Book Review: Defending Jacob by William Landay

Title: Defending Jacob
Author: William Landay
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Edition: Nook book, 384 pages
Author's Website: www.williamlanday.com

Summary from Goodreads:

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.

Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.

Alleluia's Review

 



At last, a page-turner! There was something about this book. The author was very sneaky in giving you just enough to let you know SOMETHING was going to happen and you had to keep reading. When, in the first part of the book, the author writes that Laurie (the mother) defended Jacob even in the end - you knew SOMETHING. I didn't expect the ending, but I knew SOMETHING was going to happen. That, even when it seemed over, it wasn't over. The book was exciting and the characters got to me. My favorite character was Andy, the Dad. He was such a rock and so loyal to his family. Even though I probably should have connected with Laurie (the Mom), I didn't. She seemed very fragile to me. I don't enjoy detective fiction, but this seemed different. This was about a family with such unusual trials. It may be obvious to some, but I'm still not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt who was the guilty party. This was a great book! 

I read the Nook book edition. You can get it here.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon

Title:  The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1)

Author:  Samantha Shannon

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Release Date: August 20, 2013

Edition: Hardcover, UK, 452 pages

Summary from Goodreads:
It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city—Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly—as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine—a young woman learning to harness her powers in a world where everything has been taken from her. It also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

Alleluialu's Review

 

I purchased this book after noticing that it was the premier selection for the Today Show Book Club. I read the summary and about the author and I was curious. The result? I've been waiting to read a book that is a page-turner and this book was definitely that. As I was reading it, thoughts of the City of Bones entered my head, but this is much better. It is on such a different plane - perhaps because of all the clairvoyancy. The main character is older, more independent and more streetwise than Clary. I can see the potential for several books in this series - I don't know about 7, but several at least. It just boggles my mind to think that the author is just 21. She is either very good or very lucky. The world she has created feels both old and new. Perhaps because it takes place in Oxford - very Old English, but the creatures that inhabit it are quite futuristic. Anyway, it is a very good book. I give it 5 stars. I notice that there is talk of a movie version which would be very exciting to watch.