Crow Court

Product Information

A judge will look at your application and decide whether to give you permission. If you get permission to appeal Crow Court begins in 1840 in a small town of Wimborne Minster, Dorset, when a young choirboy is found drowned. Whispers and rumours flood the town that the choirmaster is far from the God-fearing man he should be, these escalate and soon he is found, to many’s relief, murdered. This story unfolds over several years with a vast array of characters who seemingly all have some kind of involvement with the events that shook the town.

Basically - I think this is right - it's an imaginative reconstruction of a murder that actually took place in Dorset, mid 1800s. A choirmaster, who routinely abused boys in his choir, is found murdered.Welcome to my stop on the Crow Court blog tour! Huge thanks to Random Things Tours for giving me the opportunity to take part in this! I was provided a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review. If you’re applying without legal representation, complete the easy read form for convictions or the easy read form for sentences. While this situation may seem like a whole murder of crows mourning the death of their companion, that is not really the case. If you apply later you’ll need to explain why you could not send your application in on time. You may get an extension.

Probation officers will help the court by providing risk assessments, advice on sentencing and bail, or presenting breaches. The officer may interview the defendant and present relevant information about them, along with a proposal to help decisions of the court. The judge Your solicitor (if you have one) can explain what happens in court - the judge and court staff will also give instructions about the trial.Inventive, original and deeply moving. There is a warmth and humanity, an acceptance of the vagaries and challenges of life' - Alice Jolly, author of Mary Anne Sate, Imbecile Crow Court could easily be considered a historical novel, Dorset and its dialect is almost a character in the book, evolving alongside human characters as we move through the years from 1840 to 1860. But it could easily be a crime/mystery story too, seen that what sets everything in motion is the unsolved murder of a choirmaster. Or it can be seen as a collection of short stories/linked vignettes. The transition between stories is so smooth, that they really work to create a plot: from introducing the characters, to story consolidation and character development, to the final revelations that will close the circle of life for the main characters. I find any story with gallows featuring very hard to stomach and the ending is far from what anyone inclined to like things neatly wrapped up and served on a platter of Happiness and Justice, will be satisfied with. Deprived of timely fictional retribution withstanding, the ending is as it should be and most fitting given the title.

The main plot of the mysterious deaths felt slightly sidelined in the middle of the novel which did make it a little confusing for me at first, but I think this was there because I read the novel in several sittings rather than the writing of the novel. I found the main plot incredibly interesting and I really liked the reveal at the end, especially as there were several moments where I thought I had figured out what had happened to the choirmaster. There is a lot more I would like to say about this bittersweet ending, however I, of course, don’t want to spoil it.

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The structure of this fascinating novel is worth examining. It is, in effect, fourteen short stories, cleverly written so that they stand alone - indeed, three of the episodes have been published separately - but are linked to a central event, in this case the disappearance of Matthew Ellis. I am struggling for a suitable metaphor; ripples in water spreading out from a central disturbance, maybe? The trouble with that one is that literal ripples weaken the further they spread, and in this case, with the time span being twenty years or more, the 'ripples' don't weaken - they become stronger and more deadly. You can obviously read the synopsis of the book elsewhere, but in a sentence this is about one man escaping his sins and another man embracing, in a very convoluted manner, and ultimately in vain, the question of morality. Just days earlier, Samuel had approached his best man, Charles Ellis, with a request for help. Louisa's young cousin, Henry Cuff, is a member of the Minster choir, but it has been reported that he is desperately unhappy, is absenting himself from school, and refusing to sing in the choir. So how can Charles help? His half brother, Matthew Ellis is the Choirmaster. Could Charles please intercede, and try to find out what is the matter with young Henry? Debut novels shouldn't be this perfectly formed. Its subject is historic, yet its exploration of morality feels utterly modern. A rarity in historical fiction: it truly places you in the here and now of a world once removed. Crow Court already looks, feels and smells like a classic' - Ben Myers, author of The Gallows Pole and The Offing