**Until Proven Innocent** by Nicola Williams is a gripping legal thriller that immerses readers in the turbulent world of courtroom drama and societal tensions. At its heart is Lee Mitchell, a young barrister from a working-class Caribbean background, who finds herself defending a case that challenges her morals and loyalties. The narrative is set in South London, where the shooting of a pastor's son sends shockwaves through the community, with all evidence pointing towards a corrupt police officer as the suspect.

Williams' experience as a barrister enriches the story with authenticity and depth, making the legal proceedings both compelling and realistic. The novel deftly explores themes of justice, community, and identity, with Lee's personal journey resonating deeply as she navigates her dual existence between her roots and her professional life. The characters are vividly drawn, and the plot is fast-paced and layered with emotional intensity.

The book's exploration of contemporary issues such as racism and police corruption is both timely and thought-provoking, making it not just a thrilling read but also a significant commentary on modern society. Nicola Williams has crafted a powerful narrative that stays with you long after the last page. Whether you're a fan of legal dramas or looking for a story with depth and heart, *Until Proven Innocent* is highly recommended.

Thank you Penguin and Netgalley.
Brilliant, absolutely brilliant more please I really need more now.
Thank you

I have just finished this book which I have been putting off reading for months. I can’t honestly say that I regret that decision because I found it not very engaging. The main character of Lee Mitchell is a likeable barrister who is quite high profile and makes very good money. However that doesn’t mean she can pick and choose her clients - consequently she is forced to take on a policeman who is accused of shooting an unarmed youth on the streets of London, due to something known as the ‘cab rank rule’.
The book has one and two words and phrases which highlight the fact that it was written by an author very familiar with the law. This was indeed one of the reasons I was attracted to this book. However, I feel that the story itself was kind of weak and the ending was disappointing.
Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

This is a good police procedural. The plot is weaved together very well. The pacing is very good. It is brilliantly written. The characters are well written and well developed

A brilliantly-written debut, based around the issues in police procedure and racism, with well written, authentic characters and an original plot. The tension continues to build through the plot with plenty of unexpected twists.

A cracking legal novel, where a black lawyer is forced to defend in court a presumed murderer, whom she strongly dislikes and would like to see imprisoned. A fantastic read!

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin for my free review copy
This is my first Netgalley review so not going to waste time with story summary which you can read on the previous page.
This is the second book in the series and I feel I should really have read the first book, Without Prejudice, before starting Until Proven Innocent.
There was quite a lot of reference to the previous story line and also the relationship dynamics which left gaps for me. After saying that I romped through this book and thoroughly enjoyed it.
I honestly thought that I had the ending well and truly worked out but alas no, like a sudden flash in the sky I was wrong footed.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, it will test your prejudices on many levels; whether race or just human nature so go for it but read the books in the correct order!

A gritty and authentic legal drama / police procedural. Lee Mitchell is a young successful black barrister, reluctantly defending a corrupt and racist white Met cop accused of murdering the local pastor's teenage son. A taut and terrific thriller.

General Thoughts 🤔

I won’t beat about the bush, I loved this book so so so much. There are some thrillers that I read, enjoy and then move on with my life. Then there are others that I read, enjoy and think about for days afterwards. Until Proven Innocent was one of the latter books. Not only was the story engaging and full of drama, but the characters felt extremely authentic and the subject matter was hard hitting but important. I wasn’t expecting all of this from this book so it was very much a pleasant surprise.

Characters 👫👭👬

I immediately related to Lee. Her journey from a working class black girl to a black woman who has made good in her career and life resonated with me massively. I completely understood her struggle of feeling like she no longer belonged in her community but also had no place among the middle classes she had moved into. It can be the hardest thing ever to feel like you have no “people”.

Thankfully, Lee was a very strong willed and confident woman and she was not going to let anyone talk her out of her own decisions. I could not fault her for this and admired her commitment to her job and position a lot. Personally, I don’t think she put her ethical views aside and they remained intact.

Writing Style ✍️

I loved this author’s tone and writing style and structuring. Basically everything. Nicola Williams created an environment and a community that I felt like I was absorbed into; I felt their anger and their pain. None of this book felt dramatised or exaggerated and I think that was probably as a result of Nicola Williams’ career as a lawyer and I would imagine some of her own lived experience.

I would absolutely love to see this adapted for the screen. I think it would make a fantastic drama series of film. If someone hasn’t snapped up the rights already, I’m sure it’s coming soon.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

This is my first (and very well deserved) five star rating of the month and I really needed it. I’m so happy that this book landed in my hands and I loved every single part of it. This really was British Crime Fiction at its finest and I felt the raw emotion experienced by the characters so deeply. This was a no frills, authentic and gripping legal thriller that I won’t be forgetting in a hurry and I cannot recommend it enough.

This court-room thriller was a refreshing and eye-opening change from my normal crime fiction, which tends to be written by white authors. Nicola Williams is a female Black British barrister and writes from that perspective, bringing her experiences to bear on the story. And the story itself had me gripped, a female Black British barrister being asked to defend a local white police officer accused of murdering a Black teenager. There is a lot to unpack, the background story is given space to be heard, the community involvement, the young man's story as well as the defence lawyer's own experience. It isnt an easy read but it is one that will stay with you.

