I read the sequel to this first, without realising it was a sequel. Quite interesting reading them this way round, and entirely feasible since there were no spoilers in the second book.

Like that second book, this one features a highly improbable and somewhat convoluted murder mystery in which right-on lesbian lawyer Frankie gets herself entangled and then arrested. In between times she drinks copious quantities of Chardonnay and though she's supposed to be practicing at the Bar it doesn't seem as though she needs any practise, ha ha ha.

I could take or leave the actual plot - which hinged rather precariously on Frankie's right-on conscience, clearly more right-on than mine as I couldn't understand why she just didn't leave well alone. What I liked about the book was the sardonic humour and the insider's view of the life of a barrister, even though she doesn't do a great deal of proper work in this one. Moreover the world she inhabits - where all women are gay and all men are pigs (perhaps a tad exaggerated but that's how it comes across at times) is just skewed enough in comparison with the world I inhabit that it qualified as superb escapism. Not expecting jaw dropping storylines, but I hope there are more in this series. ( )

Mystery novel about a lesbian barrister who becomes herself a suspect in a murder case. I didn't particularly care for this book; the characters were boring (I liked the main character's friends much more than the m.c. herself), the plot unexciting, the writing uninteresting. I learned a few things about British law/the British legal system I hadn't previously known from Rumpole, though. Okay book, not stellar, not bad. Stupid title. ( )

Owing to circumstantial evidence, Frances "Frankie" Richmond, a lesbian British lawyer, stands accused of a murder she didn't commit. It all begins when she represents an old acquaintance named Saskia in court: Saskia walks, a suspicious man follows, Saskia bolts, and Frankie follows the man, who beats her up and then gets killed. After police charge her in the murder, Frankie tries to find Saskia, who seems to hold the key to it all. Frankie's lawyer friend Kay (an ex-lover), best friend Lena, and law-clerk Gavin provide welcome character subplots. Lively and imaginative, this first novel sets a cracking pace. ( )