Spies like us – entertainingly different solicitor stories

These two short books are about Mike Johnson. He’s an aspiring law student in Room Four; by the second book, Long Weekend at Niagara, he is a junior partner in a solicitors’ firm. 

We follow Mike’s journey from a modest background to a degree course at a London polytechnic and then on to qualification. The challenge of leaving home and moving to the capital, as well as getting used to being a student, is well portrayed and brings back many memories. The only difference being that Mike is apparently recruited by security services to spy on his housemates, as you do. He sends regular reports to his handlers on their comings and goings, and gets involved with terrorists on the way. The story ends with an exciting climax, and we later learn about Mike’s subsequent career and activities. 

In the second book, set in the 1990s, Mike is a junior partner at a law firm. A duty solicitor call leads him to work for a family with a past and possible dodgy connections. Coincidentally, he and his wife are due to go on holiday to Canada. He is asked by the head of the (probably criminal) family to run an errand involving a Canadian mob. A trip to Niagara Falls leads to more drama and being chased by the Mounties! 

Both stories are entertaining and offer something different. I am not sure how the SRA would regard Mike and his choices in either book, but the past is another country. The author has published many stories with a legal twist. She was a family lawyer and mediator, became a district judge in 2000 and officially retired from judging in 2021.

David Pickup