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Best Defence #8
Good News, Bad News
Life’s full of good news and bad news for defence lawyer Robbie Munro. Good news is he’s in work, representing Antonia Brechin on a drugs charge – unfortunately she’s the granddaughter of notorious Sheriff Brechin. His old client Ellen has won the lottery and she’s asked Robbie to find her husband Freddy who’s disappeared after swindling Jake Turpie, but he’s not willing to bury the hatchet – unless it’s in Freddy’s head. Robbie juggles cases and private life with his usual dexterity, but the more he tries to fix things the more trouble everyone’s in.
364 pages, Paperback
Published April 20, 2017
4 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 20, 2017
This is my second foray into the Best Defence series and I loved every minute of it again. I’m a huge fan of Robbie, he’s just so beautifully normal in so many ways but funny and determined even if that determination sometimes lands him in hot water.
He is juggling several things in “Good News Bad News” not least his accidental engagement from the last novel which means he can no longer do exactly as he pleases. In his professional world he is defending the granddaughter of his bete noir Sheriff Brechin, dealing with a demanding lottery winner and trying to keep the peace between many factions none of whom are all rainbows and light.
This series is so involving – WHS McIntyre writes with an ironic, witty prose that just makes you smile again and again – he throws his protagonists into all sorts of weirdly hilarious situations whilst maintaining an authentic and gritty backdrop – so beautifully readable and insanely addictive.
This series is all about the characters – their interactions, changing relationships and all the rest make it entirely fascinatingly brilliant, the scene setting is spot on and the plotting is cleverly obtuse, the author throwing in the little twists and turns almost casually, you never know quite where everything might end up.
Overall I’m a huge fan of this series. Bring on the next one I say! I want to see what Robbie ends up accidentally doing next!
Highly Recommended.
He is juggling several things in “Good News Bad News” not least his accidental engagement from the last novel which means he can no longer do exactly as he pleases. In his professional world he is defending the granddaughter of his bete noir Sheriff Brechin, dealing with a demanding lottery winner and trying to keep the peace between many factions none of whom are all rainbows and light.
This series is so involving – WHS McIntyre writes with an ironic, witty prose that just makes you smile again and again – he throws his protagonists into all sorts of weirdly hilarious situations whilst maintaining an authentic and gritty backdrop – so beautifully readable and insanely addictive.
This series is all about the characters – their interactions, changing relationships and all the rest make it entirely fascinatingly brilliant, the scene setting is spot on and the plotting is cleverly obtuse, the author throwing in the little twists and turns almost casually, you never know quite where everything might end up.
Overall I’m a huge fan of this series. Bring on the next one I say! I want to see what Robbie ends up accidentally doing next!
Highly Recommended.
May 8, 2017
Robbie Munro is a defence lawyer and he sounds like the kind of guy you would want to have fighting your corner for you. He understands the law but does not feel that applying the law necessarily means that justice will be served or that the consequences will always be appropriate for the crime committed. This is entertainingly demonstrated at the start of the book when a young teacher is due to be sentenced by Robbie’s nemesis Sheriff Brechin.
The verbal battling in the courtroom between Robbie and Sheriff Brechin is laced with much of the wry humour which is evident throughout the book and it firmly establishes that there is no love lost between the two men. This sets up a future dilemma very nicely as Brechin’s grand-daughter (herself a promising young lawyer) finds herself on the wrong end of the law. As Robbie is the only criminal defence lawyer she knows she appoints him to represent her. A new client is Good News, the prospect of failing and letting down the Brechin family – very Bad News.
Away from the court Robbie is approached by a client who has her own Good News Bad News. She has won the lottery and wants to enlist Robbie’s help in tracking down her husband (a conman that everyone believes to be dead). However the client only has a few months to live so time is tight and Robbie will have his work cut out to ensure he can keep himself on the right side of the law and not let down his client.
This was my introduction to Robbie Munro but the Best Defence series has been running for a while. The good news is that Good News Bad News can be read as a stand alone novel (and it is a book I highly recommend). The bad news is that (if you are like me) then reading Good News Bad News will make you want to read all the other books in the series – brace your TBR pile for some legal drama courtesy of WHS McIntyre.
The verbal battling in the courtroom between Robbie and Sheriff Brechin is laced with much of the wry humour which is evident throughout the book and it firmly establishes that there is no love lost between the two men. This sets up a future dilemma very nicely as Brechin’s grand-daughter (herself a promising young lawyer) finds herself on the wrong end of the law. As Robbie is the only criminal defence lawyer she knows she appoints him to represent her. A new client is Good News, the prospect of failing and letting down the Brechin family – very Bad News.
Away from the court Robbie is approached by a client who has her own Good News Bad News. She has won the lottery and wants to enlist Robbie’s help in tracking down her husband (a conman that everyone believes to be dead). However the client only has a few months to live so time is tight and Robbie will have his work cut out to ensure he can keep himself on the right side of the law and not let down his client.
This was my introduction to Robbie Munro but the Best Defence series has been running for a while. The good news is that Good News Bad News can be read as a stand alone novel (and it is a book I highly recommend). The bad news is that (if you are like me) then reading Good News Bad News will make you want to read all the other books in the series – brace your TBR pile for some legal drama courtesy of WHS McIntyre.
August 30, 2022
4⭐️
The good news. When a former client tells criminal lawyer Robbie Munro she’s won the lotto and wants to engage his services as a middle man to reunite with her husband before she dies, Robbie thinks all his Christmases have come at once. After all, how hard can it be to go to Prague and find said husband when you’re being paid top dollar to do so?
The bad news is that the client may not be telling the whole truth, or as Robbie is about to find out; not even something close to the actual truth. Add this to the client and her husband being in way too deep with local hard man Jake Turpie (who is also a client) and Robbie soon finds that he’s not just the middle man; but the meat in a sandwich which is starting to spoil.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” It’s a question no lawyer ever wants to hear, but with his home life finally coming together, Robbie is crossing his fingers that his professional life is not about to become a case of very bad news.
Scotland’s favourite criminal lawyer is back in William McIntyre’s Good News Bad News and it’s another great read in the Robbie Munro series.
Like the first two books, the plot and the characters shine just as brightly as each other. Neither have to prop up the other and that for me is always the sign of a good book. I think it’s extra important in a series though, because it’s often the case after the first couple of books that all your favourite characters return but the plot does them few favours. Thankfully there’s none of that here. Rather, you get the suspense and drama of what’s going on between Robbie’s three clients contrasting with his never dull home life featuring his dad, brother, daughter and fiancée.
I also liked that although it wasn’t a thriller in the sense that I’d use the word, it had a good mystery brewing and a few strategically placed red herrings which meant it took me a while to work out which client was the dodgy one. Add this to the laugh out loud and relatable aspects of Robbie’s home life; and you’ve got another great read by McIntyre.
A must for fans of tartan noir, Caledonian crime, mysteries and crime/legal books generally, it’s a recommended read.
To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo and @kt_elder on Instagram.
The good news. When a former client tells criminal lawyer Robbie Munro she’s won the lotto and wants to engage his services as a middle man to reunite with her husband before she dies, Robbie thinks all his Christmases have come at once. After all, how hard can it be to go to Prague and find said husband when you’re being paid top dollar to do so?
The bad news is that the client may not be telling the whole truth, or as Robbie is about to find out; not even something close to the actual truth. Add this to the client and her husband being in way too deep with local hard man Jake Turpie (who is also a client) and Robbie soon finds that he’s not just the middle man; but the meat in a sandwich which is starting to spoil.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” It’s a question no lawyer ever wants to hear, but with his home life finally coming together, Robbie is crossing his fingers that his professional life is not about to become a case of very bad news.
Scotland’s favourite criminal lawyer is back in William McIntyre’s Good News Bad News and it’s another great read in the Robbie Munro series.
Like the first two books, the plot and the characters shine just as brightly as each other. Neither have to prop up the other and that for me is always the sign of a good book. I think it’s extra important in a series though, because it’s often the case after the first couple of books that all your favourite characters return but the plot does them few favours. Thankfully there’s none of that here. Rather, you get the suspense and drama of what’s going on between Robbie’s three clients contrasting with his never dull home life featuring his dad, brother, daughter and fiancée.
I also liked that although it wasn’t a thriller in the sense that I’d use the word, it had a good mystery brewing and a few strategically placed red herrings which meant it took me a while to work out which client was the dodgy one. Add this to the laugh out loud and relatable aspects of Robbie’s home life; and you’ve got another great read by McIntyre.
A must for fans of tartan noir, Caledonian crime, mysteries and crime/legal books generally, it’s a recommended read.
To play along with my book bingo and to see what else I’m reading, go to #ktbookbingo and @kt_elder on Instagram.
October 17, 2017
We all thoroughly enjoyed this book, and a lot of us enjoyed it even more than Present Tense. This book was pure entertainment, even though many important issues are raised (morality, justice vs law, consequences to every action). It was a both a pleasure to read in an of itself and as an antidote to the grimness of some other crime novels or the sheer length of others. We found it very down to earth and full of humerous moments that we could relate to - particularly the incident with the rabbit!
The tone of the book put is mind of Janet Evanovich and we would thoroughly recommend it to all readers, though particularly to those in the Central Belt
The tone of the book put is mind of Janet Evanovich and we would thoroughly recommend it to all readers, though particularly to those in the Central Belt
May 25, 2024
This is the second book which I have read in this series about a defense lawyer in Scotland. I was a bit uneasy about all the lies the characters told but the author tied things up neatly and there was a happy ending. It's mainly lighthearted stuff though there are some scenes which are a bit grim. I am not sure that I actually like the main character Robbie Munro but I do like his fiancee Joanna and his five year old daughter Tina.
August 19, 2025
Robbie is called upon to defend Sheriff Brechin's granddaughter on a drug charge. A former client, Ellen calls saying she's dying but has also won the lottery. A young woman's future teaching career is jeopardized when she's arrested for domestic violence for slapping her boyfriend's face.
June 24, 2017
i really enjoyed this book
May 18, 2019
An entertaining read, great patter!
June 1, 2019
Will definitely read more by this author.
April 23, 2021
I'm so glad I came across this thriller series featuring lawyer, Robbie Munro. Lots happening, twists and turns and full of wit and humour also. Fast moving and really enjoyable.
February 5, 2025
Highly enjoyable thriller-romp with Robbie in deep with more dodgy characters than ever, plus a sheriff and trainee lawyers. Keeps up a good pace and leaves you guessing the outcome until the end.
July 19, 2019
I somehow managed to skip this book when reading the rest of the series (I have no idea how, but I did wonder if I'd missed a chunk of Robbie's life between books!) As with all of McIntyre's books, I absolutely loved Good News, Bad News. Robbie Munro is such fun to spend time with, and the plotting is always brilliant.
If you're a fan of crime fiction, legal thrillers, or comic writing, this entire series should definitely be on your TBR pile.
If you're a fan of crime fiction, legal thrillers, or comic writing, this entire series should definitely be on your TBR pile.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews