Dissection of a Murder: The Unmissable, Explosive Instant Sunday Times Bestselling Courtroom Thriller
Jo Murray's debut novel arrives trailing serious accolades: a Sunday Times bestseller, a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick, and soon to become the second season of Apple TV's hit show Presumed Innocent. That's quite the entrance for a first-time novelist, and the good news is that the book earns it. At its centre is Leila Reynolds, a barrister handed a murder case that's well above her station. The victim is a prominent, widely respected judge. The defendant, Jack Millman, refuses to speak. He has, however, made one thing absolutely clear: he wants Leila, and nobody else. It's a premise that crackles with tension right from the off. What follows is a courtroom thriller that keeps its cards frustratingly, brilliantly close to its chest. Murray understands that juries aren't swayed by legal cleverness alone, and she uses that insight to build a narrative where persuasion, perception, and hidden agendas do as much work as the evidence. Leila isn't just fighting to keep her client out of prison. She's also fighting to keep her own past from unravelling. The twists are well-timed and genuinely surprising, the pacing rarely lets up, and the moral ambiguity running through every chapter gives the whole thing a satisfying unease. As Alice Feeney puts it, it's 'so gripping, so clever, so good.' TM Logan calls it 'absolutely outstanding'; Sarah Vaughan a 'terrific read.' Guilty or not guilty? You'll be turning pages furiously to find out.
- Author: Jo Murray
- Publisher: Macmillan
- Genre: True Crime
- ISBN: 978-1035072712
- Pages: 412 pages