Defending Jacob

Starred review from October 24, 2011
Andy Barber, a respected First Assistant DA who lives in Newton, Mass., with his gentle wife, Laurie, and their 14-year-old son, Jacob, must face the unthinkable in Dagger Award–winner Landay’s harrowing third suspense novel. When Ben Rifkin, Jacob’s classmate, is found stabbed to death in the woods, Internet accusations and incontrovertible evidence point to big, handsome Jacob. Andy’s prosecutorial gut insists a child molester is the real killer, but as Jacob’s trial proceeds and Andy’s marriage crumbles under the forced revelation of old secrets, horror builds on horror toward a breathtakingly brutal outcome. Landay (The Strangler), a former DA, mixes gritty court reporting with Andy’s painful confrontation with himself, forcing readers willy-nilly to realize the end is never the end when, as Landay claims, the line between truth and justice has become so indistinct as to appear imaginary. This searing narrative proves the ancient Greek tragedians were right: the worst punishment is not death but living with what you—knowingly or unknowingly—have done. Author tour.

May 15, 2012

Assistant District Attorney Andy Barber, his wife, Laurie, and their 14-year-old son, Jacob, are the stereotypical happy suburban family until the boy is accused of brutally murdering a classmate. During the suspenseful trial, Andy and Laurie discover how little they know their boy--and each other. VERDICT Grover Gardner does an excellent job reading the audiobook. He captures the insolence and dignity of Andy's dysfunctional father, Laurie's hopelessness, and Andy's determination to exonerate Jacob. Recommended for legal thriller fans. ["Skillful plotting and finely drawn characters result in a haunting story reminiscent of Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent," read the review of the New York Times best-selling Delacorte hc, LJ 12/11.--Ed.]--Ilka Gordon, Siegal Coll. of Judaic Studies Lib., Cleveland

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