‘Fascinating’ – Sunday Times

‘Masterful’ – Judith Flanders

‘A page-turning read’ – Prof. David Wilson

Totally gripping and brilliantly told, Murder: The Biography is a gruesome and utterly captivating portrait of the legal history of murder.

The stories and the people involved in the history of murder are stranger, darker and more compulsive than any crime fiction. There’s Richard Parker, the cannibalized cabin boy whose death at the hands of his hungry crewmates led the Victorian courts to decisively outlaw a defence of necessity to murder. Dr Percy Bateman, the incompetent GP whose violent disregard for his patient changed the law on manslaughter. Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England in the 1950s, played a crucial role in changes to the law around provocation in murder cases. And Archibald Kinloch, the deranged Scottish aristocrat whose fratricidal frenzy paved the way for the defence of diminished responsibility. These, and many more, are the people – victims, killers, lawyers and judges, who unwittingly shaped the history of that most grisly and storied of laws.

Join lawyer and writer Kate Morgan on a dark and macabre journey as she explores the strange stories and mysterious cases that have contributed to UK murder law. The big corporate killers; the vengeful spouses; the sloppy doctors; the abused partners; the shoddy employers; each story a crime and each crime a precedent that has contributed to the law’s dark, murky and, at times, shocking standing.

‘Another masterpiece from one of the world’s greatest crime writers’ Express
‘This is Connelly on top form … A terrific thriller’ Mail on Sunday
‘Grabs you on the very first page and doesn’t let go’ The Times

* * * * *

Heading home after winning his latest case, defense attorney Mickey Haller – The Lincoln Lawyer – is pulled over by the police. They open the trunk of his car to find the body of a former client.

Haller knows the law inside out. He will be charged with murder. He will have to build his case from behind bars. And the trial will be the trial of his life.

Because Mickey Haller will defend himself in court.

With watertight evidence stacked against him, Haller will need every trick in the book to prove he was framed.

But a not-guilty verdict isn’t enough. In order to truly walk free, Haller knows he must find the real killer – that is the law of innocence…

* * * * *

‘Pick up this gripping book at your peril, especially if you have other things to do like working or sleeping.’ Express

‘The so-called Lincoln Lawyer … turns in another dazzling courtroom performance’ New York Times Book Review

* * * * *

“The law of innocence is unwritten. It will not be found in a leather-bound code book. It will never be argued in a courtroom. In nature, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the law of innocence, for every man not guilty of a crime there is a man out there who is. And to prove true innocence the guilty man must be found and exposed to the world.“

* * * * *

CRIME DOESN’T COME BETTER THAN CONNELLY.

‘One of the very best writers working today’ Sunday Telegraph

‘The pre-eminent detective novelist of his generation’ Ian Rankin

‘A superb natural storyteller’ Lee Child

‘A master’ Stephen King

‘Crime thriller writing of the highest order’ Guardian

‘America’s greatest living crime writer’ Daily Express

‘A crime writing genius’ Independent on Sunday

‘Fascinating’ – Sunday Times

‘Masterful’ – Judith Flanders

‘A page-turning read’ – Prof. David Wilson

Totally gripping and brilliantly told, Murder: The Biography is a gruesome and utterly captivating portrait of the legal history of murder.

The stories and the people involved in the history of murder are stranger, darker and more compulsive than any crime fiction.

There’s Richard Parker, the cannibalized cabin boy whose death at the hands of his hungry crewmates led the Victorian courts to decisively outlaw a defence of necessity to murder. Dr Percy Bateman, the incompetent GP whose violent disregard for his patient changed the law on manslaughter. Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in England in the 1950s, played a crucial role in changes to the law around provocation in murder cases. And Archibald Kinloch, the deranged Scottish aristocrat whose fratricidal frenzy paved the way for the defence of diminished responsibility. These, and many more, are the people – victims, killers, lawyers and judges, who unwittingly shaped the history of that most grisly and storied of laws.

Join lawyer and writer Kate Morgan on a dark and macabre journey as she explores the strange stories and mysterious cases that have contributed to UK murder law. The big corporate killers; the vengeful spouses; the sloppy doctors; the abused partners; the shoddy employers; each story a crime and each crime a precedent that has contributed to the law’s dark, murky and, at times, shocking standing.

‘Terrific, fascinating, very funny’ Daily Mail

‘Hilarious’ Sun

‘Gripping’ Literary Review

How do we ensure that the guilty are convicted and the innocent walk free?

Shortlisted for the Crime Writers Award Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction, true crime meets humour in Defending the Guilty, a hilariously funny and eye-opening exposé of the criminal justice system.

Every day, criminal barrister Alex McBride stands up in court and attempts to save people from conviction, prison, even a lifetime behind bars. Sometimes it’s a hopeless case.

Sometimes he has the chance to right a wrong. But mostly his clients are just plain guilty.

In Defending the Guilty, McBride takes us behind the scenes of Britain’s criminal justice system. He introduces us to its extraordinary characters and arcane eccentricities, and tells astonishing stories of courtroom triumph and defeat. Whether he’s defending hapless teenagers at Harlow Youth Court or prosecuting gold bullion robbers at the Old Bailey, these hair-raising tales reveal that justice rarely operates in quite the way we expect.

‘Expert, authoritative, hilarious – an insider’s fearless account of life at the criminal bar’ Craig Raine, Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year

‘McBride details his own cock-ups and disasters with the relish of the born humorous writer. Very funny’ Daily Mail

‘Rollicks along with a good eye for detail and a neat turn of phrase’ Observer

‘Gripping, engaging, compelling. The real life of criminal barristers is expertly caught’ Literary Review

Alex McBride is a criminal barrister. He is the author of the ‘Common Law’ column in Prospect magazine, has contributed to the New Statesman and various BBC programmes, including From Our Own Correspondent and is the editor of the Famous Trials Penguin Specials series.