Blood Witness in Aussie Readers

May 15, 2016 Kathryn rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, 4-stars, reading-list-2016, australian-authors

I picked this book up because I was heading to Melbourne and wanted a book that was set in Melbourne to read while I was there. And I loved the references to the city which I was seeing (or had seen) for myself. I loved that Will, the main character, lived on Spring Street (which I’d walked along) and that his mother lived on Clarendon Street (where I also walked one morning). I didn’t get to see Melbourne’s legal district, so might have to check that area out on my next visit to Melbourne, but ...more

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Jun 28, 2013 Brenda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-authors, net-galley, read-on-kindle, own-read, 2013-release, arc, australian-thriller

The sun was warm, the day beautiful and recently engaged Will Harris with fiancée Rachel were about to do their last dive for the day. Lowering themselves over the side of the boat, they joined the other tourists; Rachel had her camera and was searching for the best photos of the creatures of the deep that she could find.

Two years later, Will began to drag himself up from the depths of deep depression, the grief he still felt over the accident which took Rachel’s life intense. He was a defence l The sun was warm, the day beautiful and recently engaged Will Harris with fiancée Rachel were about to do their last dive for the day. Lowering themselves over the side of the boat, they joined the other tourists; Rachel had her camera and was searching for the best photos of the creatures of the deep that she could find.

Two years later, Will began to drag himself up from the depths of deep depression, the grief he still felt over the accident which took Rachel’s life intense. He was a defence lawyer in Melbourne, and when his boss came to him with a proposition for him to join forces with one of Melbourne’s top defence barristers, Chris Miller, over the murder of a young fifteen year old girl, he thought the time was right. His reputation, good in the past, could do with a boost. Millionaire, and known sex-offender, Martin Kier, was on trial for the murder, but Miller didn’t think he had done it. It was up to the team to get him off from the murder charge, even though they knew he deserved to be in jail anyway.

Just as Will began to investigate the Kier case, he received notification that his beloved Rachel’s older sister, Mischa, who had gone completely off the rails when Rachel died, had been arrested on drugs charges. He needed to help her, she was troubled and desperate, but he was sure she wasn’t guilty of the things the police had arrested her for.

Torn between the two cases, ordered by his boss to concentrate on the Kier investigation, Will began to see danger everywhere he looked. The drugs gangs of Melbourne seemed to be closing in, the violence was escalating and the strangeness of his confrontations was creating problems. With the pressure mounting, and sleep a thing of the past, would Will be able to bring the two cases to a satisfying conclusion?

Intensely gripping from the very start, this debut novel is a credit to the author. Combining wonderful descriptions of Melbourne, along with the facts of the law (though never overdoing it) the despicable traits of some humans, and the very likeable traits of Will, (shown in the way he cares for Mischa and wheelchair-bound Peter Kovacs), makes this a novel I have no hesitation in recommending highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy to read and review.
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Jun 22, 2013 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, crime, australian, series, aussie-author-challenge

Will Harris is a defence lawyer working for a prestigious firm in Melbourne’s CBD. Two years ago, Will was an up and coming name, high off a string of creditable wins – he was a person to watch. But then Will lost his fiancée Rachel in a diving accident and he’s been dropping off the radar ever since.

But now top Melbourne defence barrister Chris Miller has requested Will’s help specifically on his latest case, defending Martin Kier for the kidnap, rape and murder of a fifteen year old schoolgirl Will Harris is a defence lawyer working for a prestigious firm in Melbourne’s CBD. Two years ago, Will was an up and coming name, high off a string of creditable wins – he was a person to watch. But then Will lost his fiancée Rachel in a diving accident and he’s been dropping off the radar ever since.

But now top Melbourne defence barrister Chris Miller has requested Will’s help specifically on his latest case, defending Martin Kier for the kidnap, rape and murder of a fifteen year old schoolgirl. Although there’s no doubting their client has some sexual proclivities that do not mesh with society’s views, Miller doubts that he’s a murderer and he and Will need to find a creditable defence in order to get their client acquitted. There’s one witness that might hold a valuable key to their case, but first Will will need to find if he can get it admitted.

Peter Kovacs is a bedridden, suffering from pneumonia that has given him a life sentence, his immune system destroyed by cancer and the drugs he was using to fight it. He claims to have witnessed the murder of schoolgirl Amber Tasic through a vision. He has always had visions, but this is the first time he has ever experienced something like this. He felt compelled to report it right away but was dismissed by the police. In attempting to find any line of defence that he can, Will visits Peter to hear his story and finds it utterly compelling, especially as Peter knows details that haven’t been released to the media and general public and his unique situation obviously clears him as a suspect in the murder itself. Will hits the books, looking for something that will allow him and Chris to call Peter as a witness in the court case.

Will also finds himself pulled in another direction when the sister of his late fiancée is charged with drug trafficking. Mischa is troubled, but she’s not a dealer and Will desperately wants to help her. Mischa doesn’t trust him though and the further Will digs the more he begins to suspect a dangerous connection to one of Melbourne’s gangs, something that could put his life and Mischa’s at risk.

