Series Overview

A seminal series about the British criminal justice system, examining endemic corruption from the perspectives of the police, the criminal and the solicitor. The novels in this omnibus edition became the basis of the groundbreaking and controversial television series Law & Order.

Plot Summary

In the wake of a bungled armed robbery, the series focuses on Jack Lynn, a villain already known to the police; Inspector Fred Pyle, a cynical Scotland Yard Detective determined to nick him, and Alex Gladwell, a cunning lawyer who's perverting the system in order to get him off. As we are told the story from three different perspectives - The Detective's Tale, The Villain's Tale and The Brief's Tale - shocking questions begin to gather force: was Lynn even at the robbery? Do the police have any real evidence? Do the courts really want justice done? Do prisons change or simply reinforce criminal behaviour?

'GF Newman secured himself a place in television history... a brutal assault on the police and the manner in which some of them operate' Daily Express