A Private and Convenient Place

‘Blackmail by Michael Stokes is an unputdownable romp... the outstanding trial of the femme fatale is enough of a cliffhanger to leave the reader gagging for the next novel.” – Felicity Gerry QC, The Times 

In this sequel to the successful Blackmail, Julia Hamilton, the scheming girlfriend of recently convicted robber, Michael Doyle is to stand trial for her role in the kidnapping of Judge Campion’s wife and the unsuccessful attempt to blackmail the judge into dismissing the case against Doyle. The prosecution depends on the evidence of the accomplice and police informer, Derick Duffy. Until, that is, the gang’s leader and ex-IRA commandant, Joseph Hanlon, himself serving a lengthy sentence in a maximum security prison, surprisingly agrees to give evidence against Julia. But what’s in it for Joseph? If he is telling the truth, Julia will likely be convicted. And what of Doyle? Does he have a part to play, or has Julia abandoned him for someone else, someone more useful?  

Skilled barristers on each side press witnesses in their attempts to find the truth, but not all is as it seems in this tantalizing sequel to Blackmail. Readers are taken inside the jury room where Julia’s fate will be decided and all is revealed as the storyline twists to an astonishing and shattering conclusion.