The Holdout
African Americans
Random House
2020
Hardcover
336
Purchased
In this twisty tale, young juror Maya Seale is convinced that African American high school teacher Bobby Nock is innocent of killing the wealthy white female student with whom he appears to have been involved and persuades her fellow jurors likewise. Ten years later, a true-crime docuseries reassembles the jurors, and Maya, now a defense attorney, must prove her own innocence when one of them is found dead in Maya's room.
My review:
In doing a bit of research into this book before writing my review, I discovered that the idea for it was formed when the author served on a jury in 2008. His jury found the defendant guilty, but he always wondered what if they were wrong? Learning that makes the book even more interesting. One woman on a jury convinces the others to acquit a man of murder. A decade later the jury is brought back together to film a documentary and one juror claims to have information that proves they gave the wrong verdict. Before he reveals that information, tragedy strikes and the woman is accused of his murder. I loved the way this book was structured. We had the current timeline interspersed with chapters from each of the jurors during the trial ten years earlier. I thought this was a brilliant way to tell the story of the trial through various viewpoints! I wouldn't necessarily call this a true crime novel or a mystery thriller, it definitely had aspects of both and there were slight twists and turns to have you guessing all along the way. It's an interesting look at the judicial system, and what it means to serve on a jury in a high profile case. Good writing, a strong plot, and believable characters all set the stage for this to be a winner. It does get a bit far fetched toward the end, but I was already down the rabbit hole by that point so I went along for the rest of the ride.
I loved this crime drama/ mystery thriller/ courtroom saga, and the structure of the book was a true highlight. Definitely pick this one up if you are in the mood for an interesting look at the jury system and who decides guilt or innocence.
I've read a lot of great reviews for this one. I'm kicking myself for passing up an ARC for it a couple months ago, but it is now on my TBR list. I hope to get to it soon!
I hope you like it when you get a copy (been there, done that with the ARC's!).