Ugh I'm sorry, I really wanted to love it as I had seen the stage version and thought it was amazing. This felt a bit too much like trying to capture what made the play so special and failing. Sorry sorry!

I watched the play with Jodie Comer on National Theatre Live last year. She was spectacular in it and the story is really thought provoking and stuck with me. When I read the ARC of this it was Jodie I was picturing as the main character but that only made me enjoy it. I enjoyed the additional characters of Tessa's family and friends who I don't think featured as much in the play and helped add depth to the story. I think this is a must read as it really helps expose the flaws in the justice system, particularly in cases of sexual assault. Not an easy read due to the subject matter but an important one.
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Thank you to @netgalley the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A very important subject but delivered in a way that was just a bit hard to get through. The personal story - the brilliant young female barrister from outside "the establishment" whose rising star is halted when she is raped by an establishment colleague and makes the difficult decision to press charges - is at times obscured by the statistics and legal explanations that really take over in parts of the narrative. Perhaps it does better as a play, as it was in its original form. I applaud the author for tackling this very difficult topic which really needs to be addressed.

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller is a compelling novel about a defence lawyer who is sexually assaulted. The statistics on rape and conviction rates are grim which is what makes this book (and the Play is was based on) so relevant.
The novel is well crafted and gets many important points across. A poignant novel that I highly recommend.

Prima Facie gives us a novel that is so well written, you will not be able to put it down! I finished this in one go and already am looking forward to more!

I absolutely devoured this book.

I don’t know how to sum up the words I feel about this story but I do feel like it will have a lasting impact.

I’ve never read anything like this before.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House UK, and the author Suzie Miller.
I found this book difficult to get through, a bit pretentious, and overall just dull. There are moments of intrigue but the main character feels so half-baked that I often found myself forgetting her name. It felt like a slog.
At times it felt like the author wanted to show off her knowledge of the law and the legal system more than tell a good story.
I know that this has been very popular on stage so maybe it is better as a play! I can imagine the final monologue could be very dramatic delivered on stage, but on paper it just came across grandiose. Not for me, unfortunately. 2 stars.

I absolutely devoured this novel following a brilliant criminal defense barrister who, when she is raped by a male colleague, must experience the system which she dedicated her life to from the other side.

This is a brilliant character study - the voice of northern, working-class rooted, turned Cambridge graduate and exceptional barrister Tessa coming through so strongly from start to finish. Jodie Comer's narration of the audiobook was excellent - it was clear she knew the character of Tessa so well, and she brought her to life brilliantly.

This is scathing and complicated, heart-wrenching and tender. A relevant, important read that will certainly make you think - I highly recommend it.

This was incredible. Pacy, well written, I would read anything Suzie Miller writes. I did not see the production of PRIMA FACIE in the West End and now I am scouring the internet to find where I can stream the recording. One of my top reads of the year so far.

This book is incredibly powerful.

Tessa Ensler is a brilliant & intelligent defence barrister who has fought her way to the top of her career. She's from a poorer family. She had a scholarship & she felt like she had made it. She took the less appealing defendants, tape cases. She seemed to win all of them for her clients. She had to prove the evidence wasn't accurate.

I will say at the very beginning when Tessa Ensler was "just doing her job" & following the taxi rank protocol I did indeed feel very little sympathy. I am a 1 in 3 myself. (It's why it took me so long to finish it..) I pushed myself through the book.

Now Tess is on the other side of the court room. Will she win her case?

I'm about to download the audible version of this book too. I NEED to hear Jodie Comer narrate this.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this amazing book.

Tessa Ensler is a criminal defence barrister who believes passionately in the law and playing by the rules. When Tessa is raped by a colleague she experiences the legal system from the other side and realises how heavily the odds are stacked against her and how painful the criminal justice system is for victims of sexual crimes.

Suzie Miller's absorbing novel is based on her successful play staring Jodie Comer. I found the pacing a little uneven and it takes time for the main events of the story to unfold but once it does I couldn't put it down. A tough but compelling read.

I have always enjoyed courtroom based dramas and in the last few years they have taken on an extra significance as my daughter decided to pursue a career as a barrister. So I was intrigued to read Prima Facie, adapted into a novel from the hugely successful play. Whilst I now definitely regret not seeing the play, I am so pleased I have had the opportunity to read the book – it is powerful, emotional and so very thought-provoking and I couldn’t put it down.

Tessa Ensler is a successful criminal defence barrister. She has battled her way to get to where she is, having not come from the privileged background of many of her colleagues, and she firmly believes in a system that presumes innocence until proven guilty and where her role is not to judge. However, it is when she becomes a victim, raped by one of her colleagues, that she finds herself with a new perspective on all that she has hitherto held so dear.

