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Hell Has Harbour Views
Alternate cover for 0330363182 9780330363181Hugh Walker held out for a while. Not for him the stereotype of the greedy lawyer. He'd be the defender of the abused, the voice of the poor, the champion of the oppressed. And he was for a time...until Rottman Maughan and Nash dangled the office with the harbour view in front of him.Now he's turning blind eye to suspect time sheets, championing the powerful against the powerless, and not being entirely honest with his girlfriend.Is there a way back?
381 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2001
21 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Richard Beasley
6 books27 followersRichard Beasley's first work of non-fiction, Dead in the Water, was published by Allen & Unwin in February 2021. He is the author of five novels: 'The Burden of Lies' (book 2 in the Peter Tanner series) published by Simon & Schuster in December 2017, and 'Cyanide Games' (book 1 in the series, 2016). His previous novels are 'Me and Rory Macbeath', 'The Ambulance Chaser', and 'Hell Has Harbour Views', which was adapted into a telemovie by the ABC and Hilton Cordell productions.
He is a Senior Counsel at the NSW Bar, and was Senior Counsel Assisting the Murray Darling Basin Royal Commission in 2018-19, and Senior Counsel Assisting the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess in 2020.
He is a Senior Counsel at the NSW Bar, and was Senior Counsel Assisting the Murray Darling Basin Royal Commission in 2018-19, and Senior Counsel Assisting the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Ruby Princess in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 15, 2020
As someone in their early stages at a law firm, this was an amazing book.
The book explores the journey of Hugh Walker, a former personal injury lawyer entering into the world of top corporate law practice at the greatest law firm in the universe.
Beasley's writing is crude but effective, conveying the overall culture (as satirised) of a top law firm within Sydney in a really engaging matter. You find yourself liking but also detesting most of the characters in the firm, and everyone of them has moments that will make you smile or laugh.
The protagonist, Hugh Walker, was written much better than I expected heading in. He is a delightful hypocrite. He believes he is a good person throughout the book, but seemingly oblivious to how his actions do not match his vision for himself. Apart from the shenanigans at the firm, watching him reconcile (or failing t0) his actions with his dogmatic belief that he's good went deeper than his role within the firm but also his responsibility as a person.
The story was basic, but effective and ends ridiculously in a way that ties up everything covered earlier in the book. For a satire, it does the job well enough to keep you engaged and humming along.
Would recommend to anyone in the legal industry or in other corporate jobs.
The book explores the journey of Hugh Walker, a former personal injury lawyer entering into the world of top corporate law practice at the greatest law firm in the universe.
Beasley's writing is crude but effective, conveying the overall culture (as satirised) of a top law firm within Sydney in a really engaging matter. You find yourself liking but also detesting most of the characters in the firm, and everyone of them has moments that will make you smile or laugh.
The protagonist, Hugh Walker, was written much better than I expected heading in. He is a delightful hypocrite. He believes he is a good person throughout the book, but seemingly oblivious to how his actions do not match his vision for himself. Apart from the shenanigans at the firm, watching him reconcile (or failing t0) his actions with his dogmatic belief that he's good went deeper than his role within the firm but also his responsibility as a person.
The story was basic, but effective and ends ridiculously in a way that ties up everything covered earlier in the book. For a satire, it does the job well enough to keep you engaged and humming along.
Would recommend to anyone in the legal industry or in other corporate jobs.
July 27, 2008
I chose this satirical look at the world of big law firms for our most recent book club meeting (as our book club consists entirely of people I either met at Uni studying law or at work, I thought it'd be appreciated). Hugh Walker, top litigation lawyer with a lovely view from his office window, feels as if he's losing his soul - and so he tries, somewhat messily, to redeem himself. It is very funny - over the top, but with enough truth to it to make you cringe slightly while you're laughing. I wondered whether the humour would translate to non-legal audiences, but my mother-in-law really enjoyed it, so I guess it must. I must admit I found Hugh a little annoying - it takes him a very long time to decide he wants to redeem himself, and he acts like a complete twit in the meantime - but it doesn't detract generally from the book.
