NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A legal thriller that’s comparable to classics such as Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent . . . tragic and shocking.”—Associated Press
NOW AN EMMY-NOMINATED ORIGINAL STREAMING SERIES • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • Boston Globe • Kansas City Star
Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney for two decades. He is respected. Admired in the courtroom. Happy at home with the loves of his life: his wife, Laurie, and their teenage son, Jacob. Then Andy’s quiet suburb is stunned by a shocking crime: a young boy stabbed to death in a leafy park. And an even greater shock: The accused is Andy’s own son—shy, awkward, mysterious Jacob.
Andy believes in Jacob’s innocence. Any parent would. But the pressure mounts. Damning evidence. Doubt. A faltering marriage. The neighbors’ contempt. A murder trial that threatens to obliterate Andy’s family. It is the ultimate test for any parent: How far would you go to protect your child? It is a test of devotion. A test of how well a parent can know a child. For Andy Barber, a man with an iron will and a dark secret, it is a test of guilt and innocence in the deepest sense.
How far would you go?
Praise for Defending Jacob
“A novel like this comes along maybe once a decade . . . a tour de force, a full-blooded legal thriller about a murder trial and the way it shatters a family. With its relentless suspense, its mesmerizing prose, and a shocking twist at the end, it’s every bit as good as Scott Turow’s great Presumed Innocent. But it’s also something more: an indelible domestic drama that calls to mind Ordinary People and We Need to Talk About Kevin. A spellbinding and unforgettable literary crime novel.”—Joseph Finder
“Defending Jacob is smart, sophisticated, and suspenseful—capturing both the complexity and stunning fragility of family life.”—Lee Child
“Powerful . . . leaves you gasping breathlessly at each shocking revelation.”—Lisa Gardner
“Disturbing, complex, and gripping, Defending Jacob is impossible to put down. William Landay is a stunning talent.”—Carla Neggers
“Riveting, suspenseful, and emotionally searing.”—Linwood Barclay
D.A. Andy Barber’s life changes when his 14 year old son, Jacob, is charged with a murder in this engrossing legal thriller.
It’s been a long, long, LONG time since I’ve read any legal thrillers. I picked up Defending Jacob because I loved Grover Gardner’s narration for Stephen King’s The Stand. It helped that Chris Evans is playing the lead role in the Prime adaptation (although I’m not sure if I’m interested enough even in him to watch it). Gardner’s narration is pitch perfect for the material. It’s a book made for listening.
Reading legal thrillers always reminds me of how little I truly know about the courtroom and/or investigation process. I could not tell you whether this story is factually correct. However, in some ways, its authenticity does not matter – it felt real and understandable to me. The story switches from the present to the past almost effortlessly in an audio format. It was fascinating guessing whether or not Jacob was innocent or guilty (and why the main character, Andy, was on the stand).
It ended rather abruptly much to my displeasure. No closure is available to the reader or to Andy. It felt like the author just stopped caring about his characters, sacrificing long character arcs for the sake of ending his story. It’s still worth the read as, in some ways, this story is more about the journey rather than the ending.
tl;dr A fascinating legal thriller focused on an interesting story, but the ending felt rushed with no real answers.
