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What Members Thought

What would you do if your son was accused of murder? That's the premise of this excellent legal thriller by William Landay.
What I liked about this book was the knowledge of the law and psychology that the author brought to the story. For example, one moves an exhibit "in" evidence, not "into" evidence. Landay gets this bit of nuance because he knows his subject matter. The book is also current by Landay's inclusion of pop culture references and cutting edge science over the question of whether t ...more
What I liked about this book was the knowledge of the law and psychology that the author brought to the story. For example, one moves an exhibit "in" evidence, not "into" evidence. Landay gets this bit of nuance because he knows his subject matter. The book is also current by Landay's inclusion of pop culture references and cutting edge science over the question of whether t ...more

Wow. This book is pretty mindblowing. True, some parts are a bit dragging and questionable - and some parts are trying so hard to be twisted. But I love thought provoking books and I think Defending Jacob has fulfilled this criteria splendidly, from a parenting perspective, specifically.I love the craziness of it- although perhaps not too original- I can smell other books inside the story- We Need to Talk About Kevin, House Rules, and a bit of Crooked House- Agatha Christie. But it's okay. The c
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The story leaves more questions and loose ends than it answers, so it cheats you out of the greatest pleasure of reading a crime novel, the neatly tied up ending and an A-ha moment. It touches on the effect of crime on the ordinary lives of its protagonists, and you get to understand that regardless of the verdict in a court room, the true judgment on any suspect comes from society and the people with whom he has close relationships. Worth reading for some of its drama aspects, but fails on the
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Feb 03, 2012
Jayme Pendergraft
marked it as to-read

Feb 18, 2012
Scott
marked it as to-read

Dec 24, 2012
Vesra (When She Reads)
marked it as to-read
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review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
e-book,
c-white,
d,
author-l,
suspense,
mystery-thrillers,
pub-delacorte-press,
pc-400-499,
adult

Aug 28, 2013
Lauren Courtney
marked it as to-read

Nov 08, 2013
J
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Sep 13, 2015
Kirsty
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Oct 14, 2015
Tiffany
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May 24, 2016
Jana
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
book-club,
x2016-reading-challenge

Aug 01, 2016
Tania
marked it as to-read

Oct 29, 2016
Jennifer Eklund
marked it as to-read

May 29, 2018
Ann
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Dec 25, 2018
Jennifer
marked it as to-read