June 17, 2020
The story is fine but the prose is bad. The book is what I call "cotton-candy" reading; briefly enjoyable, but there is not much to be gained, and overindulgence will cause sickness. If you are a busy person and have little time for leisure reading, don't waste your time . If you want something edifying and beautiful, avoid it. If you can expend the energy to cut through the prose and appreciate the narrative it may suit you, but has no reward to offer at the end of it.
There are four problems with the prose.
First, the imagery is corny and has a weird anatomic bent which arouses disgust not the sublime. It also leads to a strange disjuncture between the words and the imagery, instead of each supporting the other. Urges "drip from the brain to the mouth like a drop of water from a leaky tap". Can an urge "drip"? Is the brain a tap and the mouth a sink? Are we to ponder the physical space between the brain and the mouth and something dripping between them? Is a leaky tap worthy of simile in a novel? In the writer's opinion, "no" is the only appropriate answer to all those questions.
A quick glance over the prologue also reveals paragraphs about the protagonist's tongue as a "dry piece of meat" with "crystalline coating", on which cockroaches tap-dance. All this occurs while his stomach and bowels "conspire on some foul concoction." And so the opening paragraphs treat us to a tour of the protagonists tongue and bowels, so we may later read about him vomiting in the streets.
If the author's intent was to arose the same feeling of disorientation, discomfort, and disgust the protagonist feels in the reader, he should be commended. But the effect, if it was intended, is cheap. Why should we need to sympathise so with Mr Walker? If it is utterly necessary, why descend to disgust at the book and not with the the protagonist? And why do so by bludgeoning the
reader with images of meat and tongues and vomit and cockroaches? The bodily focus continues throughout the book and in too deliberate a way for this to be accidental.
Second, the humour varies between adolescent and childish. One is not sure which is worse. The protagonist meets with a partner who, we are graphically told, once ate his own snot (with two chocolate biscuits) and proceeded to fart in the work kitchen. Chapter six, "Doctor warns- 'Supermodels fart too'" opens with one character recounting an anecdote in which a supermodel farts. The humour is laboured. And it becomes insulting when one realises the author expects the reader to laugh at fart jokes. A charitable reading may be available but is no less offensive. If Mr Beasley again intended to arose the same disgust the protagonist feels toward his company in the reader, he does so with no elegance.
The other attempts at humour are abrasive and far too niche for a general reader. If you haven't encountered a silk, a partner, a senior associate, a claims manager, or a junior lawyer, then there is not much to be gained. At the risk of narrowing the audience, we are thrown the odd line to make sure we know who to dislike and who to identify with. We dislike Hayden Vincent because he is caught looking down a woman's top at a function. He is exposed: "Was this something they taught you at school?".. To make sure the point is not lost: "Of course. The lesson in 'Looking Down Tops' was followed by 'How to be a Fuckwit' No on ever failed.". All can participate because everyone hates chauvinists and less still ones that are self-aware. But the characters' flaws are magnified to such a degree the author might have well just put in stage directions to the reader. The inverse is also true: the protagonist is disillusioned, had dreams of acting for the down-trodden, wishes he could be David fighting Goliath, and is the only one capable of sympathy or empathy.
Third, the imagery lacks beauty and often relies on pop-media references. The wannabe-partner-senior-associate is a cross between "Mary Tyler Moore in that sitcom of the '70s." with a "touch of Sharon Stone from 'Basic Instinct'...". The overweight-ageing-insurance-partner looks like "...the Incredible Hulk, mid-transformation..." and a few pages after looks as if "Rex Hunt had just kissed him." The protagonist opens his eyes after a drunken bender, which look like silicon "somewhere between Pam Anderson and Demi Moore." An insufferable graduate is one from the "Gordon Gekko production line." The lead silk is "Edward De Bono, but with Liam Gallagher's personality."
These are lazy and stale. They have the benefit of immediately placing images in one's head, but neither the reader nor the writer have had to work for it. Ironically, they appear with such frequency so as to exhaust the reader. Similes are difficult and almost a hackneyed technique, but the best writers offer them with insight and subtlety: "...suddenly enraptured, he had tried to collect, to treasure in his memory the phrase or harmony- he did not know which- that had just been played, and had opened and expanded his soul, just as the fragrance of roses, wafted upon the air of evening, has power of dilating our nostrils." (Proust, Swann in Love, p. 269). With skill even nostrils become beautiful. You can interrogate that phrase, ponder it, and your mind is drawn to harmony and memory and fragrance and roses and the evening air. This book offers movies, television, and shock jocks.
