This book intrigued me on a number of levels:
- a new author from my home city
- an author, now retired, from being a lawyer/partner in a large law firm (as am I)
- a crime novel (I do like a crime novel!)
- a setting in my home city and indeed, for much of the novel (very much obviously) the very building in which I (and the author, in a different firm) had their offices at the relevant time.

The novel was fun for many of those reasons. The more pleasant characters were realistic; the less pleasant were much less so, and in some cases mere caricatures of your wildest imaginations.

The crime itself is reasonably well plotted, with many suspects, mostly believable. And the denouement, well done.

And if the novel stopped there, it would have been enough, if not bordering on very good. But Jenkins had to throw in every negative trope you could imagine about lawyers, big law, large partnerships, unpleasant and unreasonable clients etc. Some, but not all, of this was necessary for the plot. But the balance was not in any way.

And if Jenkins needs those themes in order to build a plot in her next excursion(s), it will become a little repetitive.

From that perspective, I am interested to see where Jenkins goes next, as her writing (despite the above) is crisp and moves things along.

In the interim, if you are in the law game in Brisbane and want to play 'I spy' for a laugh, you probably cannot at the moment go past this book. And if you are one of those, don't overlook the who's who in Jenkins' Acknowledgments.

Big Ship

2 August 2023 ( )

“‘If every prick in or near a law firm was a target for murder, there would be a blood bath, ….Ours is a profession known for attracting greedy, manipulative people. But they seem to stay alive. Regrettably, in some cases.’”

How To Kill a Client is an engaging debut mystery novel from Joanna Jenkins.

As a new partner in the Brisbane law firm at Howard Greene, Viv is worried when talk of lay offs begin. The only woman in the Brisbane office she feels particularly vulnerable, though a good relationship with the company’s biggest client offers her some protection, until Minerallic hire a new head for their legal department. Gavin Jones has no intention of working with a woman and, though Viv believes she has has the support of her boss, she finds herself slowly being sidelined. When Gavin, just thirty-nine, collapses at home, his sudden death raises suspicion. Viv seems an obvious suspect, but it soon becomes clear that she was just one among many who wished him dead.

Unfolding primarily from the perspectives of Viv; a visiting senior partner from Sydney, Ruth; and Gavin Jones’ wife, Anne, Jenkins exposes a corporate culture rife with corruption, manipulation, betrayal, and misogyny.

Viv panics as her career comes under threat. In an effort to save herself she befriends Gavin’s wife, Anne.

Anne is all too aware that Viv’s goal to get Gavin onside is futile. Her husband is a controlling, abusive, misogynist who has only contempt for women, both professionally and personally. She desperately wants to leave him but she is terrified of the consequences for herself, and their two daughters.

Ruth is troubled by the behaviour she sees in the Brisbane firm. It’s obvious to her from the first staff meeting that the firm’s manager, Philip, has an agenda. After Gavin’s death, with the police nosing around, Ruth starts her own investigation, eventually uncovering a slew of nefarious deeds, and the killer.

I hope that Jenkins, herself a retired lawyer, is exaggerating the culture of corporate law by quite a margin because it’s sounds pretty awful, especially if you are a woman, though I suspect that men like Philip and Gavin are all too common in the profession that still venerates the ‘old boys’ network.

There isn’t a lot of tension in the story, so the author relies on the intrigue of the murder to maintain interest. The mystery is well plotted, and with plenty of suspects in the frame I didn’t solve it before the reveal. I thought the pacing was a little slow overall though, and odd that the murder occurs so late in the book.

However, with its somewhat unique setting and interesting characters, I enjoyed How To Kill a Client. ( )