Defending Jacob

Defending Jacob

by: William Landay

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

This book was really fantastic. It's both a legal thriller and a family drama - all rolled up into this complex story that I had a very hard time putting down.

What if your child was accused of a murder? Would you support them regardless of the evidence presented? How would your partner react? These are questions you cannot help but to ask yourself as you read. The character progression throughout the story is honest and well written as is the entire family dynamic.

Andy is a long time, successful and respected assistant DA, married to Laurie, a psychologist, with a 14 year old son, Jacob, who is quiet and somewhat a loner. They attribute this to typical teen angst. Their world is rocked when one of Jacob’s classmates is found brutally murdered. Andy is intent upon finding the killer and making sure his community is safe....until the day he is suddenly dismissed from the case, and Jacob arrested for murder! Suddenly, Andy and Laurie are left questioning their son’s innocence.
To complicate the story, Andy must tell Laurie that his father is indeed still alive and serving a sentence for murder, and that Jacob may have the ‘murder gene’. No matter what, though, Andy believes in his son and his innocence. Laurie, on the other hand, struggles with this doubt and the possibility that she may have given birth to a monster.