A Death in Custody by T. S. Clayton

Brixton in the late 1990s. Delroy Brown, a young black man being held in police custody, dies in a confrontation in his cell with a police officer.

The officer claims to have acted in self-defence but fails to give a satisfactory explanation for being in the dead man’s cell.

Chief Inspector Elliott conducts an investigation into Delroy’s death, but his enquiries are obstructed by a lack of co-operation from police officers, the activities of a corrupt private investigator – and the legal system itself.

Alison French, a young journalist, Neeta Patel, Delroy’s family’s solicitor, and Ben Weekes, a black youth worker, join forces to try and find out the truth about Delroy’s death, but find themselves in growing danger, as they are drawn into a murky world of violent criminals and police informants.

About the author

T. S. Clayton is a retired solicitor. In the 1990s he practised criminal law in and around Brixton, South London, working for the Crown Prosecution Service as a Crown Prosecutor, and later Senior Crown Prosecutor, before becoming a freelance defence advocate.

Review

‘A Death in Custody’ is a powerful and thought-provoking book that examines the racial prejudices that existed in 1980s Britain and still do to this day. This is an utterly compelling book that really drills into what honestly felt like a real case. It was a strange mixture of fiction and true crime with an at times academic feel to it. I don't think I have read anything else like it. It has a unique voice that fights for those who have been a sufferer of injustice and that probably has to do with the author’s real-life experiences of working as a defence lawyer in Brixton during this time period. But it gives the book a real raw voice one that resonated deeply with me. We may see cases on the news of times where someone has died in custody but you never really find out the reasons why as it may be a 60-second clip and then it gone from your mind. But this book has made me think and remember and that it is a worthy testament to how good this book is.

Let me know if you pick this one up!