Notes on a Drowning

This is a pacy thriller, with London legal aid lawyer Alex at its centre. When, somewhat against her better judgement, she takes on another unfunded case, she finds that there is rather more to it than an inquest into the death in the Thames of a young Moldovan woman.

She is soon linking up with Kat, who is now a special adviser to the home secretary but was someone she last had contact with in rather different circumstances a decade earlier, when her own sister disappeared in Japan.

Political corruption, exploitation and threats to her family are just some of the things that she has to contend with. Understandably, a formal warning from her boss over her failure to meet billing targets is the least of her concerns.

Notes on a Drowning is very much a page-turner with the two female lead characters battling against very powerful forces.

It is written by award-winning novelist and human rights solicitor Anna Mazzola. She has had a number of historical fiction novels published in her own name and as Anna Sharpe, this is the first of her legal thrillers, with a second due out next year.

David Philpott is a criminal defence solicitor at Olliers Solicitors, Manchester