Barrister's new novel featuresterror attack in provincial city

A TERRORIST plot to attack a “soft target” in a provincial city is the hard-hitting subject of a new novel by Hull-based lawyer Paul Genney.

Sentence Adjourned is Mr Genney’s second book following the 2007 publication of Pleading Guilty, and features the anti-hero of his debut, Henry Wallace, an aging barrister at odds with the world and the legal establishment.

Asked how much of the author was in the character, Mr Genney replied: “Some would say a great deal, I couldn’t possibly comment.”

This time things appear to be on the up for Wallace as he finds himself working on a major terrorist case at the Old Bailey, a complex and lucrative civil action, a murder case and brief to defend his own head of chambers.

He enlists the help of Jas, a talented pupil, to ease the burden, which also allows the barrister to pursue his amorous liaisons.

Set largely in Hull and the East Riding, the book ends with a thundering conclusion at Hull Crown Court on the day Jas is due to make his courtroom debut.

Mr Genney draws heavily on his experience as a criminal barrister, and has recently worked on a terror trial at the Old Bailey.

He said: “The terrorists are looking for soft targets now.

“Those big spectaculars are never going to happen again because there’s so much security, but there are lots of soft targets where the security can’t be the same.

“The security at Hull Crown Court has gone up by about 10-fold.

“Everybody is getting frisked now. That’s just how dangerous it is now and this is how it’s going to be for the next hundred years.

“They’ve only got to be lucky once and we’ve got to be lucky every day.”

Mr Genney has had a varied career and after leaving Bristol University worked as a dentist for six years before becoming a potato merchant.

He stood twice, unsuccessfully, as a Parliamentary candidate for the SDP and SDP-Liberal alliance in the 1980s before becoming a criminal barrister.

Sentence Adjourned is published by Dedalus and costs 9.99.

Mr Genney will be attending a launch of the book at Hammicks legal book store in Fleet Street, London, tomorrow.