Simon Michael Books In Order

Publication Order of Charles Holborne Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Simon Michael is a published author. He is sometimes referred to as being the ‘British John Grisham’.

Simon has practiced at the bar and during that time he has prosecuted as well as defended enough killers, armed robbers, con artists and more to give him enough true crime stories for a lifetime.

Michael had several of his books published in the UK and America in the nineties. The short story that he wrote titled Split ended up being shortlisted for the Cosmopolitan/Perrier Short Story Award.

He has fathered four children and has gone through two divorces. He has also had a lot of therapy, and the divorces and children meant that he was forced to spend the next twenty years of his life as a lawyer in full-time practice. He was able to retire from the Bar in 2016 so that he could focus on devoting himself to full-time writing.

He is the author of the bestselling Charles Holborne series, which features over ten stories for readers to enjoy and counting (the eleventh book in the series, The French Vendetta, was released in 2026). These books are set in London in the sixties and seventies. This was a time of big social change. The stories explore themes such as loyalty and prejudice. They also examine what happens when justice comes together with a corrupt Establishment.

These novels focus on legality and historical fiction, but they also feature themes of moral compromise, memory, and the shadow that history is able to cast over the present. At the center of these stories is Charles Holborne, a barrister born with the name of Charlie Horowitz. He is a former East End heavyweight boxer and a criminal sometimes who gets pulled into cases shaped by gangs, organized crime, political interference, and institutional corruption.

Going between the courtrooms of London and the criminal underworld, the stories explore that fragile line that exists between justice and expediency. The book deals with class tensions and the prejudices that have been embedded inside of the legal profession of the time with themes of class tension and prejudice that are still relevant today. Legal authenticity is key in this series, as Michael is able to draw from experience to provide real life scenarios that provide a sense of realism that would not otherwise be present.

The Brief is the first book in the Charles Holborne series by Simon Michael. If you have been searching for a great legal thriller and you are a big fan of John Grisham’s work, then you are really going to enjoy this book.

In the sixties era London, gangsters, prejudice and gang wars are all going on. In the middle of all of it, Barrister Charles Holborne is devoting his life to contending with some of the very worst examples out there of violent criminality. After winning a variety of high-profile cases, he is founding a reputation among the criminal classes of Soho as the type of man who is able to get the job done. But this reputation is not one that makes him more endearing to his fellow colleagues in the establishment.

Despite all of this, Charles is not who he appears to be. His is not only taking on the battles with his personal demons but those of his own path. Then his wife Henrietta is discovered dead with her throat slashed and Charles discovers that he is truly on the wrong side of the law— and likely in serious trouble as he appears to have been the one who did it. After all, in these types of cases they usually directly look at the deceased’s partner as a suspect first.

Charles has been arrested for Henrietta’s murder but will he be able to find out the truth when it comes to who actually did it and clear his name– saving himself from the hangman’s noose for a crime that he never committed?

He has every incentive now to find out who actually committed this horrible crime. Charles is going to have to prove that he is innocent and find the real killer. But will he be able to do it? Read this first book in the series to find out!

An Honest Man is the second book in the Charles Holborne series by Simon Michael. If you thought that the first book in this series as good, check out another legal thriller adventure that you won’t want to miss that deals with corruption at the center of the English justice system.

The year is 1963 and the place is London. Charles Holborne is a barrister who has been able to avoid a horrible fate by showing the evidence that he was framed for murder. Despite his best efforts to try and clean up everything, his life is now completely in ruins.

Charles’ wife is dead and his career has been touched by criminal notoriety. He’s even facing potential bankruptcy. It all seems far too good to be true when the brief of a lifetime finds its way to his desk and comes along with a paycheck too. As Charles goes deeper into police corruption and more, he starts to realize that his life and reputation might be on the line again.

Things are ramping up and he’s finding that he’s involved in yet another risky scenario that could backfire and damage him badly. Can he win the case with his integrity intact? Read the second book in this suspenseful series from Simon Michael to find out!