The Pinocchio Brief by Abi Silver #BlogTour @abisilver16 @RKbookpublicist @eyebooks

A schoolboy accused of a brutal murder. A retired lawyer with secrets to hide...

A 15-year-old schoolboy is accused of the murder of one of his teachers. His lawyers, the guarded veteran, Judith, and the energetic young solicitor, Constance, begin a desperate pursuit of the truth, revealing uncomfortable secrets about the teacher and the school. But Judith has her own secrets which she risks exposing when it is announced that a new lie-detecting device, nicknamed Pinocchio, will be used during the trial. And is the accused, a troubled boy who loves challenges, trying to help them or not?

The Pinocchio Brief is a gripping, very human thriller which confronts our assumptions about truth and reliance on technology.

The Pinocchio Brief by Abi Silver was published by Lightning Books in paperback on 23 July 2017 and is the author's debut novel. I'm delighted to host the Blog Tour here on Random Things today.


There can be no doubt that currently, the book market is swamped with psychological thrillers, tales of domestic noir and police and crime thrillers. Some are great, some struggle to compete in the market. The Pinocchio Brief is a thrilling and complex thriller, quite different to anything else that I've read recently and really gives the reader food for thought.

Raymond is fifteen years old and is accused of the murder of a teacher at his private school. Raymond himself is an intriguing, quite bizarre and intriguing character who is a marvellous creation. For me though, it was his legal team who are the star players in this compelling drama. His young solicitor Constance and out-of-retirement Judith; two extremely well written characters; like chalk and cheese. Old school and modern, yet both have the same beliefs and convictions.

Abi Silver introduces the idea of 'Pinocchio' to the story; a machine that will be used to 'judge' Raymond's testimony. This could appear to be outrageous, but the concept is so well explained, it feels entirely plausible, and in fact, it's probably not far from our future truth.

There is a refreshing authenticity to this story, and it is clear that the author's legal background adds depth to the story.

Extremely well written, this keeps the reader on their toes and is a fine debut. I look forward to reading more from this author.

My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

Abi Silver talks about The Pinocchio Brief

About Abi Silver (in her words, from www.abisilver.co.uk)
I cannot remember a time when I was not writing stories.  Growing up with a house full of books (my parents were teachers), I was inspired from an early age to believe I could join the ranks of my heroes.  But I accept that I probably could not have produced “The Pinocchio Brief” without my experience as a lawyer to guide me along the way. 

Being a lawyer is just like being a detective.  You are often required to construct the whole jigsaw puzzle of your client’s case from its constituent pieces.  And you need to be a good judge of character too; the motivation behind people’s actions (which you must glean from their words and conduct) is key to understanding what really happened and why.

I was a pupil of Roundhay School Leeds, and went on to read Law at Girton College Cambridge before wanderlust sent me off travelling through Asia, Australia and South America as a student.  I also lived overseas in Israel for 5 years, during which time I learned sculpting, pottery on the wheel and began and completed an MBA.

I now live in Radlett, Hertfordshire with my husband and three sons.  The peaceful village setting and warm community gives me ample opportunity to write.  I usually have at least three plot lines going on in my head at one time and ideas come to me at the strangest of moments.  The skill, of course, is to select the one which will work best and then sit down to write.

Find out more at www.abisilver.co.uk
Follow on Twitter @abisilver16
Abi Silver Author page on Facebook