Book review: Defending Jacob by William Landay
Publisher: Orion Books
ISBN 978-1-4091-1537-3
When the DAs son is accused of murder nothing in their family is going to be easy.
There is some evidence but it is all sketchy at the best.
Jacobs father believes implicitly that Jacob is not and could not be capable of this but his mum is not so absolute. She does not want to believe her son could commit murder but also feels that you can never completely know anybody even your own son.
The book follows Jacobs trial interspersed with flashback scenes of the lead up to the trial. It is very well written and accessible.
The characters come alive on the page. I found it very difficult not to cheat and skip to the end to find out the outcome because I so wanted Jacob to be innocent. I could relate in some ways to the characters and empathized with the parents almost impossible situation.
I just kept reading and reading, I could not put this book down. I was gripped and could not read fast enough. When I did reach the end there was an unexpected twist which I found disappointing – see what you think.
Highly recommended
Personal read 5/5
Group read 4/5 Only one main discussion point that I could see – would you feel the same as either of the parents about your son in a similar situation? This could develop into quite a lively debate.
