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A Novel
by William Landay
Book Reviewed by:Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis - a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.
Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.
Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He's his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own - between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he's tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.
Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis - a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.
The consensus is in: BookBrowse readers think William Landay's Defending Jacob is a hit - 23 out of 24 reviewers rated it 4 or 5 stars! Here's what they have to say:
There were a few surprises in the end that gave me the goosebumps (Susan R)! Prepare to be hooked from the first pages. Defending Jacob is the best kind of thriller... subtle at first, but then you're along for the ride! As a reader, you can't help but think: could this happen to me and mine? Chilling... and highly recommended (Patricia F)...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by First Impressions Reviewers).
The thrill of watching a trial unfold - the impassioned speeches, quick-witted lawyers, surprise witnesses, the piecing together of clues, not knowing if justice will prevail - it can all make for exciting, and in some cases legendary, storytelling. "Courtroom drama", a subgenre of "legal drama", is a term used to describe dramatic fiction in which legal litigation plays out with suspenseful and climactic courtroom scenes. In modern times, these scenes usually take place in what we recognize as legal courtrooms (hence the name), though in older texts the "courtrooms" might actually have looked like public forums or gatherings.
Though we often associate the genre with television (e.g. Perry Mason or Law and Order) or film (think of Jack...
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If you liked Defending Jacob, try these:
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An innocent client. A wife in jeopardy. A locked room mystery. Who will take The Plea?
These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves
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Carla Buckley, author of The Things That Keep Us Here
Landay spins a tale of such complexity and emotion that you don't even realize you're spiraling deep into his world until he spits you out at his shocking, shattering conclusion.
