AUTHOR

Simon Michael

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense | Literature & Fiction

Simon Michael, often referred to as “the British John Grisham”, is the author of the best-selling London 1960s Charles Holborne series, featuring his antihero barrister, an East End villain made good but struggling in his West End profession. Simon was published in the UK and the US in the 1980s and returned to writing when he retired from the law in 2016. The Charles Holborne series, The Brief, An Honest Man, The Lighterman, Corrupted, The Waxwork Corpse, Force of Evil and the latest, The Final Shot, have all garnered strong reviews for their authenticity and excitement. Simon’s tales from the Bar and the plots for his novels are based on his criminal practice, his life and that of his own family. Refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, the Michael family arrived in the Port of London in 1492 and remained in the East End for the next 450 years. Simon believes himself to be the only member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple formerly to have been a council labourer, a van driver and a gardener. Once qualified he practised as a barrister for 37 years, working at the Old Bailey and other criminal courts, defending and prosecuting a wide selection of murderers, armed robbers, con artists and other assorted villainy. The era about which he writes, the 1960s, was the “wild west” of British justice, a time when the Krays, the Richardsons and other violent gangs fought for control of London’s organised crime, and the corrupt Metropolitan Police beat up suspects, twisted evidence and took a share of the criminal proceeds. Simon weaves into his thrillers real events of the time, the cases on which he worked, and his unusual family history. If you would like to hear when the next book is out or other Holborne-related news, you may sign up for his newsletter at: http://www.simonmichael.uk/newslettersign-up/