... undoubtedly a first-rate companion for any undergraduate or post-graduate law course.'
John Taggart, Criminal Law Review

This outstanding account of modern English criminal law combines detailed exposition and analysis of the law with a careful exploration of its theoretical underpinnings. Primarily, it is written for undergraduate students of criminal law, covering all subjects taught at undergraduate level.

The book's philosophical approach ensures students have a deeper understanding of the law that goes beyond a purely doctrinal knowledge As a result, over its numerous editions, it has become required reading for many criminal law courses. The 8th edition covers all statutory law including the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act 2018 and Domestic Abuse Act, s 71. Case law discussions now cover: Grant (complicity), Barton (dishonesty), Broughton, Field, Kuddus, and Rebelo (homicide) and AG's Ref (No 1 of 2020) (sexual offences).