Defending Jacob

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

Author: William Landay
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: 01/31/2012
Pages: 432
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.44lbs
Size: 9.45h x 6.42w x 1.39d
ISBN: 9780385344227

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5
Point Value: 18
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 161535 / Defending Jacob


Award: Thriller Awards - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 09/01/2011 pg. 86
Publishers Weekly 10/24/2011 pg. 35
Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2011
Library Journal 12/01/2011 pg. 115
Romantic Times 02/01/2012 pg. 72 - Very Good
Booklist 01/01/2012 pg. 46
Shelf Awareness 02/03/2012
People Weekly 02/13/2012 pg. 54
Kirkus Best Fiction 11/15/2012 pg. 26
Entertainment Weekly 12/28/2012 pg. 107

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.