économies Crash Course: To Hell in a Handcart by Barrington, Alan NEUF

Crash Course tells of a year in the life of Abergavenny solicitor Alan Barrington, from the time he is called out to the police station to advise Craig Williams, who has been arrested for Armed robbery of a petrol station - a case which quickly turns into murder - until the final day of Craigs trial. The evidence against him appears damning, but Craig claims not to remember anything about the crime. Alan has his work cut out to establish a defence.

Meanwhile, he has plenty of other cases to deal with, and we get an insight into the practice of a solicitors firm in a small town, meet some of the clients, and hear their stories, from the tragic to the macabre.

The year in question starts on 21 June 2001, and the book contains sidelong glimpses at the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the first Harry Potter film. Wales fail in the Six Nations Rugby, England beat both Germany and Argentina at football, Paula Radcliffe wins the London Marathon, and Tim Henman loses in the semifinals at Wimbledon. The Queen Mother dies, along with Princess Margaret and Spike Milligan.

We also encounter Alans private life and his family, his disastrous marriage to Samantha, and his affair with Amanda. To cap it all, Alan now finds his own life threatened. A bomb explodes in his car. More by luck than judgment, he survives an attack on his car and assassination attempts in his office, on the M4 motorway, and in his own home.

The different strands of the story proceed side by side and reach their climax with Craigs trial and the final revelations, which prompt Alan to ponder, not for the first time, the meaning and proximity of Hell.