This is a good read. Deals with racial tensions and class tensions after a terrible incident. Like the legal stuff too, very interesting. Worth a read.

I enjoyed this but it was really necessary to read the earlier book to understand the full situation.
Plot was a bit complicated, but well written and with good characterisation.

I love a police procedural book and recently found a liking for legal thrillers, so Until Proven Innocent perfectly fits that combination!

Lee Mitchell is a young barrister from a working-class Caribbean background: in the cut-throat environment of the courtroom, everything is stacked against her.
On her doorstep in South London the 15-year-old son of the pastor at the local Black church is shot, and the local community is shattered. All evidence is pointing to infamously corrupt, racist police officer Sergeant Jack Lambert as the irredeemable suspect.

Lee is tasked with defending Lambert, much to her dismay and the story follows the case as it proceeds. Featuring DI Wallace, we see things from various point of view to get a fully rounded experience.

A new to me author, Nicola Williams has a background in criminal law and that really shines through in this book. She has taken hard hitting issues (racism, misogyny and police bias) and written a book that delves deeper into these areas, tackling them honestly and sensitively.

This book took me a while to get into, what with the various characters being introduced, but once I sussed things out I became fully immersed! This is a deeper legal thriller than I have read before and I found that I learnt quite a lot about how the legal system works, which was rather interesting.

Until Proven Innocent is a dramatic and powerful read, with well written characters and a tense, emotive plot. Definitely worth a read and a new author for me to look out for in the future!

An intriguing read throughout. Racist rears its ugly head in this investigation and courtroom thriller. for the attempted murder of a 15 Yr old boy. The man accused is Detective Jack Lambert. He demands lawyer Leanne Mitchell to represent him.. A powerful read .

I love a courtroom drama with lots of tension and this was just the ticket. There were many twists a long the way. Lee Mitchell was a really feisty character. I loved the plot and the pace was good. Recommend if you enjoy legal dramas.

Lee Mitchell is a talented young barrister whose mum was born in the Caribbean and moved to London years ago. She still lives in the same house where Lee was born. Lee does some volunteering at the Ricketts Road Community Law Centre one night each month.

Jack Lambert is a cop with twenty five years experience in the job and he’s been a sergeant for five years. It’s a cold rainy night when he is following one of his informants along the street and he finally catches up with him. When he does, he searches him and finds a gun in one of his pockets so Jack says, ‘You don’t need that. I’ll take it for safekeeping.’ Then he put the gun in his pocket. He carried on his way to the church and knocked on the back door to attract Eloise Matthew’s attention. When she answered the door, he asked her for money or else he would make sure her boy Tony would go back to jail but she stood her ground and refused to pay him. He then threatened her further with her other secret but she refused profusely to pay him so in the end he left empty handed but threatened to be back soon.

A little bit later, a passerby found someone slumped in an alleyway with a gunshot wound to the head. There was a mobile phone and a bus pass on the ground near them. The passerby called the police. When the police turned up, there was blood all over the floor. From the bus pass, they got the name of the person who had been shot, Paul Matthews. DCI Danny Wallace knew Revend Matthews so went round to break the news personally and took the parents to the hospital.

When the police found the gun, there was a print on there that matched Sergeant Lambert's so he got arrested for attempted murder. He said he wanted his brief to be Lee Mitchell at all costs and he got Duncan Connolly as his solicitor. The hard part was persuading Lee Mitchell to take the case……

Was Sergeant Lambert guilty of shooting Paul Matthew? Did they manage to get Lee Mitchell to handle the case?

This book was a fantastic read. It was great to read about the crime and then the courtroom battle afterwards all in the same book. I like Lee Mitchell as she is a feisty character, she has her values but has to go against them sometimes which isn’t her and that comes out in this book, upsetting lots of people including her family. The author has taken a brilliant plot and written it really well, using both crime and courtroom. Will look out for more from this author.

CRACKING court room drama, full of intrigue and twists. It's also a compelling commentary on systemic racism. Loved this one!

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing book

a court room drama
racism
police

a young man is shot in the head
a policeman is arrested for the attempted murder

wow this book is an eye opener from racist police to racism in everyday life but its the court room drama that held my attention

there are a load of characters to get your head around but the actual storyline is gripping in a disturbing way

cant wait to read more from this author

I never repeat the blurb. This was quite a slow burn to start with, and none of the characters were particularly likeable. However, it picked up pace but I was still slightly indifferent by the end.

I really, really wanted to enjoy this but, alas, I didn't.

I usually enjoy a meaty, courtroom drama .. the build up, the backstory, the tension of a court case but Until Proven Innocent was quite a lot of waffle, with too many characters which caused me to become confused about who was who and, in the end, I just didn't care and I can't even remember what happened, why and who to.

Now, I am only one of loads of people who have read this and there are many 5* and positive reviews out there so if you like the sound of this, give it a go ... it might just be one for you but, unfortunately, not for me.

Thanks to Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of Until Proven Innocent.