Today I am delighted to be sharing my review of Judge Walden: Call The Next Case as part of the blog tour  It’s written with thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the blog tour and No Exit Press for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

The third Judge Walden novel

If you like Rumpole of the Bailey, you’ll love Walden of Bermondsey

Charlie Walden, the irrepressible Resident Judge (RJ) of Bermondsey Crown Court is back with a new selection of cases. As ever, there is little rest for the RJ as he does his best to deal with the church-going carer who steals from the old lady under her care, the cleaver-wielding chefs wth different ideas about how to make a Caesar salad, the man with a penchant for ‘marrying’ multiple women and the astrological guru accused of fraud. Not to mention the shock-horror when colleagues get into trouble – Judge Hubert Drake for writing an angry letter to the press, and Judge Marjorie Jenkins for storing suspected pornography on her judicial computer. Oh, and the ongoing wars against the Grey Smoothies, who try to frustrate Charlie at every turn with their bureaucracy and their endless quest for value for money for the taxpayer.

Review:

I was absolutely delighted to be offered the opportunity to read Judge Walden: Call The Next Case and it felt like being back among old friends. I love the different personalities of the judges, their relationship with each other and their disdain for the bureaucracy of the Grey Smoothies which creates the humour that keeps the book ticking. I really enjoyed immersing myself in the life of the court and the community it serves. It is worth noting that the ladies who run the local coffee shop are as integral to the book as the judges, which increases the sense of community which helped me to relate to the characters.

Whilst some of Judge Walden’s cases are a little obscure and occasionally bordering on ridiculous, I also enjoyed the opportunity to see how the court handles more serious issues such as theft and bigamy. It is clear that Murphy knows the environment about which he writes well and I found the outcomes very interesting. There is one case in particular that I found especially relevant and poignant in today’s society.

I must also mention the Reverend Mrs Walden, whose sermons we get a glimpse of throughout the book. Her sermons often link to Walden’s cases and it is interesting to to look at the issues from this alternative perspective. If all vicars were like Reverend Mrs Walden I may be encouraged to go to church more often!

Judge Walden: Call The Next Case is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: