Joan's picks: Prima Facie and Mr Einstein’s Secretary

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller. This book is based on a one-woman stage play of the same name which has run in Sydney, on the West End and on Broadway and recently in Auckland, and was so powerful that it prompted judges at the Old Bailey to completely rethink how they issue directions to juries in sexual assault cases- and it has become mandatory in Dublin for judges to watch the video of it. The author of the play has written the book and done a great job of turning it into a novel. Tess is a brilliant criminal defence lawyer who believes passionately in the rule of law, in justice, and in a legal system which she knows will always do the right thing. She’s outstanding in the courtroom and is confident in her ability to hold a jury in the palm of her hand and get the right results for her clients. When her own world falls apart, she believes that justice will prevail but finds herself instead in the witness box, on the receiving end of her own tactics. This is a remarkable piece of work and it is highly, highly recommended. 

Mr Einstein’s Secretary by Matthew Reilly. All Hanna Fischer ever wanted to do was to study physics under the great Albert Einstein. But in 1919, her life is turned upside down and she finds herself in America where she graduates from a secretarial college and goes on to work for some extraordinary men – from a shrewd American businessman to his lightweight son; to some high ranking Nazis in Germany and, eventually, Albert Einstein himself. It spans forty years against the backdrop of WW1, the Great Depression and WW2 and is the very clever story of a young woman being propelled through history and the world. Great storytelling. 

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