The Cinderella Plan by Abi Silver - Book Tour + Giveaway
The Cinderella Plan
When James Salisbury, the owner of a British car manufacturer, ploughs his ‘self-drive’ car into a young family, the consequences are deadly. Will the car’s ‘black box’ reveal what really happened or will the industry, poised to launch these products to an eager public, close ranks to cover things up?
James himself faces a personal dilemma. If it is proved that he was driving the car he may go to prison. But if he is found innocent, and the autonomous car is to blame, the business he has spent most of his life building, and his dream of safer transport for all, may collapse.
Lawyers Judith Burton and Constance Lamb team up once again, this time to defend a man who may not want to go free, in a case that asks difficult questions about the speed at which technology is taking over our lives.
Purchase Links
Readers can order the book from the Lightning Books website at 50% off (with free UK p&p) if you enter this code at checkout – BLOGTOURCIND
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Cinderella-Plan-thriller-topical-Thrillers-ebook/dp/B07R857W32
Excerpt
Excerpt
This
extract is from the first dinner that Judith Burton, battle-hardened criminal
barrister, has ever hosted for Constance Lamb, as she generally prefers to keep
her private life very private and separate from any professional engagements.
Constance, a much younger and still idealistic solicitor, has just been offered
the opportunity to represent James Salisbury, the charming car magnate whose
self-drive car has been involved in a fatal collision. Greg Winter, now
Judith’s partner, was an expert witness in the first of the Burton & Lamb
series, The Pinocchio Brief, and he constantly strives to make Judith moderate
her (sometimes) extreme views.
**
‘What
are you working on at the moment?’ Judith asked Constance, as she lifted the
lid off the tureen and an exotic smell wafted through the room.
Greg
coughed exaggeratedly.
‘Oh,
sorry. I had promised not to talk shop too much. We can do that afterwards when
Greg retires to smoke his pipe in the drawing room, then.’
Constance
looked around her, in confusion, as she hadn’t spied any other living space,
before realising that Judith was joking. Judith retreated to the kitchen one
last time and returned with a basket of bread.
‘Don’t
let me stifle the conversation,’ Greg said. ‘Go on. Judith will only kick me
under the table repeatedly, till you tell her what you’re up to. She has steel
toe caps on her shoes, you know.’
‘OK.’
Constance took a moment to examine both their faces; Judith alert and curious,
Greg relaxed and bemused. ‘How much do you know about driverless cars?’ she
asked.
‘Only
what I’ve read,’ Judith replied, ‘that we’ll all have them in the next ten
years and they’re the answer to all the world’s problems, including third world
debt and human trafficking. Why? I suspect you’re not looking for a recommendation.’
‘Did
you read about the family hit by a car outside their house yesterday?’
‘Yes
I did. Terrible mess. Two children killed. Oh no! It wasn’t one of those cars.’
‘Yes.
A SEDA. British-made. They’ve kept that part out of the mainstream press so far
but it’s all over the internet. There’s lots of photos too.’
‘I
didn’t know we had them out on the roads yet.’
‘They’ve
been keeping it quiet,’ Greg chipped in, ‘but more than one company is
trialling them. It’s all around the country, in quite a few cities.’
‘And
who is to blame for the accident?’ Judith asked.
‘They
don’t know yet. The car’s in a secret location and the driver’s in hospital.
The driver needs a lawyer, that’s how I know all this. There’s pressure to
arrest him but they haven’t decided what to do yet.’
‘Did
Dawson call you?’
‘Not
this time. It was a lawyer working for SEDA.’
‘Interesting,
and I can see it could be tricky, if the car was driving, that is. What did you
say?’
‘I
said I would let him know.’
‘Oh
Connie. You must take it.’
‘I’m
not sure I was the only one he contacted.’
‘So
you need to let him know before the others do. This could be the first case
involving one of these cars, new law. How thrilling.’
Greg
stopped eating and stared at Judith.
‘And
two dead children. And the mother injured,’ he said quietly.
‘I
know that,’ Judith replied. ‘You don’t need to play my conscience. It goes
without saying that it’s an absolute tragedy. That poor family. But two
thousand fewer deaths per year, insurance premiums cut by 80%. That’s how
driverless cars were sold to us, if I remember correctly. There must be some
very red faces in high places right now. And the driver should not be held
liable if he relinquished control. Even so, he’s going to need a good set of
lawyers. You must see that, Greg?’
Greg
resumed his eating but with less interest than before.
‘Has
she persuaded you yet?’ he asked Constance.
‘Oh
stop it! You’re the one who’s always
motivated by “innovative” responses to things. Well this is the pinnacle of
innovation. We have to be in on it. To prevent another similar tragedy if
nothing else.’
‘She
is very convincing, I have to admit,’ Constance replied.
‘You
wouldn’t have it any other way, Connie. Let’s at least take a look at the
papers and talk to the driver. It could be really fabulous. And no one touches
that car before we do.’
Author Bio –
Yorkshire-bred, Abi Silver is a lawyer by profession. She lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and three sons. Her first courtroom thriller featuring the legal duo Judith Burton and Constance Lamb, The Pinocchio Brief, was published by Lightning Books in 2017 and was shortlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. Her follow-up The Aladdin Trial, featuring the same legal team, was published in 2018.
Read more about Abi and her work at www.abisilver.co.uk .
Social Media Links –
Twitter: @abisilver16
Facebook: Abi Silver, Author
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