Could You Defend Jacob?

To learn about the author of Defending Jacob, please refer to William Landay's website: http://www.williamlanday.com/books/defending-jacob/.

Here is The New York Times book review by Janet Maslin: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/books/defending-jacob-by-william-landay.html.

And, for your convenience, I have copied below a Boston Globe review by Hallie Ephron. This is the link for it: http://bit.ly/1QvEpfB.

By Hallie Ephron   FEBRUARY 19, 2012

Many crime fiction writers have imagined the horror of losing a child. William Landay’s “Defending Jacob’’wades into similarly dark territory, exploring the anguish of parents who discover that their child may be a murderer.

The setting is Newton. The father is Andy Barber, chief trial attorney in the Middlesex DA’s office. He’s among the first at the scene where 14-year-old Ben Rifkin is found dead with stab wounds to the chest, “as if he’d been forked by a trident.’’ Ben was a classmate of Andy’s son Jacob, and Andy’s decision to take charge of the case comes under scrutiny when evidence mounts, implicating his son.

Haunted by the knowledge that violence runs in families, Andy gets busy doing what he calls “lawyering away at the evidence.’’ He has no illusions that criminal justice delivers just verdicts. Jacob’s mother Laurie shoulders the blame, dredging up incidents from Jacob’s childhood that she can no longer rationalize.

In riveting courtroom procedure, opposing counsel - Jacob’s unflappable defense attorney Jonathan Klein and prosecutor Neal Logiudice who’s gunning for Andy’s job - match wits. Meanwhile Jacob, in his faded hoodie, droopy jeans, and bangs covering his eyes slouches along, impervious to concern.

One story line dramatizes the murder and its aftermath. A second presents grand jury proceedings a year later, the subject of which the reader only gradually comes to understand. 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.