Book Catalogue

The Long-Shot Trial

William Deverell

The background: a young housemaid is violently raped by her employer, a callous, vindictive multi-millionaire. She shoots him point blank and tearfully confesses to police. It’s an open-and-shut case of first-degree murder — or so it seems.

Haunted by having bungled his only previous murder case, Arthur is pressed into service by his firm to take on a sure loser. But the odds shift as the trial speeds through explosive twists and turns.

While writing his memoir, Arthur learns that it’s not easy to raise a defence against his social gaffes and booze-induced sex scandals, especially as he runs afoul of the quirky characters who inhabit his supposedly idyllic Garibaldi Island.