Brief Tales From The Bench (16 page)
 | Full Circle One day a distinguished law professor is involved in an accident and suffers a slight knock on the head. He continues to behave normally in most respects but, instead of delivering lectures, he delights his students by telling them crazy and convoluted stories to illustrate his points of law. His fame spreads and his lectures become crowded. Fearing for his sanity, the university authorities take action and he is locked away. Then something happens to change things once again. These stories, written with Henry Cecil’s true verve and wit, will delight the reader. |
 | Hunt the Slipper Harriet and Graham have been happily married for twenty years. One day Graham fails to return home and Harriet begins to realise she has been abandoned. This feeling is strengthened when she starts to receive monthly payments from an untraceable source. After five years on her own Harriet begins to see another man and divorces Graham on the grounds of his desertion. Then one evening Harriet returns home to find Graham sitting in a chair, casually reading a book. Her initial relief turns to anger and then to fear when she realises, that if Graham’s story is true, she may never trust his sanity again. This complex comedy thriller will grip your attention to the very last page. |
 | Independent Witness Mr Justice Grampion hates dangerous drivers and believes it is his duty to give very severe sentences to those who offend. He is well-known for his opinion on the matter, so, when Michael Barnes, MP, is to be tried for a very serious motoring charge, he is devastated to hear that Grampion will be the judge. To make Michael’s problems worse he has no witness to support his story. Ranged against him are a host of independent witnesses whose testimonies are hilarious and often contradictory. While this is another highly amusing novel from Henry Cecil it also examines the serious nature of truth and reality as perceived by different witnesses. |
 | Much in Evidence William Richmond is bald and lame. But that is not his only misfortune. On the very night he has £100,000 in his safe, his home is broken into and he is beaten up. His insurance company pays up – but they are highly suspicious. It would appear that a series of bald and lame men have been making dubious insurance claims. In this hilarious trial novel we see how amazing coincidences can really happen. |
 | Natural Causes When megalomaniac proprietor of the Clarion Newspapers Ltd, Alexander Bean is humiliated in court by judge Mr Justice Beverly, he swears revenge. He engages the services of Sidney York to find a way to blackmail the judge. The situation gets out of hand when Sidney dies in a mysterious accident. The judge and his family fall under suspicion. Thus Alexander Bean becomes involved in a story that runs out of control for all those involved until it reaches its final unexpected conclusion. |
 | No Bail for the Judge A dour and highly respected High Court judge finds himself on trial for the murder of a prostitute. He has no recollection of the events leading up to the murder so believes he may be guilty. His daughter, however, is convinced of his innocence, so she enlists the help of a petty thief to help solve the complex mystery. |
 | No Fear or Favour ‘If everyone had a perfectly clear conscience, the blackmailer would have no chance’. So begins a trial in which the unfortunate judge is himself blackmailed. Unwittingly‘picked up’ by a‘respectable-looking girl’ the judge finds himself put into an impossible situation in which an unscrupulous blackmailer threatens his career and personal life in an attempt to steer the course of a trial to an acquittal. Can Mr Justice Slaughter save himself from ruin and degradation? |
 | The Painswick Line Lucy Meeson-Smith works at a big bookmaker’s and always manages to back the winners. Her employers become suspicious and take her to court for fraud. At her trial it is revealed that her father, a vicar, studies form avidly and is a brilliant tipster (though he himself is not a betting man). The judge in the case, Mr Justice Painswick is most intrigued by the evidence. His own personal life is complicated by his son – a thoroughgoing cad who is deeply in debt. Find out how these personalities are brought together in a lively and unexpected way in this witty, upbeat novel. |
 | Portrait of a Judge What does an elderly judge do when he is confronted by a man who wants to kill him for a death sentence he had given out years before?‘Portrait of a Judge’ is the first fascinating story in this collection of short stories based on all matters legal. Written with cracking pace and full of unexpected twists, paradoxes and subtleties the book will have you riveted to the very last page. |
 | Settled Out of Court Lonsdale Walsh is a rich financier who is wrongly imprisoned for murder. From his prison cell Lonsdale hatches an intricate plan to stage his own retrial at a secret location. Find out if Lonsdale can secure an acquittal and relish the further unexpected twists that are to be revealed. |
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