#BookshelfSpotlight-‘The Pinocchio Brief’ by Abi Silver

About the book…

A 15-year-old schoolboy is accused of the brutal murder of one of his teachers.

His lawyers – the guarded veteran, Judith, and the energetic young solicitor, Constance – begin a desperate pursuit of the truth, revealing uncomfortable secrets about the teacher and the school.

But Judith has her own secrets which she risks exposing when it is announced that a new lie-detecting device, nicknamed Pinocchio, will be used during the trial. And is the accused, a troubled boy who loves challenges, trying to help them or not?

The Pinocchio Brief is a gripping courtroom thriller which confronts our assumptions about truth and our increasing reliance on technology

Published in paperback by Eye Books, ‘The Pinocchio Brief’ is Book 1 in the Abi Silver series featuring Burton and Lamb.

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Another brilliant case for Burton and Lamb to solve, this time the case of a 15 year old boy who is presumed to have killed his maths teacher. Decribed as brilliant, but hard to get close to,by his room mate at a private boys school, Raymond Maynard is found, following a loud argument, standing over the dead body of his master, covered in blood spouting from the chest of Mr Davis, knife protruding from his severed left aorta.

Constance Lamb, brilliant, 5 years qualified and charged with defending Ray approaches retired Judith Burton to help her with this case. In her own words-

”You’ve handled more murder cases in your time at the Bar than any other barrister still around and you had the highest rate of success.”

When this is added to the exortation of Ray’s mother to Cosntance, who has tracked her down to defend her son after knowing a friend of her’s son was cleared of a shoplifting charge-

”Constance gasped.People never ceased to amaze her. Yes, she managed to have a theft charge dropped against a local boy,Jason Price,about two years earlier,but this hardly qualified her to defend this boy,accused of a violent murder.But she had underestimated Mrs Maynard,who was speaking again.

”Yes I know that was far less serious:I may be a little silly sometimes but I’m not stupid.Jeanie Price said you were the only one who listened to her and to Jason, that you worked morning and night for him, that you went against the police when they wanted to offer him a lighter sentence if he pleaded guilty and she said you cared.And that’s what I want for my Ray. I want someone who cares.Because I tell you something, I am his mother and I know him.He did not do this terrible thing and you have to help him.”

And so, the stage is set.

Constance and Judith set out on their first case-the book is split into four parts, the gathering of evidence, a flashback of 6 years eariler, the courtroom and then the after effects of the verdict.

They interrogate fellow pupils and staff mercilessly as they also circle each other and work out a routine that they find mutually beneficial. And things are going well until the prosecution mentions bringing in the Pinocchio technology, Because suddenly, a whole new host of ethics and conflicts of interest are brought into play..

Rather than being attached to wires and sensors that can be easily tricked, the Pinocchio system, developed by Dr Greg Winters , head of Gepetto Inc, has been designed to be a computer programme which reads body language. So technically it is a kind of Siri-esque app that can be in any room and has been shown to be successful in several US based cases. The reason that this is being brought into this case is because Ray is refusing to talk, he is mentioned as having odd and weird behaviour, is saying he did not murrder Davis yet in the absence of an alternative suspect, the police, media and prosecution are having a hard time pinning it on anyone else.

The narrative is split between first person from Ray and third person from Burton and Lamb, which really intensifies the feeling of being inside Ray’s head as he gives you a perspective of his intent which is unseeable to anyone else and heightens the tension.

The use of an infallible computer programme is very concerning as it is unknown if it can take into account those whose body movements and features can be affected by inherited, or acquired, disorders. And whilst this is a tech informed courtroom thriller, I can absolutely guarentee that this is accessible to any and all readers without feeling it is either patronising or over their heads.

It was really interesting going back to the beginning of the Burton/Lamb relationship, and things mentioned in Book 3, ‘The Cinderella Plan’ make more sense now. I am very much looking forward to reading Book 2 now, ‘The Aladdin Trial’.

Thoroughly recommended for readers of mysteries, crimes, thrillers alike!

About the author…

”I cannot remember a time when I was not writing stories. Growing up with a house full of books (my parents were teachers), I was inspired from an early age to believe I could join the ranks of my heroes.
I grew up in Leeds and studied in Cambridge before settling down to a legal career in London. I travelled extensively through Asia, South America and Australia and lived in Israel. Being an ‘outsider’ (as you frequently are when you travel or live overseas) makes you a wonderful people-watcher and it certainly informed my writing. I now live in Hertfordshire with my husband and three sons. ”
‘The Cinderella Plan‘ is the third in the Burton & Lamb legal thriller series,following ‘The Pinocchio Brief’ and ‘The Aladdin Trial’.