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Born in 1946, Peter Murphy graduated from Cambridge University and pursued a career in the law in England, the United States and The Hague. He practised as a barrister in London for a decade, then took up a professorship at a law school in Texas, a position he held for more than twenty years. Towards the end of that period he returned to Europe as counsel at the Yugoslavian War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague for almost a decade. In 2007 he returned to England to take up an appointment as a judge of the Crown Court. He retired as Resident Judge and Honorary Recorder of Peterborough in 2015.
Peter started writing fiction more than twenty years ago, but following his retirement from the bench he became a full-time author, often drawing on the many experiences of his former career. Two political thrillers about the American presidency: Removal and Test of Resolve were followed by eight legal thrillers in the Ben Schroeder series about a barrister practising in London in the 1960s and 1970s. Alongside those he also penned the light-hearted series of short story collections featuring Judge Walden of Bermondsey in the ‘Rumpole’ tradition, based in part on his own experiences as a lawyer and judge, and recently published A Statue for Jacob, based on the true story of Jacob de Haven.
Peter passed away in July 2022.
A compulsive mix of crime fiction and legal thriller, exploring highly topical themes.
Charlie Walden picks his way through the issues of the day with satirical good humour, insight and wit. Another entertaining and insightful look at the British court system.
1964, Apartheid South Africa. Danie is poised to start a glittering academic career when he falls in love with Amy. But there’s a problem: he’s white, she’s not. Facing arrest, the couple flee South Africa and settle in Cambridge, becoming involved in increasingly dangerous schemes to undermine the South African…
A clever, accomplished Cambridge graduate with a good job and an attentive lover, Imogen Lester seems to have the world at her feet. But when her parents are murdered abroad while working for the Diplomatic Service, she is suddenly thrown headlong into a murky world of espionage and organised crime.When she is charged with drug…
Charlie Walden, the irrepressible Resident Judge (RJ) of Bermondsey Crown Court is back with a new selection of cases. As ever, there is little rest for the RJ as he does his best to deal with: the church-going carer who steals from the old lady under her care; the cleaver-wielding chefs with different ideas about how to make a Caesar…
When Audrey Marshall sends her daughter Emily to the religious boarding school where she herself was educated a generation before, memories return – memories of a culture of child sexual abuse presided over by a highly-regarded priest. Audrey turns to barrister Ben Schroeder in search of justice for Emily and herself. But there are…
Judge Walden is back, to preside over five new cases at Bermondsey Crown Court.Retired resident judge Peter Murphy takes us back to the world of criminal trials in South London for another session with Charlie keeping the peace between his fellow judges – Marjorie, ‘Legless’ and Hubert – while fighting off the attacks…
When Charlie Walden took on the job of Resident Judge of the Bermondsey Crown Court, he was hoping for a quiet life. But he soon finds himself struggling to keep the peace between three feisty fellow judges who have very different views about how to do their job, and about how Charlie should do his. And as if that’s not enough, there’s…
April 1971. When DI Webb and DS Raymond respond to a 999 call at Harpur Mews in Bloomsbury, a horrific scene awaits them. Susan Lang is lying on the ground, bleeding to death. Her husband Henry is sitting nearby, holding a large, blood-stained knife. In shock, Henry claims to have no memory of the events that led to his…
1 July 1969. The Investiture of the new Prince of Wales. When Arianwen Hughes is arrested driving with a home-made bomb near Caernarfon Castle, her case seems hopeless. Her brother Caradog, her husband Trevor, and their friend Dafydd are implicated in the plot, the evidence against them damning. Ben Schroeder’s reputation as a barrister…
1965. The British Establishment is reeling after a series of defections and acts of treachery by high- ranking intelligence officers. When Francis Hollander, an American academic, accuses Sir James Digby QC, a baronet and leader of the Bar, of being a Soviet spy, Digby retains Ben Schroeder and his head of Chambers to represent him….
It is 1964 and Ben Schroeder, first introduced in A Higher Duty, is building his career at the Bar; juggling the demands of different challenging cases, while trying to allow a little romance into his life.Ben is already defending a vicar, accused of indecent assault on a choir boy, when he is plunged into a capital murder…
A denounced President, her kidnapped daughter, a Hindu extremist group and the threat of nuclear war: America is once again thrown into turmoil in Peter Murphy’s sequel to Removal….
In Harold Macmillan’s Britain of the early 1960s the Bar is dominated by white, privileged, Oxbridge men. Underneath a profession which proudly flaunts its integrity and traditions lies a world of hypocrisy and ruthless self-interest. When scandal threatens, self-preservation is the only goal and no one is indispensable….
When the philandering US President lies to his wife and to the American people he weaves a tangled web that leads to disastrous results… President Steve Wade believes his latest affair with a beautiful Lebanese woman, Lucia Benoni, is a secret. When Lucia is murdered in mysterious circumstances, FBI Agent Kelly Smith…