Defending Jacob

This book is on my list of all-time favorites. I read it more than a decade ago, but I still can’t get the ending out of my head. The book is intriguing and fast-paced, and I found the characters so relatable–normal, middle-class people, much like my own family.

Maybe that is why the ending hit me so hard. I didn’t see it coming, but I should have. Maybe I didn’t want to believe it could happen or even consider the possibility. Who would? What a twist. All the evidence is there. The motive is there. It is the only ending… show more.

This is a legal drama/thriller/mystery that I couldn’t put down. The author does a credible job describing court scenes, but it’s not the thrust of the book. What really grabbed me was the psychological battles going on within the family. When you’re a prosecutor and your son is charged with a hideous crime, how do you handle that horror? Conflicts with your career are only part of it. Like other books on my list, this book was made into a theatrical release and was done credibly on the screen. The resolution of the story was done well, in my opinion,… show more.

Landay’s novel examines the impact on a family when the fourteen-year-old son, Jacob Barber, is accused of murdering a classmate. Jacob’s father, an assistant district attorney in a small town in Massachusetts, is called to be objective but discovers that his professional duties clash with his responsibilities as a parent. Jacob’s mother wavers between unconditional belief in her son’s innocence and a small kernel of doubt that she cannot dismiss. Shouldn’t their judgment be more mature than that of their son’s? What may appear to an outsider as cowardice may in fact be courage.

Again, here’s a book that raises important questions about parents and children and how far the former will go to save the latter. Young Jacob is accused of killing a schoolmate. Surely, with his upstanding parents and privileged upbringing, he couldn’t have done it. Or could he? (I watched the well-done TV series but it changed the harrowing twist at the end. I can’t imagine why.)   

Defending Jacob is a page-turning legal thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. I recommend this novel more than any other. Both voracious book lovers and occasional readers love it. The story is flawlessly told and superbly written, the POV so realistic you’ll feel as if you’re sitting in the courtroom right beside Andy Barber, the protagonist. Book clubs (and I’ve participated in many) eat this up. On the nights we discussed Defending Jacob, no one wanted to go home. Everyone debated: is the bond between parent and child sacred or sacrilegious? Read this and decide… show more.

This is another book that I love because it goes beyond the crucible of the courtroom to address the one question that all parents wonder—is there anything we wouldn’t do for our children? I particularly liked the moral ambiguity of the characters, which kept me wondering what they would and wouldn’t do.

The Apple miniseries is good too, but read the book—either before or after you watch it.

In 2017, an electrical fire destroyed our home. For ten months during repairs, we stayed in 24 different places. There were days I went to work with a suitcase because we had to check into a different place that night. 

Two days after the fire, my (now) agent offered to represent me. She wanted revisions, which I did from our temporary homes, and suggested I read Defending Jacob for inspiration. 

This thriller is a story of an unraveling family. I will always be grateful for the direction this novel gave my work, but also for the intense focus it gave… show more.