Brian Harris

I'm not even sure where to start with this book.... firstly credit must go to Nick Wallis who has been doggedly following this scandal with great persistence and professionalism since 2010, and who has managed to condense a huge amount of information- including complex legal arguments - into a very readable book, which does a fantastic job on focusing on the people who matter most, the innocent victims of the post office and their friends and family. Wallis never loses sight of the human stories at the heart of this narrative and always ensures it's their voices which come across the loudest. The chapters are short and focus on one topic or victim's story at a time. This technique helps keep the reader on top of a story which unfolds over more than a decade. He also provides a comprehensive chronology, index and dramatis personae. In the latter stages of the book when the legal arguments start to dominate he generally does a commendable job in explaining them all in layman's terms. He also doesn't hold back on identifying the many villains of this story, whose behaviour he either explicitly or implicitly condemns as reprehensible.... they knew what they were doing was wrong and didn't care or didn't know and didn't think to ask... in both cases standing by and watching while innocent lives were destroyed, so they could preserve the reputation of the post office. Its clear he holds Paula Vennels in particular contempt, and rightly so. Together with Peter Apps excellent account of the Grenfell Tower tragedy this book tells us a lot about a modern Britain in which much has gone badly wrong. Ordinary people find themselves fighting a Kafkaesque battle against powerful forces who treat them with disdain. It's an ugly picture and something needs to change.Soon.