What readers think of Defending Jacob, plus links to write your own review.

Mr. Landay gets carried away with himself trying to have the main character, Jacob's father, explain himself to the reader. This is annoying and unnecessary. He has his character assuming he knows what the reader must be thinking. Stop this!
The book labors in many places throughout. It seems to pick up most in the dialogue which moves the story forward better than the author/character's attempts at convincing the reader how smart or hip he is. There was a story to be told here, but Landay took too long to tell it. I had to force myself to keep reading this book and could take it in only carefully meted out doses.
The book is apparently more about a human being's extreme denial of anything approaching reality. If the reader is suppose to dislike the father, then Mr. Landay accomplished this. The book was all about the supposed intelligent father who was a perfect example of the ability of the male species's inability to see reality and deal with it head on. This book needs a lot of editing and revising before it is published. It was hit and miss over and over. A lot can be thrown out to tighten it up and make it a more compelling and powerful story. Please tell me the final copy will be a much more fine-tuned piece of work. Otherwise, I cannot recommend it to anyone to read. The reader has to struggle too much to enjoy the writing.

Without giving anything away,I'd have to say it's a good read about murder in the burbs, children committing murder? An ideal family? Is violence inherited? Not my child! Kept me reading but not outstanding in my opinion! If I'm allowed to say,you want outstanding try Andrew Vachss!

A good legal thriller and very hard to put down, once you get involved in the story. Situation is a family and parent nightmare. There are parts of the story line that readers will see coming and not necessarily surprise them, but I found the last 20 pages to be an unexpected knockout. Recommended. Should do very well when released in January.

This crime/courtroom drama which tells the story of an Assistant District Attorney whose son is indicted for the murder of a middle-school classmate raises complex questions about the relationships between parents and children, between evidence and proof, between nature and nurture, and between truth and justice. The characters are realistic, though not particularly likable. The plot moves along using a combination of narration and grand jury transcripts - although it is not until the last ten pages that one is aware of the nature of the grand jury inquiry. The book is well-written and hard to put down - it's well worth the time it takes to read it.

This is one of the best courtroom dramas I've read in quite awhile. Fast paced, energetic, touching and disturbing on more than one level. As the story unfurls, you're along for the ride as Jacob's father recalls events and the author does an amazing job evoking the shock, sorrow and suspicion surrounding the murder and the vastly different effects it has on several characters. The last few pages of this novel are absolutely stunning and I thought about the conclusion long after I finished the book.

Reminiscent of a John Grisham novel, William Landay's Defending Jacob kept me turning the pages late into the night. The characters are believable and the writing moves along, although the ending is a bit predictable.

Jacob was a quiet 14 year old kid who did not go around with the “in” crowd. He didn't have a lot of friends; he was “bullied.” And his grandfather was a murderer. Is violence genetic? Does it skip generations? Or can it be suppressed, while lying latent, waiting for some provocation. Is there such a thing as a “murder gene?” What responsibilities lie with the parents when faced with the accusation that their child may have committed murder? All of these questions come into play in this absorbing, well-written novel, which story rotates between the transcript from a Grand Jury testimony and the prior events that took place place following a murder. It offers thought-provoking insights into marriage and parenthood, and dealing with very difficult circumstances, and it is an excellent read.

I found it difficult to put this book down. Each time I tried, little questions kept niggling, thus many things were set aside until the last page was read. The characters were well developed, the plot engrossing, and the ending so thought provoking.

I would certainly recommend this book, and think interesting discussions could evolve in any Book Group.