Defending Jacob

A Novel

By: William Landay

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A legal thriller that’s comparable to classics such as Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent . . . tragic and shocking.”—Associated Press

NOW AN EMMY-NOMINATED ORIGINAL STREAMING SERIES • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • Boston Globe • Kansas City Star

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, and 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.

©2012 William Landay (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Landay has proven himself to be an extraordinary writer, and Defending Jacob is an amazing novel. Do yourself a favor and read it. It’s that good.” (Nicholas Sparks, #1 New York Times best-selling author)

“Harrowing . . . This searing narrative proves the ancient Greek tragedians were right: the worst punishment is not death but living with what you—knowingly or unknowingly—have done.” ( Publishers Weekly, starred review)

“[Landay] reaches a new level of excellence with this riveting, knock-your-socks-off legal thriller. With its masterfully crafted characterizations and dialogue, emotional depth, and frightening implications, the novel rivals the best of Scott Turow and John Grisham. Don’t miss it.” ( Booklist, starred review)

great story

loved it!!! great narrator, great story, made you as a parent think about what you would do for your own child.

Wonderful

This is a great read. I enjoyed every aspect of the book. It wasn’t just a one sided story and seeing if from all perspectives is wonderful. Although it is told from one person view it certainly gives enough insight to understand the other characters feelings.

This Was Really Well Done

Truly enjoyed this story. The characters were good the story line is good. Well worth a credit.

In top 10 all-time.

In depth character study and thorough probing of parenting of difficult kid. Story- telling at it's peak. Grabbed me from the start and never let go.

Overall a dark story

This is not the type of courtroom drama I like to read. It's very dark and with no sense of God's redemption it just goes on and on. I was glad it finally ended. The narrator did a pretty good job considering the characters were so flawed.

Great book

Enjoyed it up to last minute. informative, suspenseful and enthralling! Am now stuck to find another as good as this one.

I finished it...

This is an odd review. Because, typically if I finish a book, it means I enjoyed it. I dont waste my time on books that I don't like. Thus almost all of my reviews are positive, because I only bother reviewing books when they are finished.

That being said, this book was the exception. I enjoyed the narrator, and felt the author was quite witty and funny with his characters banter (early on.) But soon enough the book began to severely drag. I held on against better judgement solely because of the hype. I figure the ending had to be incredible, it would've had to be to make up for the middle.

But, without spoiling it, let's just say the ending was pretty much exactly what I expected. I'm not a genius, but it was kind of obvious...I thought there needed to be a twist. I suppose the real "final" twist is supposed to be jarring, but I think its an emotional twist more than a psychological one. And emotional twists only matter if you care about the characters, which in this novel I absolutely didn't. The only one I liked was the narrators father, and he was supposed to be evil. I dont know. I finished it, so clearly I must've enjoyed it to some extent. Thus the 3 stars. But I wouldn't recommend it. Every Mickey Haller novel (by Michael Connelly) with the exception of the most recent was FAR better than this. So I'd say listen to those instead.

captivating

from the first page it had me hooked. first book in a long time to hold interest that good.

Twists and turns keep you wondering...............

If you could sum up Defending Jacob in three words, what would they be?

This book was well written and the ending is not what you would expect.

What did you like best about this story?

I like when a story is unpredictable. This story was just that.

Tears!!

Both story and characters are well fleshed out. You are definitely not sure what you are participating in. Well worth a listen or more than one.