This is an addictive, engrossing story right from the very first page. Alex Hammond has a law degree and has worked for law firms in Melbourne and he captures the essence of the city and the intricacies and dilemmas of working on the side of the courtroom that attempts to free people charged with crimes. It’s a common thing to hear said to a defence lawyer “how do you sleep at night?” and Chris Miller is asked that question in this book. Hammond tackles the moral question in a very interesting and different way – there’s no doubt that Martin Kier, Chris Miller and Will Harris’s client, is a reprehensible human being. He has previously been charged with distributing child pornography (without penetration) and is well known for his fascination with young teenage girls. He’s probably -or definitely- someone that should be in jail, away from vulnerable teenage girls. But that’s wholly different to being charged with murder and even though the evidence seems to suggest that he could be and this could be an easy conviction, Will and Chris have to find something to suggest it was someone else or that it possibly couldn’t have been their client. Peter Kovacs’ vision supports the fact that it was someone else, but visions, psychics and mystics are not usually regarded with any seriousness by the Australian police who have stated officially that they do not accept any help from anyone claiming to be clairvoyant. Will has to look for another way to use the information given, something that could be complicated by Peter’s physical condition. There’s also the fact that if Martin Kier isn’t the killer then there’s someone else out there, a killer who could strike again.

Will’s devotion to the case is somewhat interrupted by the fact that his almost-sister-in-law has been charged with drug trafficking and faces a lengthy jail sentence if she doesn’t come clean about who was keeping the drugs in her apartment. Will feels that he failed Mischa after Rachel died, that he abandoned her when she needed him, in order to work through his own grief. Now he feels that he owes her and keeping her out of jail is just the beginning, although Mischa isn’t being very co-operative. Will feels like this is what he needs to do to let go and move on, although it’s impacting on his work with Miller and his boss isn’t particularly happy with him. It’s a very fine balancing, juggling act and Will is one fumble away from having everything crash down on top of him.

Will is a great character because I think he alters perceptions of defence lawyers. He’s very humanised and the way in which he deals with Mischa and Peter makes him highly likable. He’s dedicated and very intelligent and at times he is almost too good but Hammond just brings him back from the brink of too good to be true. I found his reaction to Kier really interesting, because Will doesn’t really make much of an attempt to hide the fact that he thinks Kier is a disgusting person. But he knows the law and he knows what he can use the law for and that works for the defence team quite well in this book. It did make me think, because Kier made my skin crawl and he probably should be locked up and have them throw away the key but not for something that he didn’t do. The right to a fair trial is always a fun debate and I think I agree that everyone should be able to have their day in court and that it should be up to the prosecution to present a watertight case however there are always going to be loopholes, inconsistencies that can be exploited. It’s the way of trial by jury. Sometimes guilty people will walk, sometimes innocent people won’t. It makes me uneasy but I don’t really have a better solution.

I really enjoyed this book and the end of it had a great set-up for another installment featuring Will and Chris Miller, which has already been snapped up by Penguin. I can’t wait to read it because I think this has a terrific longevity potential. ...more

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Jun 07, 2013 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher, arc-are

I am impressed with this well crafted crime/legal thriller, a debut fiction novel for South African born Australian, Alex Hammond.

Set in Melbourne, Blood Witness introduces Will Harris, a defence lawyer for a large legal firm. Tasked to instruct barrister Chris Miller in a high profile murder trial, Harris has to think outside the box to prevent their client from being branded a killer. The case demands all of Will's attention but when Mischa, the younger sister of his fiance he lost in a tragi
I am impressed with this well crafted crime/legal thriller, a debut fiction novel for South African born Australian, Alex Hammond.

Set in Melbourne, Blood Witness introduces Will Harris, a defence lawyer for a large legal firm. Tasked to instruct barrister Chris Miller in a high profile murder trial, Harris has to think outside the box to prevent their client from being branded a killer. The case demands all of Will's attention but when Mischa, the younger sister of his fiance he lost in a tragic accident two years before, is charged with serious drug related offences, his attempts to secure her release threatens to compromise the trial and derail his career.

Hammond deals with the novel's two major story lines and additional subplots with unexpected skill for a debut novelist. The author is a lawyer so his knowledge of legal process lends authenticity to the detail but he avoids intruding on to the flow of the novel. The story is well paced, the tension well maintained and the dialogue genuine.

The first major plot of Blood Witness involves Will's defense of Martin Keir. Wealthy and arrogant, the accused likes young girls and though he admits to sleeping with the fifteen year old victim, he denies being involved in her brutal murder. Despite the damning evidence, Harris is tasked with developing a case to establish reasonable doubt, something that seems unlikely until Harris interviews Peter Kovacs who is convinced he witnessed the crime in a dream. At first Harris dismisses the statement as unusable, simply the hallucination of a dying man, but as their defence begins to crumble an almost forgotten precedent may give Kovacs his day in court but at the risk of ruining Will's career.

The second major plot thread sees Will struggling personally as he tries to help his fiance's younger sister. Harbouring guilt over his fiance's accidental death, he is determined to do all that he can to help Mischa but his impulsive handling of her case makes him a target of a nosy journalist and places him at odds with a dangerous criminal organisation.

I particularly liked the way in which Hammond balanced the professional with the personal aspects of his protagonist. I felt I got to know Will Harris on both levels, learning what sort of man, and what sort of lawyer, he is. I found Will to be an appealing character, supported by a solid, complementary cast.

I think Blood Witness is an entertaining and interesting thriller and a great start to a new Australian crime series with lots of potential. If you enjoy crime fiction I'm happy to recommend you give this debut author and Blood Witness a try.
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