A Death in Custody

 

T.S. Clayton

 

£9.99, Matador

 

★★★★★

Set in Brixton, south London in the 1990s, A Death in Custody tells the tale of Delroy Brown, a young black man who dies in police custody and the impact Brown’s demise has on his family and others involved. A police investigation into the death does not reveal much; unsurprisingly as there is only a single witness, or so they think. So it is during the subsequent inquest where events take unexpected turns, as the reason Brown died is revealed while others try to stop the truth getting out, leading to a dramatic conclusion.

The heroes and heroines of this novel are a young solicitor, a local journalist and a youth worker. They are people you can believe in, while the other leading players from the police and CPS are all dealt with respectfully and sympathetically. It is easy to forget that this book is set in the 1990s, and that how death in custody investigations are handled has changed a lot.

This is a thriller for lawyers, featuring the sort of jaded, fallible characters we sometimes meet within the legal system. TS Clayton – a retired criminal solicitor – has a knack for creating vivid, believable characters in just a few lines, and is just as skilled at bringing court hearings to life. Making a cross-examination believable and realistic in a novel isn’t as straightforward as you’d think, all of which makes his debut novel highly recommended.

 

David Pickup

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