Last, the prose otherwise lacks any other good or interesting literary devices. There are no metaphors, allegories, or motifs. There is no irony. No introspective vignettes. We wade through a gross muck of imagery for too little reward. Where are the insights? The truths? The beauty? The adornments of prose? The twists of language? If these cannot be offered, then is the story so compelling the reader can excuse these shortcomings? Sadly, again, the answer to that question must be "no."
Ultimately, one has to wonder whether a book like this is good for the soul. It just cannot be. This book selfishly takes from the reader and offers nothing in return. It simultaneously requires hard work and encourages laziness. Read it if you must, but know what you are heading into; the writer did not and bitterly regrets it. And one doesn't know whether to rage against the author or the editor.
There are four problems with the prose.
First, the imagery is corny and has a weird anatomic bent which arouses disgust not the sublime. It also leads to a strange disjuncture between the words and the imagery, instead of each supporting the other. Urges "drip from the brain to the mouth like a drop of water from a leaky tap". Can an urge "drip"? Is the brain a tap and the mouth a sink? Are we to ponder the physical space between the brain and the mouth and something dripping between them? Is a leaky tap worthy of simile in a novel? In the writer's opinion, "no" is the only appropriate answer to all those questions.
A quick glance over the prologue also reveals paragraphs about the protagonist's tongue as a "dry piece of meat" with "crystalline coating", on which cockroaches tap-dance. All this occurs while his stomach and bowels "conspire on some foul concoction." And so the opening paragraphs treat us to a tour of the protagonists tongue and bowels, so we may later read about him vomiting in the streets.
If the author's intent was to arose the same feeling of disorientation, discomfort, and disgust the protagonist feels in the reader, he should be commended. But the effect, if it was intended, is cheap. Why should we need to sympathise so with Mr Walker? If it is utterly necessary, why descend to disgust at the book and not with the the protagonist? And why do so by bludgeoning the
reader with images of meat and tongues and vomit and cockroaches? The bodily focus continues throughout the book and in too deliberate a way for this to be accidental.
Second, the humour varies between adolescent and childish. One is not sure which is worse. The protagonist meets with a partner who, we are graphically told, once ate his own snot (with two chocolate biscuits) and proceeded to fart in the work kitchen. Chapter six, "Doctor warns- 'Supermodels fart too'" opens with one character recounting an anecdote in which a supermodel farts. The humour is laboured. And it becomes insulting when one realises the author expects the reader to laugh at fart jokes. A charitable reading may be available but is no less offensive. If Mr Beasley again intended to arose the same disgust the protagonist feels toward his company in the reader, he does so with no elegance.
The other attempts at humour are abrasive and far too niche for a general reader. If you haven't encountered a silk, a partner, a senior associate, a claims manager, or a junior lawyer, then there is not much to be gained. At the risk of narrowing the audience, we are thrown the odd line to make sure we know who to dislike and who to identify with. We dislike Hayden Vincent because he is caught looking down a woman's top at a function. He is exposed: "Was this something they taught you at school?".. To make sure the point is not lost: "Of course. The lesson in 'Looking Down Tops' was followed by 'How to be a Fuckwit' No on ever failed.". All can participate because everyone hates chauvinists and less still ones that are self-aware. But the characters' flaws are magnified to such a degree the author might have well just put in stage directions to the reader. The inverse is also true: the protagonist is disillusioned, had dreams of acting for the down-trodden, wishes he could be David fighting Goliath, and is the only one capable of sympathy or empathy.
Third, the imagery lacks beauty and often relies on pop-media references. The wannabe-partner-senior-associate is a cross between "Mary Tyler Moore in that sitcom of the '70s." with a "touch of Sharon Stone from 'Basic Instinct'...". The overweight-ageing-insurance-partner looks like "...the Incredible Hulk, mid-transformation..." and a few pages after looks as if "Rex Hunt had just kissed him." The protagonist opens his eyes after a drunken bender, which look like silicon "somewhere between Pam Anderson and Demi Moore." An insufferable graduate is one from the "Gordon Gekko production line." The lead silk is "Edward De Bono, but with Liam Gallagher's personality."
