The Courageous Witness by Oliver Richbell

Paperback: 65 pages                                                                                                 
Genre: Novella Nostalgia Series, Thriller,
Publisher:  City Fiction (28 Feb. 2019)
Source: The publishers and author, in return for an honest and unbiased review.
First Sentences: It was a size too big for her. That was why she was wearing it. Amanda wrapped the pink-flowered cheongsam around her naked body.
Main Characters: Amanda Buckingham, Sara Tomkins, 
Setting: London, England
My Opinion: This is the seventh volume in the Novella Nostalgia Series, which links cinema classics with modern stories, it is the second in the series to be written by Oliver Richbell. His last one 'Gloriana' is a very topical read, which I enjoyed, however I found this one to be more to my liking.
The protagonist, Amanda Buckingham first appeared very briefly in 'Twelve Troubled Jurors' so I was delighted to discover her character has been developed into one of the main characters for 'The Courageous Witness'. I think we may well hear more of this character in forthcoming publications, as the back of this novella includes a potted life history of Amanda Buckingham. Is she I wonder going to feature in the author's forthcoming novel? We will just have to wait and see, I personally hope so because as much as I am happy to read and review this series I much prefer to have longer stories to immerse myself in.
In my opinion ' The Courageous Witness' is a well written and engrossing legal novella which I devoured in one evening. An office party goes terribly wrong, leaving the female protagonist Sara accusing her colleagues of rape!
For those looking for quick reads, then I certainly recommend not just this title but the entire series, Novella Nostalgia is certainly a name to look out for as more titles are added to the collection.


Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:

A rising star at The Bar, barrister, Amanda Buckingham is persuaded by the Head of Hartington Chambers to take on a case that she instinctively would have preferred not to. The defence counsel, as the Trial neared its denouement, had surely done enough to cast sufficient doubt in the minds of the jury. Amanda was hurtling towards a career defining loss. There was something though that Amanda just couldn’t reconcile – something she had forgotten in the evidence that had been put before the Court which had reopened memories of her own traumatic past. To turn an acquittal into a conviction Amanda needed to delve deep into her own personal nightmare as well as finding the key evidence before it was too late for her and Sarah.

Notes on The Story of  'The Accused' : From the Book 'The Courageous Witness'
This 1988 American drama was one of the first Hollyworld films to include a rape incident of unimaginable graphic realism.

The storyline of  The Accused was loosely based on the 1983 gang rape of Cheryl Araujo in New Bedford, Massachusetts and the resulting trial.
This film is set in Washington State but was filmed in Vancouver, Canada. Sarah Tobais (played by Jodie Foster is gang raped in a bar.
Assistant DA, Kathryn Murphy (played by Kellie McGillis), agrees a plea bargain with the legal representatives of the three men accused. They plead guilty to a charge of 'reckless endangerment' which carries a lesser prison sentence and the chance of parole. Sarah is incensed, not least because she was denied the opportunity to testify in court.

Kathryn opts to prosecute three witnesses identified by a friend of sarah. They are charged with criminal solicitation. The evidence in court is partly overlaid with a visual reproduction of the whole of the rape scene. Another bystander gives evidence and the three men are convicted. One consequence is that the perpetrators, now in prison, will serve longer sentences and not be eligible for parole.

The final scene is a display, by Sarah and Kathryn, of mutual respect as they go their separate ways.





Author Profile:

Oliver was born in 1977 and qualified as a Solicitor in 2007. He worked in London for a litigation and sports law practice before a brief stint in two regional firms. In 2010 he married in his sweetheart and in 2014 he became a father. in 2015 Oliver took a leap of faith and formed his own dispute resolution consultancy. Oliver loves to write and has now achieved one of his many ambitions in life in becoming a published author. His first work, Gloriana, was published in September 2018 and inspired by the movie Valkyrie, Gloriana tells a story of a band of conspirators intent on assassinating The Prime Minister in the aftermath of the Brexit Referendum. My review may be read here Oliver's first novel will be published later this year.


Photographs, Biographical Information and film details courtesy of the following sites.

IMDb - The Accused - Plot Summary   Wikipedia - The Accused 

Amazon Author Page - Oliver Richbell     Goodreads - Oliver Richbell