As you’ll have noticed, this is a novel version of Miller’s play. Tessa Ensler is a Scouse girl made good, a barrister with a career on the rise. When she is date-raped by a colleague, she experiences the injustice of the legal system, particularly against women.

It’s a skilful, sparse first person narrative that propels the book. And we see Tessa as a fully-rounded character. Not to dismiss the main narrative, but it also explores class, misogyny and what a modern Britain actually looks like. The first person narrative puts the reader as an observer, even in the darkest passages of the book. But there is also deft flashes of skill as words and phrases are twisted back to chilling effect.

If anything, the book will add to the visceral power of the play. As will the audiobook, narrated by the original actor Jodie Comer and the forthcoming film with Cynthia Erivo. It will only become irrelevant when the statistics at the works’ heart change: 1 in 3 women will be sexually assaulted or harassed in their lifetime. It’s a sobering, necessary read. It’s released by Random House on March 14th and I thank them for a preview copy.

Prima Facie
This book written by the writer of the play that has had rave reviews is outstanding, entertaining and thought provoking.
Tessa is a brilliant criminal defence barrister, defending criminals, murderers and rapists, she believes wholly in the law and that better to allow the guilty party to be found not guilty rather than an innocent person be found guilty.
Flowing from ‘Now’ to ‘Then’ in time we learn of Tessa’s poor background and how she won a place at Cambridge and strived to be the best through hard work and determination, to be equal to those from a much higher social class background.
Suddenly everything she worked for is taken away from her when she is raped by a colleague. Her faith in the law is lost as she fights to defend herself not only from her ordeal but how society and the law treats woman particularly in cases of sexual assault.
I don’t wish to give away any spoilers but the ending is so powerful, when Tessa gives her Voir dire speech in the courtroom everything comes together from the sheer emotion of it all but also the truth of how the law operates.
A very powerful ending to a beautifully written book.
My thanks to net galley and publishers for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

I loved this thought provoking, intelligent and well written book. The first half was perhaps a little slow - at times it felt more like a barrister’s memoirs than a novel but it was engaging enough to continue with. Then about half way through a crime is committed and the book really came into its own it made me think a lot about women’s relationships with men (early stage relationships). and with the law . It will stay with me for a long time.

"One in three women. look to your left, look to your right, one of us”

Even though it's only January I can already tell that this is going to be one of my favourite books this year.
It was an emotional and evocative read that I just found impossible to put down. This story moved me in such a way that I feel it'll be permanently engraved into my heart. As a woman, we've all heard stories like this. If we haven't experienced it ourselves then odds are we know someone who has. We also know how the legal system can fail women. So reading this just brought all these raw feelings to the surface about how women are rarely listened to - as Tessa reminds us in the book "The law has been shaped by generations and generations of white, heterosexual men".
The topic aside, it's just a really good book. It's well written, it's perfectly paced - Sometimes legal books can become bogged down in the law of it all but this was written in a concise and understandable well. The story flowed really well, I liked the flashbacks between then and now as it gave us a more rounded view of Tessa as a character. Overall thought, all the characters are well formed, we even get to know and become fond of supporting characters who are barely in the story. It's just a truly well written piece of work and I think it's essential reading. I haven't seen the play version but I'm off now to find a version online to watch!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review!

Tessa Ensler is a brilliant criminal defence lawyer, who has made her way up from very humble beginnings to get herself an education at Cambridge, and is now approaching the pinnacle of success, with a nomination for a prestigious award and a new job offer at hand.

But despite her policy of doing the best job she can for her clients, many of whom are defendants in sexual violence trials, Tessa is about to find out that such a dispassionate approach may have its limits when things get up close and personal.

When a date with a charming colleague goes badly wrong, she begins to realise just how entrenched power and privilege actually are, and what it means to be on the wrong side of the equation...

This is a novel that will give you all the feels, and most of the emotions that it evokes are deeply painful and enraging. This one is definitely worth a read.

This is absolutely stunning piece of writing and I cannot praise the author enough for a book that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. From the build up of the story to the final conclusion this is a read that’s going to take the reading community by storm and be a massive success I’m sure and I would give anything to see Jodie Comer in the award winning play that the book is based on! I’m not going to describe what the book is about because I can’t do it justice but believe me you don’t want to miss it , all the hype surrounding it is 100% warranted it is an astonishing read and a book I am thrilled to have read. Many thanks to Suzie Miller for a more than 5 stars read.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Prima Facie was exactly what I wanted it to be. Interesting, clever, and provides a searing indictment of the criminal justice system and its treatment of women. I alternated between being devastated for Tessa, proud of Tessa, and furious for Tessa. It even had me crying on the tube! It's a phenomenal and very important work.

I first experienced ‘Prima Facie’ by Suzie Miller on the big screen, watching a recording of Jodie Comer’s searing tour-de-force of a performance in the breathtaking one-woman play of the same name. Playwright Miller has decided to tell Tessa’s tale in this novel, and I’m glad that even more people will experience it!

Tessa is a high-flying and ambitious criminal barrister, regularly defending men accused of sex crimes…. Tessa is also a girl from a working class family whose brains and determination got her into Cambridge where she often felt like an imposter.
Tessa is able to disassociate from the guilt or innocence of her clients and focus on presenting the best version of their story to the court… Tessa also still keeps her barrister’s wig in a Tupperware gifted by her mother rather than a fancy tin.
Tessa believes it’s better for a guilty person to walk away than for an innocent defendant to be sent down…. Then, Tessa is raped, and her carefully constructed belief system flips on its axis.