These are lazy and stale. They have the benefit of immediately placing images in one's head, but neither the reader nor the writer have had to work for it. Ironically, they appear with such frequency so as to exhaust the reader. Similes are difficult and almost a hackneyed technique, but the best writers offer them with insight and subtlety: "...suddenly enraptured, he had tried to collect, to treasure in his memory the phrase or harmony- he did not know which- that had just been played, and had opened and expanded his soul, just as the fragrance of roses, wafted upon the air of evening, has power of dilating our nostrils." (Proust, Swann in Love, p. 269). With skill even nostrils become beautiful. You can interrogate that phrase, ponder it, and your mind is drawn to harmony and memory and fragrance and roses and the evening air. This book offers movies, television, and shock jocks.
Last, the prose otherwise lacks any other good or interesting literary devices. There are no metaphors, allegories, or motifs. There is no irony. No introspective vignettes. We wade through a gross muck of imagery for too little reward. Where are the insights? The truths? The beauty? The adornments of prose? The twists of language? If these cannot be offered, then is the story so compelling the reader can excuse these shortcomings? Sadly, again, the answer to that question must be "no."
Ultimately, one has to wonder whether a book like this is good for the soul. It just cannot be. This book selfishly takes from the reader and offers nothing in return. It simultaneously requires hard work and encourages laziness. Read it if you must, but know what you are heading into; the writer did not and bitterly regrets it. And one doesn't know whether to rage against the author or the editor.
January 9, 2026
On occasion I'll boot up my cracked version of Jackbox games with friends. Quiplash is always a favourite.
We start off (with what we think is) smart and funny answers, and then the jokes get cruder and cruder and you start wondering how many times you can laugh at the same sex joke.
Reading Beasley's debut novel gave me an answer to what that would be like without friends or alcohol.
I am not a lawyer or from Sydney so most of the legal and geographical references were lost on me, characters were cartoonishly repulsive with little substance, and the protagonist's redemption is primarily because he wants to continue sleeping with a coworker he got with cheating on his girlfriend at the time.
I can't really relate to that, and the surface level examination of the characters and their motivations means I wasn't any closer to seeing myself within them.
The writing was also at times lazy, with characters described through pop culture icons in a very Family Guy way. "Gee Lois, this is just like that time when I was a lawyer living in Rose Bay"
However, I'm not immune to all of this, and I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit. The plot was interesting, at times I smirked at the jokes, and the ending was satisfying. Perhaps justice does exist within law firms. Not this one though.
We start off (with what we think is) smart and funny answers, and then the jokes get cruder and cruder and you start wondering how many times you can laugh at the same sex joke.
Reading Beasley's debut novel gave me an answer to what that would be like without friends or alcohol.
I am not a lawyer or from Sydney so most of the legal and geographical references were lost on me, characters were cartoonishly repulsive with little substance, and the protagonist's redemption is primarily because he wants to continue sleeping with a coworker he got with cheating on his girlfriend at the time.
I can't really relate to that, and the surface level examination of the characters and their motivations means I wasn't any closer to seeing myself within them.
The writing was also at times lazy, with characters described through pop culture icons in a very Family Guy way. "Gee Lois, this is just like that time when I was a lawyer living in Rose Bay"
However, I'm not immune to all of this, and I actually enjoyed this book quite a bit. The plot was interesting, at times I smirked at the jokes, and the ending was satisfying. Perhaps justice does exist within law firms. Not this one though.
October 21, 2025
A witty satire that perfectly reflects the real struggles of young lawyers facing relentless personal and professional demands.
November 18, 2025
3.5
Entertaining and cathartic
Entertaining and cathartic
November 13, 2019
A very funny, satire about a top tier law firm in Sydney with big business clients (insurance companies, banks, etc.) Hugh has been working for this top tier law firm for 6 years but his conscious means he's questioning his choices and his own behaviour. He used to represent the little guy, the underdog. This law firm is about harbour views, long lunches, dubious time sheets, overcharging clients, unethical behaviour, etc. Whilst obviously exaggerated, I'm sure it's pretty close to the truth!
