The latest ‘civilian’ series of Traitors on the BBC ended on Friday with a good win for the two remaining Traitors, who were loyal to their pact back at the beginning. Stephen could have thrown Rachel under the bus and pocketed all the money, but he followed his moral code and they shared the win. Aah!
But it could all have been so different!
Faithful Harriet was banished just after the halfway point. She was on to them, and they knew it! She then went for Rachel at the Round Table, but her arguments although very eloquent fell at the last hurdle because she just didn’t have quite enough proof – she ended up being voted out and banished instead.
Right back at the beginning, I clocked Harriet as one to watch as she was described as a crime writer – and I recognised her instantly from her author photo on Blood Orange, her first crime novel written after some years as a practising barrister, (although she’s blonder now). It’s also a book I just happened to have on my shelves, and grabbed to read-along-a-Traitors.
As a first crime novel, it was excellent, blending domestic noir with legal thriller. After a brief but nasty prologue, we meet the protagonist of the novel, Alison, a barrister. She has just arrived back in chambers after a trial. It’s Friday and she’s looking forward to getting home to her husband and daughter Matilda later.
‘Evening, miss. The solicitor called – they’re well pleased you got that robbery kicked out.’
‘Thanks, Mark,’ I say. ‘The ID evidence was crap. I’m glad it’s done, though.’
‘Good result. Nothing for Monday, but this has come in for you.’ He gestures down to a slim pile of papers sitting on his desk, tied together with pink tape. It doesn’t look very impressive.
‘That’s great. Thank you. What is it?’
‘A murder. And you’re leading it,’ he says, handing the papers over with a wink. ‘Nice one, miss.’
Her first murder! Colleagues drag her off to the pub. She’ll only have one or two before heading home that evening, but Patrick’s there celebrating a win, and he’s talking to young lawyer Alexia. The one drink becomes two, three and more, Alison won’t be going home, she wants Patrick. Alexia scared away, Patrick takes her back to chambers where they f**k roughly on her desk. Alison knows she must end the affair. If only she didn’t get drunk and give in.
Next morning, Alison is woken up by her daughter – in chambers – she’d fallen asleep in her armchair! Husband Carl is scathing, ‘… I really hoped that this time you’d behave like a grown-up.’ What’s more, she’d managed to smash the photo of Matilda, and break her phone screen into the bargain. Carl takes the phone to get it repaired. Chastened, they take her home to Archway. That evening, they have a dinner party with a couple who are friends of Carl, Alison disgraces herself again (in Carl’s eyes) drinking too much and drunkenly trying to do karaoke after the dinner. Sunday, she has to concentrate on the new case. Tilly doesn’t get much of a look in all weekend from her adoring mother. Alison is the main bread-winner after all, while Carl works from home as a part-time therapist.
It turns out that Patrick is the instructing solicitor on the murder case – but working together is different to sleeping together – she can do it. Monday morning brings a clear head and then a meeting about a case that no-one expects her to win. A woman is found asleep on the floor next to her husband, stabbed repeatedly in bed, found by the cleaner. Madeleine claims she doesn’t remember doing it, but must have. They persuade her to plead not guilty though, and they’ll go for manslaughter. The prosecution, as expected, are playing delaying tactics on sharing evidence and papers.
Alison is keen to discover more about the relationship between Madeleine and her late husband, it soon becomes clear that it wasn’t a happy one. What about their teenaged son? Madeleine doesn’t want him involved, he was nothing to do with it, but proving toxicity and any element of coercion is difficult. She recognises that her own marriage isn’t perfect either, but she is totally devoted to her daughter and will always do her best for her, whatever happens.
I couldn’t possibly say any more – and I’ve only scratched the surface of this multi-faceted psychological drama. It was absolutely thrilling, I had a hard time putting the book down. The plot is complex with some excellent twists, skillfully shown in the writing. Alison is a wonderful character, fallible yet totally relatable, utterly professional and on the up career-wise, yet needing to rein herself in from the after hours socials! I do love a legal thriller. Tyce’s subsequent novels don’t have barrister protagonists – for this first outing, perhaps she stuck to writing about what she knew best – but I must read them all now.
Source: Own copy. Wildfire paperback, 326 pages. BUY at Amazon via my affiliate link (out of stock at Blackwell’s).
