This anonymously written book absolutely wrecks The Secret Barrister. Written in a far more accessible way, this book is reminiscent of Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt or other similar books.

The Good
This book is absolutely hilarious. A particular part that jumps to mind is when Fendem learns that in Crown Court, if you aren’t dressed properly the judge will feign deafness. His internal monologue upon learning this – quite rightly – was wanting to say “Can you hear me now you miserable old cunt?”. If you dislike swearing this probably isn’t one for you but if you want to see horse shit called horse shit then this is something you’d probably quite like.

Fendem does not pull punches on the failings of the justice system, and does so in a way that’s accessible, informative, and still funny as hell.

The Bad
About two thirds in, there’s a part where the pacing totally changes. It feels as if the book is getting ready to end, and faces with another 60 pages of that I wasn’t sure I could muster the energy to keep reading. It does pass though so I’m glad I persevered.

I read Dirty Briefs on the Kindle app on a Boox ereader and it contained a considerable number of formatting mistakes, especially relating to the start of paragraphs. As this is an advance reader copy, I am confident these will be corrected, but it would be remiss to not mention them.

Final Verdict
The Secret Barrister’s working class equivalent is hilarious and isn’t afraid to challenge what you think lawyers are like. Recommended.

I received a free copy of Dirty Briefs via NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.