Thriller/Suspense

Defending Jacob

Author: William Landay

Average Rating:   2.88 / 5

Trigger Warnings:

Andy Barber is good at his job. He’s been the top assistant district attorney in his affluent county for more than twenty years. The tough cases go straight to him. He holds the respect of his community, is a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom, and still manages to have a happy home with Laurie, his wife, and Jacob, their teenage son.  

The whole community is rocked when violent crime comes to their quiet New England town, and Andy is ready to step up and see that justice is done. But the unthinkable happens when his son is arrested for the murder of his fourteen year old classmate. And now Andy must learn how to operate on the other side of the courtroom if he’s going to be successful in his fight to defend his son, Jacob. 

Corinna: 3/5

This was a different genre than I typically read, but knowing that it had been made into a mini series piqued my interest. The story is written from Andy’s point of view, the father, the lawyer and the top ADA in his district. Andy’s typical perspective on a case is flipped on him, when his son is accused. I liked that it was an atypical perspective. We got to see a glimpse into the waiting and uncertainty that happens between the arrest and charges being filed, and the waiting for the scheduled court date, which is typically months before the actual trial. I liked getting to learn more of the legal side of things, and understand it better. Landay is a lawyer and so I felt this side of the story was well represented. 

I liked that we got to see the impact on the family, particularly Laurie’s physical and emotional wasting away, as well as how differently each parent dealt with the situation. 

I didn’t like not knowing the truth at the end, but I guess that is very typical of a lot of cases, the truth is assumed and not always proven. I found the ending a little unsatisfying. I have heard great things about the show, and I will have to see how it compares. 

Lydia: 2.5/5

I can’t say that I didn’t like this book, but I definitely didn’t love it. It had me hooked but mostly it was because I wanted to get past all the annoying characters and parts so that I could see what happened and get to the end.

Jacob Barber is probably the worst and most annoying character I’ve ever read about. I understand that this was probably a choice by the author, but wow. It made this book hard to read. I was really frustrated by the cliffhanger ending. I thought it was pointless and I feel that I wasted my time with this book. 

The legal jargon was hard to follow as well – something that I can get past if the storyline is good enough.

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I liked the show better.

Megan: 3/5

I did this one backwards. Normally I read the book and then watch the inspired TV show or movie, but not this time. To be fair, I didn’t know the show was based on a book. Having read the book, I am impressed by how accurate the show was to the source material. With that said, I preferred the show over the book.

Knowing where the story was going, it was easy to see the hints dropped by the narrator. Would I have noticed them otherwise? I’m not sure. The pace of the novel was good. Every time I picked it up, I was able to fly through the chapters. The whole ordeal was well told. I liked that Landay didn’t shy away from the legal aspect of the case. He did a good job explaining the few technical terms used, but for the most part, used layman’s terms to explain the proceedings.

When you read legal dramas, it’s never from the POV of the family of the accused. This was a good insight into how having a child accused of murder takes a toll on the whole family. The isolation, the doubt, the questions, or the blind faith in Jacob’s innocence were all well written. However, it was sometimes how Landay wrote the voices of certain characters that irritated me. Both teenagers who Andy talked to about Jacob sounded the same. There were lots of “umms”, “well yeahs”, and “likes”. Sure, some teens talk like that, but not all. 

Overall, this book was alright. It kept you guessing, wondering if Jacob was indeed guilty or innocent, and the ending wasn’t wrapped up with a nice little bow, which suited the story. I would recommend the book if courtroom drama is your thing.

Sharaya: 3/5

I have been really wanting to, but haven’t seen the Apple TV show yet, as I’ve been waiting until I had time to pick the book up (I try to always read before I watch).  It was definitely interesting to see Andy shift from investigator to father of the accused.  I thought that Landay did a good job of exploring the emotional distress that the family experienced, and how it affected each member differently. Actually, I found it interesting that during the period of the book where they experienced the most isolation (between the arrest and the trial), that I was reminded strongly of the feelings of shunned isolation that we’ve all experienced during the pandemic.

I liked that everything was not concretely explained. You know what Andy believes, but the reader is free to decide if they believe Jacob is guilty or innocent (I have my own theories on this – I may have seen too many episodes of Criminal Minds though… ).  I also liked that as a reader, I was able to see past Andy’s beliefs, and pick up on some dynamics and details about their family that he was blind to.  

I appreciated how Landay dealt with the legal side of things. I liked that he had been a DA and I think that lent a sense of reality to the story.  I didn’t have any issues with the legal jargon.  There were a few holes in the story and the character development, however. Threads that were picked up and then dropped, bringing nothing to the story and making me wonder why they were included at all.  I’m looking forward to watching the show and seeing how it lines up with the book.

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