The Burden of Proof is a 1968 crime novel by the British writer James Barlow.
Synopsis Vic Dakin, a crime lord with a vast empire across London takes place on a raid on a wages van that goes wrong. Needing an alibi he arranges to blackmail a corrupt MP with evidence of his sexual wrongdoing to give perjured testimony in court. However, the police are doggedly on Dakin's trail.
Reception The Daily Telegraph praised "a remarkably taut, fast moving narrative".
The Chicago Tribune called it a "sizzling, compelling book."
Adaptation In 1971, it was adapted into the British film Villain directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Richard Burton, Ian McShane and Nigel Davenport.Goble p.24Clinton p.229 As a tie-in with the film, the novel was reissued with the alternative title Villain.
References
Bibliography Clinton, Franz Anthony. British Thrillers, 1950-1979: 845 Films of Suspense, Mystery, Murder and Espionage. McFarland, 2020. Goble, Alan. The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. Turner, Alwyn W. Crisis? What Crisis?: Britain in the 1970s. Aurum, 2009.