Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray

I’d read a lot of good things about Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray, so I picked up a copy from Vinted. As it is in hardback and my copy was unread (with fabulous spredges), I paid a lot more than I would usually pay for a Vinted book – the same price as a full price paperback. It was definitely worth it!

In Dissection of a Murder, barrister Leila is given a seemingly impossible task – to defend a murder suspect who refuses to reveal his defence before he goes to court. To make matters worse, the victim is a respected judge. And to make matters worse still, the prosecution barrister is Leila’s pupilmaster, who also happens to be her husband…

The book starts 126 days before the trial, when Leila is first appointed as Jack Millman’s barrister. The chapters then count down the days until the start of the trial, just after Christmas. As Leila prepares her case, she gets frustrated and then angry with her husband, who is smug and generally not very nice.

Between some of the chapters we also hear from a mysterious Witness X, who is obviously in some way connected to the case. I had a couple of ideas about who this might be, but I was definitely wrong.

The world of barristers, court and chambers was familiar to me from the Adam Green books by Rob Rinder, although Dissection of a Murder also includes a useful introduction to the terminology at the start of the book. While I enjoy the Adam Green books, they are humorous and a bit far-fetched, this was so much better.

Dissection of a Murder is a courtroom thriller, but it is also a psychological thriller. There is a lot going on and I loved it! I binged it in three days, which included reading three-quarters of the book in one day because I couldn’t put it down. If that sounds like your cup of tea, it comes highly recommended.