Review: We the Jury by Robert Rotstein

We, the Jury by Robert Rotstein

When I picked up this book, I expected to find a Twelve Angry Men style story, and it is that, sort of, but it’s also much, much more. Rotstein gets you deep into the courthouse as the jury sits down to deliberate so that you get a real view of life in the whole courthouse.

 

There’s no doubt that David Sullinger killed his wife. He split her head open with an axe. But does a battered husband defense justify the killing? His two children have split on the issue, one supporting him and one condemning him. And the history of his relationship with his now dead wife further complicates the issue—he was her high school student who had an affair with her while in her class. His high-powered defense attorney sees an open and shut case for acquittal and apparently ran rings around the small-town prosecutor during the trial. The prosecutor is equally certain it’s a simple case of premeditated murder—but with far smaller resources than the defense, did he prove his case?

 

Rotstein makes the book far more interesting by jumping the point of view around between well over a dozen people. Inside their own minds, most of these people prove to be very petty with their unique insecurities, idiosyncrasies, pathologies, and secrets. It’s a delight to see their deliberations unfold as the reader tries to figure out how the jury will decide the case.

 

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