Alan Hammond

A gentle collection of tales set in a solicitor's practice in a fictional rural English town. The characters are invented though the stories they are involved with are informed by the author's experience of working in the law. As such, the book is similar both in style and content, to Gervase Phinn's books about life as a school inspector or James Herriott's books about a country vet. Just as listening to a lot of light music can become a little tiresome after a while, I found that this book was best enjoyed by reading the odd chapter here and there, rather than in a long sitting. It is quite well suited to be digested in this way, since each chapter is effectively a stand-alone short story. Yes, television's "Kingdom" probably covers the cosy legal drama brief (pun intended) with more panache (helped by its star cast); yes, it is probably not as good as Phinn, but then he is helped by being able to call on the very funny things that children often say; yes, this is never going to get shortlisted for the Booker Prize, however populist that competition may become; nevertheless, I believe Alan Hammond has achieved in writing just the sort of light fiction he set out to produce and that it will be well received by its target market.… (más)