Synopses & Reviews
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.
Review
"Defending Jacob is smart, sophisticated, and suspenseful — capturing both the complexity and stunning fragility of family life." Lee Child
Review
"Powerful...leaves you gasping breathlessly at each shocking revelation." Lisa Gardner
Review
"A page-turning, stomach-clenching exploration of family." Chevy Stevens
Review
"Like John Grisham and Scott Turow, Landay is a lawyer with a solid grasp of how to use courtroom scenes to advance his jigsaw-puzzle story....with a grabby premise and careful plotting, he keeps you turning the pages through the shocking gut-punch of an ending." Entertainment Weekly
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)
Review
"Landay turns out to be creating a clever blend of legal thriller and issue-oriented family implosion...nothing is predictable. All bets are off." Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Synopsis
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Entertainment Weekly The Boston Globe Kansas City Star
A legal thriller that s comparable to classics such as Scott Turow s Presumed Innocent . . . Tragic and shocking, Defending Jacob is sure to generate buzz. Associated Press
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
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.
Praise for Defending Jacob
Ingenious . . . Nothing is predictable. All bets are off. The New York Times
Stunning . . . a novel that comes to you out of the blue and manages to keep you reading feverishly until the whole thing is completed. The Huffington Post
Gripping, emotional murder saga . . . The shocking ending will have readers pulling up their bedcovers to ward off the haunting chill. People
The hype is justified. . . . Exceptionally serious, suspenseful, engrossing. The Washington Post
Even with unexpected twists and turns, the two narratives interlock like the teeth of a zipper, building to a tough and unflinching finale. This novel has major motion picture written all over it. The Boston Globe
Yes, this book came out in January. No, we are not done talking about it. Entertainment Weekly"
Synopsis
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - "A legal thriller that's comparable to classics such as Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent . . . tragic and shocking."--Associated Press SOON TO BE AN 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 for two decades. He is respected. Admired in the courtroom. Happy at home with the loves of his life: his wife, Laurie, and their teenage son, Jacob. Then Andy's quiet suburb is stunned by a shocking crime: a young boy stabbed to death in a leafy park. And an even greater shock: The accused is Andy's own son--shy, awkward, mysterious Jacob.
Andy believes in Jacob's innocence. Any parent would. But the pressure mounts. Damning evidence. Doubt. A faltering marriage. The neighbors' contempt. A murder trial that threatens to obliterate Andy's family. It is the ultimate test for any parent: How far would you go to protect your child? It is a test of devotion. A test of how well a parent can know a child. For Andy Barber, a man with an iron will and a dark secret, it is a test of guilt and innocence in the deepest sense.
How far would you go?
Praise for Defending Jacob
"A novel like this comes along maybe once a decade . . . a tour de force, a full-blooded legal thriller about a murder trial and the way it shatters a family. With its relentless suspense, its mesmerizing prose, and a shocking twist at the end, it's every bit as good as Scott Turow's great Presumed Innocent. But it's also something more: an indelible domestic drama that calls to mind Ordinary People and We Need to Talk About Kevin. A spellbinding and unforgettable literary crime novel."--Joseph Finder
"Defending Jacob is smart, sophisticated, and suspenseful--capturing both the complexity and stunning fragility of family life."--Lee Child
"Powerful . . . leaves you gasping breathlessly at each shocking revelation."--Lisa Gardner
"Disturbing, complex, and gripping, Defending Jacob is impossible to put down. William Landay is a stunning talent."--Carla Neggers
"Riveting, suspenseful, and emotionally searing."--Linwood Barclay
About the Author
William Landay is the author of The Strangler, a Los Angeles Times Favorite Crime Book of the Year, and Mission Flats, winner of the Creasey Memorial Dagger Award for Best First Crime Novel and a Barry Award nominee. A former district attorney who holds degrees from Yale and Boston College Law School, Landay lives in Boston, where he is at work on his next novel of suspense.