The lessons from the story ring as clearly here as they did through the play. Tessa’s rousing courtroom ‘voir dire’ is just as impactful in print and her pain permeates the pages of the novel. I also appreciated the additional flashbacks introduced in the first half of the book, which gave me a better understanding of her background and family and the modern references to ‘KCs’ and the pandemic. However, the ‘782 days later’ split midway through the story, which was so effective on stage at provoking horror and outrage, merely felt sad and numbing in writing. Both mediums left me smarting at the injustice of expecting a rape victim to have perfect forensic recall of the most traumatic experience of their life.

Overall this book is important and essential reading for everybody, ESPECIALLY those who have not seen the play… Giving this 4.5 stars (for the final half star, seek out the NT Live recording!)

I received a free review copy of this ebook from the publisher Random House / Cornerstone via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This novelisation of Miller's important and timely play is a welcome way of taking its critical message to a wider audience beyond the theatre-going crowd which can only be a good thing. That said, there are some flaws that emerge in the change of format: the first half is slower and spends too long for my taste with 'then' sections that basically tell Tessa's working-class life story as well as that of her family. I mean, we get the point that Tessa has worked her way from a non-privileged background and what the law means to her but the family back-story became a distraction for me.

But at about 50%, things really take off with an emotive and enraging story that grips compulsively. Miller pulls off a fabulous ending too: subtle and complex enough to make its points without leaving us either completely dispirited or with some false optimism. And Tessa's big speech remains a fantastic piece of rhetoric that will make you cry and cheer at the same time.

The statistics, though: one in three women will be raped or sexually assaulted; one in ten will report it to the police; of that, just over 1% or 1 in every hundred will secure a conviction for the perpetrator. When will things change?

Unlike other reviewers I didn’t realise that this was a book adapted from a play, apparently starring Judie Comer one of my favourite actresses, so I came to the book not knowing how things would unravel. I thoroughly enjoyed the tension and drama and as a woman found myself wondering what I would have done. A thoroughly deserved five stars.

This is utterly compelling from first page to last.

A realistic, emotional, cleverly insightful story that shows just how unbalanced the justice system is when it comes to sexual assault and rape.

The story of one woman whose utter faith in the system she works for is undermined and destroyed in a whirl of realistic understanding.

Excellent. Read it.

I've been in the mood for a good legal thriller recently, and this certainly fit the bill - fast paced, murky characters, and an important topic. I also loved the ending!

Rating: 4.6/5

It isn't particularly unusual for a novel to be adapted into a play or screenplay, but it is far less common for a play to be subsequently redrafted into the form of a novel, which is precisely what Suzie Miller has done here.

I had already seen Jodie Comer's stunning performance in the stage play version of this story when it was screened in the local cinema by National Theatre Live, so I was totally familiar with the content. Could that gripping one-woman performance even begin to be replicated in the form of a book? Or would it simply become a somewhat tedious monologue? Well, any doubts I may have had were completely and utterly dispelled!

Suzie Miller has successfully translated this from the medium of a stage play (and subsequently screenplay) to produce a captivating novel. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still utterly gripped by the narrative. The central character of barrister, Tessa Ensler, comes across every bit as strongly on the written page as she does when brought to life by a talented actor.

Most potential readers of this novel are likely to be aware of the content already, so it will come as no surprise that the issues it addresses have the potential to trigger certain people. Nonetheless, the insights into the workings of the courtroom - and the legal system in general - are, by turn, fascinating and intriguing as well as downright shocking on occasion.

Suzie Miller has delivered a compelling read that I suspect is destined to become something of a classic.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review.

The play was spellbinding and the book was just as impressive and allowed me to read at my leisure and better take in some of the arguments.

I wonder what was written first - the play or the book - but it really matters little.

The subject matter is harrowing and the reader is spared no details of sexual assaults and rape but given the story it is necessary and not simply gratuitous.

The book is rich, lush and deeply angry in tone when required but the story of the rise of a brilliant barrister from poor beginnings and the deep irony of what happens to her given her own specialisation in defending people accused of sexual crimes make it a book that I will remember for a long time and probably read again.

I was absolutely consumed by this book within the first couple of paragraphs. The first chapter was everything I wanted from this book when I read that it was about litigation. The thrill of the cross-examination was amazing and Suzie has articulated that perfectly on the page.

I'll admit I did not read the whole description before deciding that I NEEDED this book, so when it came time for the extreme subject matter I was caught off guard, despite the content warning at the beginning too.. but wow it was done in a perfect way. This book provided the perfect balance to the motivations of defence lawyers and the other side when it comes time to view how a witness in a rape trial truly feels and how the law treats it.

This was such an eye opening story and a perfect depiction of the legal system and how it lets down sexual violence victims. While the content may be triggering to some, I will continue to recommend this book to those brave enough to read it.

You can tell that Suzie’s first novel is seeped in drama – the Olivier award winning playwright of a play with the same name, this is a book that will drag you in and won’t release you until it’s over. Meet Tessa Ensler, a superb, fearless criminal defence barrister who believes in a fair trial. She loves getting her clients acquitted, even if others don’t agree with her methods. Life is treating her well, and it’s far from her working class roots. She’s offered a new job and is nominated for an award. All is well until one evening’s actions with someone she deeply respected goes way too far. Then, Tessa is forced to think about her working life, aware that the rules that are meant to protect don’t always work in the favour of everyone. It’s a difficult read in many ways but definitely a conversation starter. Powerful stuff.