Criminal Law

Authors: Alan Reed & Ben Fitzpatrick

Price: £26.95

Edition: 4th Edition (August 2009)

ISBN: 978-1-847-03740-4

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Because criminal law is a popular (and compulsory) topic for students, there are many texts to choose from.  Students are, however, often surprised to find that studying criminal law does not quite replicate what the media suggests.  Instead, it is a complex mix of statutory provisions and case-law.  To understand these, the reader needs a clear and concise text like Criminal Law.

Criminal Law, written by Alan Reed and Ben Fitzpatrick, includes an excellent introductory chapter setting out what it aims to cover and what it does not: this is welcome.  It also essentially divides the material into two parts: firstly dealing with general principles of criminal law (like actus reus and mens rea) and secondly by considering specific offences like offences against the person and offences against property.  This allows the reader to quickly understand the various principles of criminal law.

Like previous editions, Criminal Law is superbly written in an engaging and accessible way.  It makes excellent use of cases by explaining the point and then putting it in context by referring to a case: this aides the reader's understanding.  The footnotes are also first-rate and provide (where relevant) a more detailed explanation of the principles and the outcome in similar cases.  Finally, each chapter ends with a further reading list which is detailed and specific enough to be an excellent starting point for further research.

Criminal Law is well structured and readily accessible which allows the reader to quickly understand the material.  Because criminal law is a mixture of case-law and legislation, a reader can quickly become bogged down.  Fortunately, Criminal Law is well-structured and its content is excellent.  This means that these all too familiar issues are avoided and the reader really understands the law.

Reviewed on 31 December 2009

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