The Body in Question by Jill Ciment - November 2024

[Gem , Moderator & Admin]

Hello Fellow Crime, Mystery & Thriller readers,


Welcome to our discussion about The Body in Question by Jill Ciment, your discussion leader is Gary.
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about spoilers

Please note: If you have not finished reading the book spoilers are permitted in this discussion from the start. If you would like to use the spoiler formatting it can be found on the top right of the comment box in the "(some html is ok)" menu.
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Summary

The place: central Florida. The situation: a sensational murder trial, set in a courthouse more Soviet than Le Corbusier; a rich, white teenage girl—a twin—on trial for murdering her toddler brother.

Two of the jurors: Hannah, a married fifty-two-year-old former Rolling Stone and Interview Magazine photographer of rock stars and socialites (she began to photograph animals when she realized she saw people “as a species”), and Graham, a forty-one-year-old anatomy professor. Both are sequestered (she, juror C-2; he, F-17) along with the other jurors at the Econo Lodge off I-75. As the shocking and numbing details of the crime are revealed during a string of days and courtroom hours, and the nights play out in a series of court-financed meals at Outback Steak House (the state isn’t paying for their drinks) and Red Lobster, Hannah and Graham fall into a furtive affair, keeping their oath as jurors never to discuss the trial. During deliberations the lovers learn that they are on opposing sides of the case. Suddenly they look at one another through an altogether different lens, as things become more complicated . . .

After the verdict, Hannah returns home to her much older husband, but the case ignites once again and Hannah’s “one last dalliance before she is too old” takes on profoundly personal and moral consequences as The Body in Question moves to its affecting, powerful, and surprising conclusion.

[Gary]

Hello, I am the discussion leader for The Body in Question. Crime and mystery novels are not my typical reading material and I joined this group primarily to enlarge my horizons.

Jill Ciment is an English professor at the University of Florida and has written a collection of fiction and non-fiction books. An earlier novel (Heroic Measures) was selected by Oprah's Book Club and was also a finalist of the Los Angeles Times book award.

I found the book to be very well written with a story line that moves rapidly so gave it four stars. The book is primarily a psychological case study of the main character (Hannah) so there isn't much in terms of character development for any of the supporting cast. Hannah's marital situation mirrors the authors' in real life in that both are married to much older men (30+ in the book and 30 in the author's real life). Hannah's frustration in her role of care-taker for her elderly, fragile husband coincides with a mid-life crisis that results in an affair with another jury member that becomes public knowledge.

(view spoiler)[I kept waiting for some twist in the story (Hannah holds her ground in the jury deliberations that the defendant is innocent a la 12 Angry Men or she takes it upon herself to prove it was Anca's sister who committed the crime) but the story stays on course in looking at the moral choices Hannah makes both during the trial and the immediate aftermath.

I am interested in hearing how others felt about the story, especially if you have read any of her other books. I will be adding more of her books to my ever expanding TBR list. (hide spoiler)]

[˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜, Moderator]

I haven't read any of her other books.

As far as this one, I'm still trying to figure out about the plot cuz I'm not sure what the plot is. I came away feeling like different stories are started but not thoroughly completed. I've never been on a jury but I know people who have been and they've taken it seriously, which I don't think Hannah and Graham did. The ending was a big surprise for sure. PS can you tell me which is the body in question.

The writing is ok and it's a quick read and it's got me thinking trying to figure it out.

[Gary]

Great points Sheri. Which body does the title reference? I guess the author left it ambiguous to let the reader decide.

I have served on a jury and you are correct, we were much more serious for a person charged with a DUI than these jurors were for a murder trial.

[˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜, Moderator]

Gary wrote: "Great points Sheri. Which body does the title reference? I guess the author left it ambiguous to let the reader decide.

I have served on a jury and you are correct, we were much more serious for a..."

Thank you for nominating this book. I hope others read it, because it is interesting, and maybe they will be able to figure out a few things that I'm still thinking about. Guess that's a sign of a good book.