A Game of Proof (The trials of Sarah Newby #1)

Author: Tim Vicary       Genre: Mystery/Crime       Pages: 458       Published: 2011 

Rating: 4/5 - A mesmerizing and intriguing British courtroom mystery! 



I bought this book on a whim, not expecting too much of it. It was free on the kindle at the time so I was apprehending a rather dry crime read;  Tim Vicary dispelled this prejudice very quickly indeed. A Game of Proof is a compelling courtroom drama, expertly telling the story of Sarah Newby: a resilient, hard working barrister who not only has to cunningly defend a potential rapist but ultimately ends up defending her own son. At the same time as juggling rather prominent family issues which seem to stem from her very underprivileged childhood. Set in York, this is a perfect mystery crime novel which keeps the reader guessing until the end and skilfully guides the reader through the complex British legal system.

What kept me captivated by this book, despite it's urgent need of proofreading, complex storyline and characters that Tim Vicary had created. Although the book follows a 'protagonist' (Sarah Newby) throughout, she is not the perfect, flawless yet colourless character that you would expect. She is well rounded, with major flaws, which in a way help teach the reader the struggles of life balance. She is harder to sympathise with than some of the others but her complex character makes the book a lot more interesting to read. Similarly, most of the major characters have been well developed which really helped me get fully engrossed in the diverse range of different yet believable characters. Nevertheless, I did feel some of the fairly major 'bad guys' had been put in only to hinder the 'good guys' which got a bit irritating. And I'm not talking about just the criminals.

As well as the well rounded characters, it was the fast paced plot that kept me immersed in the book. With every page there was a new clue, suspicion or revelation that kept me hooked throughout... constantly trying to predict who this murderer will be. The intense pace meant that although I empathized with the characters, often feeling on edge, there was no time to break. I read it nearly non stop (this could be due to the long boring journey I was on at the time, but I like to think its the book!) However, if you are someone who enjoys very thorough, descriptive writing, this might not be the book for you. With such emphasis on the action and storyline, there is not much time for intense description of the atmosphere and senses that some people like.

 Overall I thought A Game of Proof was a tremendous debut for the Sarah Newby trilogies. It was gritty, intriguing and a delight to read such a well written British courtroom drama. I highly recommend it to any crime/mystery lovers or anyone even interested in that kind of genre because I think it's a perfect book if you're just trying out courtroom dramas as well. I am going to be reading the 2 follow up books in the Sarah Newby trilogy so if I have anything to say about them, expect a follow up review!

Keep reading...

Laura Stone

Buy 'The Game of Proof' on amazon here


*Thank you so much for reading my first book review, I really hope you enjoyed! As you can tell, I love a good crime mystery but I will be reviewing plenty of different genres so keep reading! If you have any suggestions of books to review, just let me know! Twitter: @TurningPages_ *