Defending Jacob (2012)
William
Landay
Random
House 978040246138
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* * *
As a parent, what could you imagine
of your child? Or, more to the point, what could you not imagine? That’s the unsettling question at the heart of William
Landay’s gripping page-turner Defending
Jacob. It’s one part thriller, one part mystery, one part courtroom drama,
and one part family nightmare. It adds up to a book that intrigues, terrifies,
and can’t be put down.
Andy and Laurie Barber are living
the dream. They reside in the tony Boston suburb of Newton, are considered
pillars of the community, and are surrounded by people they consider friends. Andy
is the first assistant to the District Attorney—a guy everyone trusts. Until
they don’t. The Barber dream world begins to fall apart when a 14-yeard-old kid,
Ben Rifkin, is brutally slain in the sort of suburban park where things like
that aren’t supposed to happen. As first assistant, Andy and his buddy, State
Police Detective Paul Duffy, roll up their sleeves and search for Ben’s killer.
Until they can’t. Neal Logiudice, Andy’s ambitious but overly zealous former
protégé, is now in charge and has removed them from the case. That’s because
the prime suspect is no longer a local pedophile; it’s the Barbers’ 14-year-old
son, Jacob. The Barbers cannot imagine that their son could do such a thing,
but their neighbors can, and when Jacob is charged, the Barbers go from golden
couple to community pariahs in the flash of a Rolodex-waving hand. They also
quickly learn how little they know about the 14-year-old mind, Facebook, or the
shadowy edges of online subcultures.
Disturbing stuff—but just what
14-year-old boys dabble in, right? Jacob can’t be a killer. Right? Could your
kid? And once you “know” that your kid has been wrongly accused, to what
lengths would you go to protect him? What if you were convinced that the real
killer is still on the loose and that a prosecutor like Logiudice is using you
and your child as a stepping stone to further his own career? How would you
behave? What would you do when he concocts a story that there is a “murder
gene” plaguing your blood line? Especially when you’ve not been forthcoming
with your spouse about your birth family tree? Do you ever, even for a moment,
wonder if what is being said might be true?
You’ll find yourself ripping through
Defending Jacob if, for no other
reason, the above questions are so disturbing you can’t rest until you know how they’re answered. You’ll
also find yourself drawn in because you can
imagine the very things you say that you can’t.
And you’ll be rewarded, though not necessarily satisfied, by the many twists
and turns this well-crafted, skillfully penned novel takes. No spoilers here
except to say that the resolutions are seldom formulaic or predictable. This is
creepy nail- biter will leave you shattered no matter whose side you take.
Rob
Weir
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