Simon Michael’s career as an author began in the 1980s with books published in the UK and in
the USA (St Martins Press, WH Allen, Grafton Press and others). After a long gap while he pursued
his career at the Bar, he resumed full-time writing in 2015. Since then he has established a
reputation as “the British John Grisham” for his 9-book legal thriller series. Published by Sapere
Books, they feature his antihero barrister, Charles Holborne, an East End villain made good,
battling the prejudices of the 1960s, the Kray twins and the corrupt Metropolitan Police. A TV series
is being negotiated by his agent. The books and Simon’s talks draw from the headlines of the day,
the criminal cases in which Simon was instructed and his own family history. Refugees from the
Spanish Inquisition, the Michael family arrived in the Port of London in 1492, and remained in the
East End for the next 450 years. Simon believes himself to be the only member of the Honourable
Society of the Middle Temple formerly to have been a council labourer, a van driver and a gardener.
He practised as a barrister for 37 years, working at the Old Bailey and other criminal courts,
defending and prosecuting a wide selection of murderers, armed robbers, con artists and other
assorted villainy, gathering enough real life stories to populate an entire series of crime fiction.
Simon’s website dedicated to his legal thrillers may be found HERE. He has also written two
screenplays and in other genres, romantic fiction (including the Cosmopolitan Short Story Prize
shortlisted “Split”) and speculative fiction.