brodrick lives in France. 

 

Forced Confessions is a stunning read, one of the best mysteries I’ve read. Ever.

 

Related:

 

Blind Defence by John Fairfax.

 

Summary Justice by John Fairfax.

 

My review of The Day of the Lie by William Brodrick.

 

My review of Brodrick’s The 6^th Lamentation.

 

My review of The Gardens of the Dead by William Brodrick.

 

My review of A Whispered Name by William Brodrick.

 

My review of The Discourtesy of Death by William Brodrick.

 

My review of The Silent Ones by William Brodrick.

"Blind Defence" by John Fairfax

Barrister Will Benson is defending a particularly obnoxious client accused of murder. The client is a borderline small-time hoodlum, prone to use his fists, once accused of beating a policeman senseless but inexplicably released and not brought to trial. He’s now accused of killing the young woman he’d lived with for years. She was found hanging by her neck, a blood orange jammed into her mouth. 

Benson has his own deep issues to deal with. Convicted for a murder he said he didn’t commit, and serving 11 years of his sentence, he changed his plea and obtained an early release – and promptly became a barrister, causing no end of consternation in London’s legal and political establishment. An anonymous benefactor has backed him, providing him with funds to obtain his license, set up his practice, and even buy a houseboat, where he lives on one of London’s canals. Benson himself doesn’t know who the benefactor is. 

 

He’s already had one spectacular jury trial, defending someone everyone thought was guilty (Summary Justice). In this current case, even the DNA evidence says his client committed the murder, not to mention motive, opportunity, and how many times the client has lied to police. Benson has to raise the idea of the victim being a possible suicide, at least sufficient to raise a reasonable doubt. 

 

John Fairfax, aka William Brodrick

With the help of his legal solicitor Tess De Vere and his loyal office staff, Benson soon finds himself embroiled in a case with roots in organized crime, police corruption, and his own old demons from prison. And the Cabinet-level minister of Justice is pulling out the stops to destroy him, and Benson doesn’t even know it.

 

Blind Defence (British spelling) by John Fairfax is the second of the Will Benson legal thrillers, It is so engrossing that the reader finds himself on the edge of his seat, holding his breath as he wonders what will happen next. It’s a story in which nothing is ever what it seems to be, with an defending attorney whose fight for his clients is saturated with his own guilt and innocence.

 

John Fairfax is the pen name for British writer William Brodrick, the author of the Father Anselm mysteries. Under the Fairfax name, he’s also published Summary Justice and Forced Confessions. Brodrick was a friar in the Augustine order before he became a barrister and a writer. The Father Anselm mystery A Whispered Name won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award in 2009. Brodrick lives in France. 

 

With Blind Defence, Fairfax has produced a story in which the supposed upholders of law and justice often compromise themselves, villains can emerge from the dark at a moment’s notice, and the ghosts of past crimes return to haunt the living. Including the barrister.

"Summary Justice" by John Fairfax

William Benson is not your typical British barrister. In his early 30s, he has a philosophy degree. He comes from a family of fishermen. Never married, he lives by himself with a cat on a houseboat on one of London’s canals. He’s also a convicted murderer. 

Summary Justice by John Fairfax is the first in the William Benson legal thriller mysteries, and it keeps the reader wide-eyed at how all of this happened, the murder case Benson’s defending, how he’s managed to practice law after serving 11 years of a life sentence in prison, and how he’s managing to continue working despite the opposition of the legal establishment, a leading member of Parliament, and the family of his alleged victim, who are not above acts of petty harassment, vandalism, and even physical attacks. 

 

The case Benson is the defending attorney for involves the murder of the owner of a transport company. A woman working for the company is accused of the murder, and it looks like an airtight case. Her DNA was even found on the murder weapon, a broken bottle of beer. She had motive, opportunity, and was seen at the scene of crime. The evidence seems seriously stacked against her. 

 

John Fairfax, aka William Brodrick

What Benson sees, however, is the similarities to his own murder trial, and a successful defense may help vindicate his own experience, at least in his own mind. How the author weaves the past and the present together is one of the hallmarks of this first-rate mystery novel. And he adds to the narrative blend with Tess De Vere, the woman solicitor who is working with Benson. De Vere is a member of one of London’s most reputable legal chambers, and she faces intense opposition to her work with Benson. She’s also learning that Benson isn’t what she first thinks he is.

 

John Fairfax is the pen name for British writer William Brodrick, the author of the Father Anselm mysteries. Under the Fairfax name, he’s also published Blind Defence and Forced Confessions. Brodrick was a friar in the Augustine order before he became a barrister and a writer. The Father Anselm mystery A Whispered Name won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger Award in 2009. Brodrick lives in France. 

 

Summary Justice becomes one of those books that is difficult to put down – until it becomes impossible to put down. Fairfax/Brodrick had a different sleuth altogether in his previous novels – a former lawyer who became a monk. In this series, he has a different kind of monk – a convicted murderer. It’s a crackerjack story.

 

Related:

 

My review of The Day of the Lie by William Brodrick.

 

My review of Brodrick’s The 6^th Lamentation.

 

My review of The Gardens of the Dead by William Brodrick.

 

My review of A Whispered Name by William Brodrick.

 

My review of The Discourtesy of Death by William Brodrick.

 

My review of The Silent Ones by William Brodrick.