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Nicola Williams
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Without Prejudice: A collection of rediscovered works celebrating Black Britain curated by Booker Prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo (Black Britain: Writing Back Book 2) Kindle Edition

by Nicola Williams (Author), Bernardine Evaristo (Introduction) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 171 ratings
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'Impressive and unique. As relevant today as it was over two decades go' Bernardine Evaristo, from the Introduction

A gripping, propulsive courtroom thriller following barrister Lee Mitchell as she uncovers the dark secrets of London's obscenely rich

Lee Mitchell is a thirty-year-old barrister from a working-class Caribbean background: in the cut-throat environment of the courtroom, everything is stacked against her.

After she takes on the high-profile case of notorious millionaire playboy Clive Omartian - arrested along with his father and stepbrother for eye-wateringly exorbitant fraud - the line between her personal and professional life becomes dangerously blurred.
Spiralling further into Clive's trail of debauchery and corruption, she finds herself in alarmingly deep waters.

Can she survive her case, let alone win it?

Selected by Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo, this series rediscovers and celebrates pioneering books depicting black Britain that remap the nation.

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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    Black Britain: Writing Back
  2. Print length
    374 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Penguin
  6. Publication date
    February 4, 2021
  7. File size
    873 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Here's a debut legal thriller with a definite edge of truth, as black British criminal lawyer Nicola Williams takes us into the fascinating, frustrating world of her fictional counterpart, Lee Mitchell. Lee is resigned to working the cases that nobody else in her chambers wants, and occasionally being mistaken by court personnel and other lawyers for one of her criminal clients. Then she gets what at first seems to be a dream case--defending a high-profile financier on a shaky fraud charge. It's only after some digging that Mitchell realizes she and her client are being set up, and trying to do something about it opens up several very nasty cans of worms. Williams, who has been writing poetry (and winning prizes for it) since she was 14, has a cool, unique voice that marks her creation as a definite keeper. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

Readers without a tight grasp on the workingsAand wordingAof the British legal system may find themselves initially at a loss in Williams's debut suspense novel. Thirty-year-old black barrister, Lee Mitchell, is persuaded by a solicitor friend, Brendan Donnelly, to take the high-profile case of London millionaire playboy Clive Omartian, arrested along with his father and stepbrother for fraud. Unsettled by her client's high-handed manner when she first meets him, Lee is further distressed as the case proceeds by his lifestyle of drugs and underaged women, his habit of manipulating facts and his intrusions into her personal life. Realizing that the case threatens her integrity, self-respect and even her job, Lee learns that even friends like Brendan can be turncoats and that other barristers have become enemies. Williams constructs a taut and enthralling tale of Lee's crumbling life and her sticky situation in the Omartian case, capturing the tenuous place of minorities, the poor and unprivileged in the social and legal establishments.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08KFTJJJ9
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin; 1st edition (February 4, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 4, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 873 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 374 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0241482658
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 171 ratings

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Nicola Williams

Nicola Williams

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
171 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Grace Goodridge
5.0 out of 5 stars Without fear or favour
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2011
Verified Purchase
As a former member of the British Criminal Justice core, I was attracted to this work firstly because of its title and secondly because of my professional knowledge of its writer. This first work provides an excellent 'birds eye view' of the British legal system with all its quirks and splendour, Nicola Williams is an excellent advocate, and has a mind and maturity that is far beyond her years. Well done, we need to hear more from Nicola and about the progress of the main character Now! How soon before the next book appears on the shelf?
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LC
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent legal thriller
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2021
A really excellent legal thriller, as good as a Grisham or Turow, with a winning star character, surprising and twisty plot, and strong social awareness.
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Brian Bristol
5.0 out of 5 stars Grate read
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2021
Verified Purchase
Grate read. A can't putter down.
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Top reviews from other countries

v n martin
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping read that was hard to put down.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 8, 2021
Verified Purchase
A brilliant book that was an absolutely compelling read! Nicola Williams is an excellent writer who shone a light on what it means to be a successful woman and black, food for thought!
2 people found this helpful
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L. M. Bailey
4.0 out of 5 stars Tense thriller with a subtext
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a well written story. The plot is full of solicitors and barristers and court appearances but it has some great characters and is gripping from beginning to end. Not once did I forget who any of the characters were (easily done, I find, if they speak in the same way, a common mistake). I was particularly jolted by one scene; it was completely unexpected but made sense of what came before and after.

That's the top line. Beneath this, there is a story of what it was to be black and female in the UK in the 90s - and today. As a professional woman, I responded to the struggle of the protagonist, a barrister, to be heard by the men she encountered, whether colleagues or criminals. As a white woman I could only begin to understand the additional slights, judgements and assumptions she had to prepare for, day in, day out.

Read it! There are '90s elements to it but the plot and characters are worth your time.
2 people found this helpful
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b
5.0 out of 5 stars Without doubt
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2021
Verified Purchase
Without doubt an excellent book and well deserved to be reissued. Still relevant, still topical, still an excellent read.
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Unsatisfactory Ending
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 9, 2023
Verified Purchase
I loved the beginning of this book, but then it became complicated with all the barristers and court scenes.
And what happened to Clive, who was so evil, in the ned?
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ros
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very good read.
One person found this helpful
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