From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

Verdict of Twelve

Raymond W. Postgate

Start date: February 1, 2023

Finish date: February 28, 2023

Discussion: Group reads

Why we're reading this: Winner of the poll for our February group read.
[close] Winner of the poll for our February group read.

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Group reads

* Nominations for November 2025 group read
By Judy · 18 posts · 21 views

last updated Sep 05, 2025 03:20PM

* Sept 25: Lonesome Road (#3 Miss Silver Mysteries) by Patricia Wentworth
By Susan · 13 posts · 11 views

last updated Sep 03, 2025 12:03PM

What Members Thought

Jan 11, 2023 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is an unusual crime novel, revolving around a trial and focusing on the jury itself. In the first section we are introduced to all the jurors, from different walks of life and all having their personal prejudices and various backgrounds. Having met the jurors, the actual crime being tried is outlined and you are aware of how the different members of the jury may view this - being sympathetic, indifferent or likely to be negative towards the defendant.

The crime is an emotive one, involving ...more

19 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2023 Anissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: british-fiction-uk-ireland, british-library-crime-classics, 2023

This is another very good reissue of the British Library Crime Classics series. A court case is to decide if a woman is guilty in the death of her eleven-year-old nephew but the main of the story is told through the jurors. It is a wonderful way to tell this story and very well showed the cross-section of people assembled to decide the woman's fate. Of the twelve, the deepest backstories are given to about half and their points of view take the reader through testimony and deliberation.

I thorou ...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Jan 18, 2017 Damaskcat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is something different in crime novels. It features the twelve members of a jury trying a woman for murder. You get pen pictures of the jurors and little vignettes about their lives. Then the events which lead up to the crime are related and the reader gets an idea of the characters and the events leading up to the murder. Then there is the trial itself and the jury's deliberations.

I loved the way the author brought the characters to life with just a few words so that even though there are ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 21, 2023 Jill rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is different to many of the British Crime Library, as it starts by focusing on the members of the jury on a case of murder of a young boy by his guardian. We read the backstory of some of the jury in detail, the others with less detail, but still get an idea of their likely feelings, and maybe verdict. The history of the guardian is then told, and throughout the book the status of all involved is
examined, mostly based on wealth, and gender. We are told the circumstances leading up to ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 20, 2017 Becky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017reviews, reviewcopy, shareatea2017

First sentence: The Clerk of Assize had to have some way of relieving the tedium of administering the same oath year after year.

Premise/plot: Verdict of Twelve is a classic mystery originally published in 1940 in Britain. This mystery has four parts. In the first part, readers meet the twelve jurors. Backstories--some quite detailed--are given for all members of the jury. In the second part, the crime is laid out for readers. This isn't the trial itself. This is a behind-the-scenes glimpse just ...more

1 like · Like · see review