Defending Jacob: A Novel

William Landay

Jan 2012 · Sold by Delacorte Press

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A legal thriller that’s comparable to classics such as Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent . . . tragic and shocking.”—Associated Press

NOW AN EMMY-NOMINATED 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

Ratings and reviews

Defending Jacob is an excellent courtroom drama and murder mystery. The details of the court case will totally capture your interest, and at times you will believe the characters are real and want to scream at the lawyers because of the way they manipulate the facts, witnesses and the jury. How far would a parent go to protect a child accused of murder? Would parents actually suspect their own child? Could they believe their child was capable of such an act? Would friends remain loyal after such an accusation? How does a family survive the isolation and humiliation of the trial and all it encompasses? Anyone who reads this book will be left with the thought, what would I have done, how would I cope in each of the situations, with my friends if their child was accused, with my son and my spouse if my child were accused? Could I hold up under such embarrassing scrutiny and stress? This story takes place in Newton, a bedroom community of Boston. It begins in a Grand Jury courtroom as Mr. Andrew Barber, a former District Attorney, is on the stand being examined by a fellow lawyer regarding his son’s murder charge. It then seems to proceed backwards in time, to the trial of his son, Jacob, for the murder of a teenage bully, Ben Rifkin. Throughout the novel, interspersed with the dialogue, there are vignettes from the Grand Jury hearing to fill in missing pieces of the story. You are there with the accused and almost feel like a jury member yourself, listening to the facts as they are told, wondering about Jacob’s guilt or innocence, judging the performances of the lawyers and the innuendos about the accused. Jacob might be described as a sullen boy, not social, a geek, emotionally immature, outside the social strata of the mainstream high school student. His reactions are not quite right, not what one would expect, in certain circumstances. When he is implicated in the murder of a fellow student, the story explodes into the public eye. His innocence is never really a factor; his guilt is all anyone ever envisions. Jacob’s demeanor makes people believe he could have done it, and circumstantial evidence points in his direction. All the details of his and his family's life are examined and made public. Did the investigators properly investigate the case, looking for all suspects, or did they simply aim at Jacob, disregarding other evidence in order to solve the crime expeditiously because of its horrific nature? The evidence appears circumstantial, but Jacob has difficulty relating to people so he is a perfect suspect to go after for the crime, whether or not he is guilty. He is emotionally immature. His ancestors have committed crimes of horrific violence. Is there, therefore, a murder gene or a propensity to commit violent crimes? Friends can make incriminating statements about the accused that would seem innocent in other circumstances. The problem of putting anything on the internet, which becomes public as soon as you are under suspicion, is really illuminated. There is no place to hide if you have implicated yourself on any of the public social sites. Any stupid thing you may have done will cast suspicion upon you because if you are the accused, the benefit of the doubt seems to disappear and is given to your accuser. Every thing you do will be examined six ways to Sunday in the media, by those looking to make a headline and a name for themselves; what happens to you and your family, in the event of your innocence, is immaterial to them. You and your family will be tormented and no one will care. The Barbers had been respected members of the community, yet they fell from grace immediately. The novel shows how easy it is for the prosecutor and the defense attorney to skew the evidence in their favor. The court system and investigatory methods are subject to so much corruption. Evidence that might help the defendant is hidden, just to prove a point and win the case, even when that evidence might shed light on the truth. Winning is the main goal. This novel expertly examines the dynamic of family interaction

Rarely do I read a book right when the hype around it is still going on. After seeing this on NetGalley I just had to pick it up and read it. And I am so thankful I did. A book that is more than a criminal case, it is about the family that is at the heart of the case. A small family unit that is solely made up of mother, father and son that takes quite a hit when a classmate at school is found dead in a local park. The reader is taken behind the scenes and out of the courtroom to their home between the days of the case when it is hard to continue on. I fell in love with this family and was intrigued by the struggle they faced trying to first determine in their own minds if their son was innocent and then defending him to the end. The reader is in the middle of the journey trying to decide if they believe that Jacob is innocent or not. Just when you thought the book was coming to close there were four more chapters that took this story to a whole different level. As I always do, I will not share about the twist ending that takes you completely by surprise and is almost a sucker punch to the gut. Because of this twist ending, this book is a terrific ride to the very last page.

I don't read too many books because I have so much to read for school but I picked this up over summer to keep me busy in between semesters from college. This is a great book and very well written. William Landay tells an amazing story about a father trying to protect his son from being convicted of a murder. We keep wondering whether Jacob committed the murder or not. I must have had a dozen different theories but the ending STILL surprised me. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends.

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.