What is this about?: 10 years after a jury declared a young teacher innocent of killing a student, the jury is brought back together for a Netflix-like documentary about how they got it so wrong. When the juror, Rick, who insists he’s found new evidence that indicates the teacher’s guilt is killed, the juror, Maya, who convinced her fellow jurors all those years ago to vote ‘Not Guilty’ is arrested for his murder.
What else is this about?: Nothing is what it seems here, no juror and no guilty or innocent party. It’s f**king brilliant piece of plotting, that left me going whaaaaat?
Blurb
In this twisty tale from Moore (The Sherlockian), the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game, 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.
To tell the truth, I don’t know if The Holdout has been nearly hyped enough considering how utterly compelling a read it is.
On the surface, it’s exactly what you think it is
Maya Seale is an accomplished attorney when the book opens. She’s managed to put her notoriety from serving on Bobby Nock’s jury kind of behind her, even if what that actually means is that she keeps her name hidden from all public records, and refuses all contact in regards to the case. So when Rick, a fellow juror and former lover, tracks her down and asks her to attend a reunion show about the trial, about how the jury got it wrong and are still apologetic about it years later, she flatly refuses.
He and the other jurors blamed her publically for the not guilty verdict all those years ago; she became their scapegoat, and there’s no way she’s going to go to a taping to have that all happen again — even if Rick says he has explosive evidence that will prove that Bobby is guilty.
Then her boss tells her to do it, so, so much for that idea. Then Rick is found dead in her hotel room where the reunion was taking place, so Maya is on a roll of bad decisions.
From there, The Holdout hits its stride, building a web in which Maya find herself caught, with no real avenue out. Every which way she turns, she’s guilty — and given that Bobby Nock has always maintained his innocence, I got to wondering if he felt the same way that Maya did. Maya though had something that Bobby didn’t — the ability to investigate Rick’s murder, and that takes her back to her former fellow jurors.
Her visiting them and putting things together is accompanied by chapters from the past, from the jury room and these dual timelines are incredibly effective in contrasting the difference between the people they were then and who they are now.
In the chapters of the past, Moore takes us back to the jury room, to each member of the jury, their lives and what brought them to the jury room. Readers also begin to get an idea of what went on in that jury room, and a little of how Maya won them all over to her side of Not Guilty. Arguments get ugly, and also revolve around race making the only jurors of colour uncomfortable in different ways, Rick in particular. Maya’s firm belief that Bobby is innocent signals the end of their relationship and all the dreams Maya had of life outside the jury room are quashed.
But Moore builds lives for these characters in chapters, giving readers enough to understand them and their decisions better. It’s efficient writing, and does what other books struggle to do with substantially less characters, I think.
Then the truth comes out
And readers will realise that the tragedy of this story is that everyone believed their version of justice would be served, and it’s not even close to what happened.
Moore builds a history for every character, laying he foundation that comes together in the end, revealing the truth of Jessica’s death.
And, I promise, it’s not what you think it is.
The Holdout is a legal thriller that spins a web of lies and truth that left me marvelling at just how good this really is.
I have to read this! I actually, foolishly passed on an ARC of this earlier in the year, and I’ve been regretting that decision ever since.
I hope you do, Ethan, I think it is absolutely something you would enjoy!
Must. Read. This. One. 😀
YESSSS, please do!!! It’s one of those ones I want to run around telling everyone to read.
Even though I’ve worked in the legal profession, I haven’t read a lot of legal thrillers – this one sounds absolutely fantastic!
Oh Angela, please give it a go! I would love to get the POV of someone in the legal profession of this!
Uh oh. This sounds like a must have.
YES YES YES. Did I mention YES? LOL!
I have not read a lot of legal thrillers but boy does this sound good. I’ve been on a thriller mood lately.
I haven’t read a good legal thriller in ages so this one is calling to me!