Defending Jacob: A Novel by William Landay

Defending Jacob
A Novel
by William Landay
Paperback, 496 pages

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Entertainment Weekly • The Boston Globe • Kansas City Star

Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

Okay, I guess I should say a little more.

Defending Jacob is a criminal law courtroom procedural but so much more than that.

The ADA of a small New England town, Andy Barber, is called in when a boy is murdered. The boy is his own son's age and in some of his classes. Fairly soon into the investigation, Andy's son becomes a suspect.

What follows is an intense battle to defend his son, Jacob Barber.

"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."

The book is written from Andy's point of view and he has the ability to see the procedures clearly due to his career as a lawyer but also has the burning desire to defend his son at all costs.

More than just a crime novel, Defending Jacob delves into nature vs. nurture, genetics, social media, bullying, and the effects of a trial on everyone involved.

Once you get into this novel it swallows you up. I truly felt changed after reading it and I immediately had to phone a friend to talk about the book.

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.
Visit the author at www.williamlanday.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/williamlanday