July 22, 2007
A fun read. Fast paced, finished in in two days.
It's about a personal-injury lawyer-cum-fast paced, French-cuff wearing insurance litigation defense attourny, and the moral vacuousness of his new life. Descriptions of the partners in the firm are very funny.
It's about a personal-injury lawyer-cum-fast paced, French-cuff wearing insurance litigation defense attourny, and the moral vacuousness of his new life. Descriptions of the partners in the firm are very funny.
September 27, 2013
Read this some time ago it gave me an insight into the law and what I'd often imagined happens behind closed doors. I felt it was done to enable the profession the opportunity to laugh at themselves. The channel 2 adaptation of this book was very enjoyable and well acted. Lynne
May 26, 2013
One of the funniest books I have read.
December 23, 2020
A hilarious parody about life in a corporate law firm (where I now work). Couldn’t put the book down.
The story of a man who sold his soul to work for the big end of town, and how he became embroiled in a scandal, cheated on his girlfriend, messed around with another love interest, and faced his own personal and professional ethical dilemmas - all while trying desperately to work on soul-crushing cases with an uncooperative witness, pressure from his superiors, grumpy old partners and a sleazy ex-judge.
Set in Sydney, the book takes us to familiar locations like Circular Quay, Royal Randwick, Woollahra, Manly, and of course the buzzing CBD.
Featuring hilarious dialogue, quirky characters and an excellent ending, this book is essential reading for anybody in the legal profession (who has a sense of humour).
The story of a man who sold his soul to work for the big end of town, and how he became embroiled in a scandal, cheated on his girlfriend, messed around with another love interest, and faced his own personal and professional ethical dilemmas - all while trying desperately to work on soul-crushing cases with an uncooperative witness, pressure from his superiors, grumpy old partners and a sleazy ex-judge.
Set in Sydney, the book takes us to familiar locations like Circular Quay, Royal Randwick, Woollahra, Manly, and of course the buzzing CBD.
Featuring hilarious dialogue, quirky characters and an excellent ending, this book is essential reading for anybody in the legal profession (who has a sense of humour).
June 4, 2018
I grew up in Sydney (an an attorney )so reading a book set in my city makes it very easy to visualise the story. After reading Cyanide Games and The Burden of Lies I decided to read his earlier novel and have to say it left me flat. I found it predictable and wanting....the author has got better so isn't that a good thing for us readers !
August 16, 2023
Thoughts:
Funny, raw, the author is fairly clearly drawing on personal experiences. I'm sure the firm dynamics and personalities illustrated feel a little close to home for many professional services workers. The grass isn't always greener where there are stacks of cash...
Funny, raw, the author is fairly clearly drawing on personal experiences. I'm sure the firm dynamics and personalities illustrated feel a little close to home for many professional services workers. The grass isn't always greener where there are stacks of cash...
September 5, 2024
A brilliant book written by someone who knows big law firms very well. Deals with the big issues we all think about - love, sex, family, childhood, career, meaning and how to live a good life - but in a witty and enjoyable way. Now off to read the authors other books.
February 14, 2018
All that we ever believed about this blighted profession is true! A good romp
January 15, 2021
Easy reading for summer - the satire is exaggerated but not inaccurate!
May 29, 2023
what a chore
possibly too similar to the most recent book I read but without any stakes or character
not at all engaging
possibly too similar to the most recent book I read but without any stakes or character
not at all engaging
Read
May 24, 2024DNF @ 69%.
Started off well, but gradually became boring, slow paced and repetitive.
Started off well, but gradually became boring, slow paced and repetitive.
September 10, 2024
I read this as apart of my work book club, they thought it would be a good read bc we work in a law firm. Not really my cup of tea but the ending was good.
July 23, 2012
Great if you're a lawyer. Very funny. Can relate to this maybe a little too much.
January 30, 2013
Boring book although it was well written. Subject matter was Not interesting. Maybe need to be in the legal profession to appreciate.
October 23, 2016
To bleak,slow for me to get into. Maybe the film would be easier for me to get into?
October 25, 2016
Amazing
May 12, 2013
Very funny book about lawyers, but would appeal to all
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews