JUDICIAL WHISPERS.

Caper Court #2

by Caro Fraser

A rumor campaign threatens to thwart London barrister Leo Davies's hope of election to that rarefied strata of the British legal hierarchy, the Queen's Counsel. The rumors are based on truth, for Leo's sex life is hardly conventional. In a typical mystery novel, such a scenario would lead to blackmail or murder--or both. But Caro Fraser's new novel is neither typical nor a mystery. All of the drama in this character study of a fascinating protagonist comes from Leo's interior struggle with issues of sex, love, class, and ambition. The real mystery is how erroneously this book has been cast as a legal thriller. Advised that the best way to scotch the rumors is to take a wife, Leo becomes involved with Rachel Dean, a beautiful and emotionally rigid solicitor who has good reason to be so guarded. That Leo's close friend Anthony also covets Rachel might initially strike readers as an unnecessary diversion, but Fraser brilliantly uses the men's relationship to illuminate Leo's complicated sexual nature, which is enacted in his courtship of Rachel and his almost inadvertent wakening of her sexual passion. "There's too much fear in you," Leo says when Anthony charges him with using Rachel to further his own ambitions. "Don't you remember? Or don't you want to remember? There are things you don't want to confront--things about Rachel that you'll never understand. You're empty. You're devoid of anything that could help her, because you've never been to that part of yourself where you find out things, the best and the worst. But you're young. You'll learn." Leo's journey through the tortuous landscape of his own mental inferno makes for compelling reading in a sophisticated and engrossing novel. --Jane Adams

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Caroline Georgiana ("Caro") Fraser was a novelist.

Fraser began her career as an advertising copywriter. She became a commercial and maritime lawyer, and practised until 1992, when she became a full-time writer.

Reviews

[Dannica · Rating 2 out of 5]

CW: Sexual assault. Both for the book, and for the remainder of this review. Also moderate spoilers.

..........
.....
..........

The Pupil, the book before this in the Caper Court series, contained a lot of infidelity, lowkey misogyny and very amoral lawyers, so I wasn't expecting wholesome content here, but this book is basically crammed with sexual harassment and sexual assault. Rachel Dean is the new main character introduced in this book, the first female lead, and I actually liked her for the most part, but not only is sexual assault a major part of her backstory (which has led her to become sex-repulsed, which was actually kind of interesting, tho poorly handled and treated like a personal issue to be overcome at all costs in order to become normal) but she's sexually assaulted three times within the course of the book, and none of these three occasions are actually treated as assault.

The three occasions:
1. A main character kisses her. She pushes him away, saying "don't". He basically grabs her and keeps on kissing her very aggressively until she screams. This is treated as an awkward event and mostly her own fault.
2. A minor character follows her into an alley while she's on drugs and kisses her. This is interrupted by another major character and treated as a bad thing, but
3. The major character takes her back to his apartment and after a discussion of her dark past, has sex with her while she is still on drugs and not in a fit state to consent. This turns out to "cure" her sex repulsion.

So that was all very disgusting. There were other instances of sexual harrassment and assault in the novel too--Rachel's secretary is being harrassed by a man working at her law firm, for example--to an extent that it just kind of permeates the book. The one time we see consequences is when Rachel's secretary's boyfriend shows up at a party and beats the man harrassing her so badly he has to go to the hospital. Which was kind of cathartic. Now if he could just do that to the two main male characters of the book, I might be somewhere near satisfied.

Ughghghghghghgghghghgghghgh.

The sad thing is, there were still things I liked about this book. The writing style is enjoyable. I didn't mind Rachel and Leo's fucked up relationship apart from how it began because it was clearly meant to be seen as a fucked up relationship, and Leo is basically a terrible person so you expect it from him. Anthony and Leo's relationship, while now mostly background, is still compelling (but they've now both committed sexual assault so it's really hard to like them), and I thought Rachel's secretary was really fun. Part of me still wants to continue the series, to see how things work out with all these complicated and honestly pretty bad relationships. But... the parts of this book that were bad, were VERY bad and honestly disturbing, and I don't know if the rest of the series is likely to be the same or not. Because I had no clue there was going to this much sexual assault in this book either.

I'm going to have to think about it.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I really enjoyed this book. It is such a page turner, I was up till nearly 1am!! A good holiday read I suppose. I like books that show me a world I know nothing about, and these Caper court books do that wondefully - that's part of the escapism. I also quite like flawed characters, and there are several of those, Leo especially, there are, moments I can't stand him, yet he is always interesting. Even Anthony Cross - there were moments I didn't like him much - that callow youth thing, mixed with a slight arrogance - I don't really like, although overall he is likeable, and I look forward to seeing him develop over subsequent novels. I thought Leo's trip to Wales for Christmas was quite poignant too. I also loved the hapless Felicity - I am glad she ended up at Caper court. I was especially pleased that I enjoyed this so much because the first book in this series left me slightly cold, I wanted to love it - so i could go on and enjoy the series - I was probably slightly keener in my review of it than I really felt - that's how much I wanted to love this series of books. Well now I am on track - because I enjoyed this so much I can't wait to read the next one which I have already on mnt tbr.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddball mix of snobbery, frigidity, class (upper-mid-low), homosexuality, poverty, manipulation, blackmail....Achilles' heels abound throughout the social structures and moralities of the leading players. Rumors and hidden agendas run rampant, as protagonist barrister Leo Davies reaches for his personal brass ring, "to take the silk." Of the four main characters, only the flakey, dingleberry assistant Felicity openly displays her true personality, while Leo, Anthony, and Rachael cloak their true identities/ambitions and dark pasts in socially acceptable behaviors. The pretentious personalities of Leo and Anthony, plus judges/court members, became dull reading. Thankfully outrageous Felicity added some much-needed spark.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book in the legal series about the 5 Caper Court Chambers. A nice easy read and perfectly entertaining.

[Nikki H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really getting stuck back into this series. This, the second book, was published in the mid-1990s but is set in the 1980s (so before mobile phones, etc. were commonplace). I’d forgotten how deeply unpleasant and manipulative Leo can be. A bisexual, he admits to slightly despising women, and here he persuades a traumatised rape survivor to tell him the detail of what she suffered, primarily because it fascinates him, and then takes advantage of her sexually after her pain has aroused him. Subsequently, he continues to mistreat her in order to advance his career. The other main character, Anthony, is also bisexual, but is clearly intended to be much more sympathetic – though he too has an unpleasant streak, such as when he feels annoyance with a woman who doesn’t submit to his sexual advances after he has wined and dined her. But despite this, the characters (good and bad) and the legal world they inhabit are wonderfully portrayed, and there are some beautiful scenes – such as Leo’s visit (for his own selfish reasons, naturally) to the woman with whom he had his first sexual experience and who clearly still loves him.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is two years since Anthony Cross took his place among the legal eagles at Caper Court and things are getting sexxxxy. Anthony's mentor, Leo Davies, takes centre stage in this book. This is a good thing as Leo is handsome, charismatic and enigmatic without being really annoying. Most characters described in that way are generally really annoying. Leo can be annoying , but is interesting enough to make up for it.

Leo leads something of a double life, keeping his sexual proclivities far from chambers, but a chancer with a big mouth is ready to talk. Rumours are flying and Leo is prepared to do whatever it takes to quash them so that he can take silk, becoming a member of the Queen's Counsel. Will lawyer Rachel Dean be his ticket, and is he callous enough to use her as such?

Anthony went on a few dates with Rachel, who decided she preferred Leo, for complex and sensitively portrayed reasons. Anthony's head nearly explodes with cognitive dissonance when Leo and Rachel get together. An enjoyable read, will be reading the next one to see what the lusty lawyers are up to.

[PureVintageStar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page turner.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story. Could hardly put it down! Looking forward to next book in series.

[Christine Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure soap opera stuff.

[Robyn Bauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A world about which I knew very little, just the movie and TV cliches. I can honestly say that I had no idea how it would pan out until the last few pages.

[Eleanor Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book in which a solicitor is drugged by her well meaning but quite silly secretary and then confides her (actually very sad and harrowing) trauma to a barrister and then is seduced by him even though he’s actually hung up on a younger barrister (who is in fact romantically interested in her) but needs to appear more respectable to support his application to take silk is going to get a resounding yes from me. Not as satisfying as a standalone read as The Pupil but that’s perfectly reasonable as there are several more to come in the series (needless to state I shall be reading them).

[Brick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second of the series, and the first that I have read. An enjoyable introduction to the convoluted culture of the British law system. Some very touching bits of irony and humanity from Leo, and I was astonished by the professional competence of Rachel Dean, together with her incompetence at her personal relationships. And an interesting ending, presaging trouble to come.

[Charlotte Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book from the caper court set, it's one of them books that you can take it or leave it. This one is set on Leo Davies and his past catching up with him, got a bit juicey near the end.

[Jeff Howells · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Law of diminishing returns...

[Marian Stead · Rating 2 out of 5]

An amusing read to while away a couple of evenings - along with "An Immoral Code", the next in the series, but I sincerely hope that my Legal Team don't carry on in this fashion.

[Clare Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read - my guilty pleasure

[Andrea Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read perfect for holidays where you don't need the book to bring home.