Told in the first person, and from a then and now perspective, we really get to understand Tessa and what drives her – which is what makes it all the more distressing as we see the devastating impact on her as she struggles to deal with what has happened, and yet remains determined to do what she believes is right, whatever the consequences. The assault is powerfully described and certainly not easy to read, but it is the final courtroom scenes that will have you reeling, with Tessa’s impassioned outburst so heartfelt that you don’t know whether to applaud or cry.

There is so much to unpack as you are left reflecting on the issue of consent and the challenges around prosecution of sexual assault cases, leading to such low conviction rates. With an ending that leaves a glimmer of hopefulness amongst the darkness, it is a book that will leave you thinking - and will stay with me long after I put it down.

A few years ago I saw the play version of this novel, as a guest of a forensic psychology student. My view then that it was an intense and powerful story about a young woman barrister as she faced prejudice within a legal system dominated by white wealthy men.

The novelised version has only lost a little of its power in that there is more of a story surrounding her upbringing and a few more characters, the play only having one character. Nevertheless, this is undoubtedly about power - on an individual and social level, and how power falls to those who feel they are entitled to it. It also highlights the inadequacies in our legal system in Britain, especially with regard to sexual assault cases and how the patriarchy is alive and well.

The story is taut and emotive, well written and engaging, and is structured around the narrator's life before and during her own trial when she becomes the only witness in a sexual assault case. It makes uncomfortable reading. At times it is graphic and detailed as the whole event is painted before us and the equally undignified police procedure that follows is there for all to see. Excellent insight into how the courts work as well.

A brave, challenging comment on society, a book that is as provocative and exciting to read as much as the issues it evokes. Recommended for everyone with plenty to think about.

A brilliant novelisation of the award-winning play. A young brilliant, working-class barrister is raped, but because of the circumstances - he was a colleague, she had previously consented, they'd been drinking, etc, etc (all women have heard about, experienced these 'he said, she said' circumstances) he 'gets away with it'.

Recommended for those who were unfortunate not to see it on stage, or screen; and for those who wish to remind themselves of 'Prima Facie' and its powerful message. This can, and does happen to anyone.

A really great book. Such a timeless read and one that will stay around for a very long time. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The future looks very rosy for talented criminal defence barrister Tessa Ensler until a terrible event makes her question the justice system, something she has believed passionately in, working her way up from her humble beginnings to be a part of. Not an uncommon story, but the novel is nonetheless very well-written, fully immersive and, especially in the second half, really gripping. The description of the range of emotions Tessa experiences is very convincing and it is heart-breaking that, unlike Tessa, many will suffer alone.

Utterly over whelming superb!

This book is going to have a huge impact. The play won every award going and the book, written before it was turned into a play and then its come back round as the book format, is just perfection.

Suzie Miller has the characters of Tessa & Julian down to a tee and the story - even with its harrowing factual story is totally;y plausible and relays the facts involved around rape and sexual assault - I hope this book makes a difference, it already has, as judges now have to watch the play version and the police are changing the ways they conduct their interviews with assault victims. YES!!! about time!!!

Love this book, hugely passionate about it as a mother of three, teach boys respect and to listen and girls to use their voices. And not think its acceptable to treat girls/women that way and think it's ok.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow-This is defintely te best book I have read in a while. So very well written, fantastic knowledge and content. I would love to see the play, but a TV series would be fantastic. Such an important story that needs to be told far and wide. Brilliant.

I don't think the novel version of Prima Facie was as good as the play – partly cause Jodie Comer was incredible, and partly because I think the didactic speech-making works better in theatre than in novels. But I still thought it was great. There were parts that were absorbing and immersive, and there were parts that made me want to stop reading because I felt so sick and tense. If you've seen the play, then you'll know what I'm talking about! I read an article in The Guardian about how Prime Facie is potentially changing the approach to sexual assault cases, and that's so so important. Reading – or watching – this, you really do feel disgust for the way in which survivors are treated and interrogated.

This book does not shy away from its subject, and for that, I commend it. That being said, there were points where it lost me. At times, I felt that the rawness of Tessa’s experience was lost in the story’s overarching message. I understand that, being a barrister, Tessa has a firm grasp of statistics and legalese. I also understand that the two halves of her brain — emotional and legal — were in conflict during her testimony. But I think that the delivery of these facts sometimes obscured the human at the core of the narrative.
I didn’t enjoy this book — I find it hard to imagine ever enjoying stories of sexual assault — but I did expect it to be handled more deftly.