Thrillers are by far the most popular form of American fiction, as its creators are among the most prolific of authors.
The legal or courtroom thriller is a very distinct variant of the thriller, and the best of these books are, unsurprisingly, written by lawyers themselves, standing out because of realism and enthralling suspense.
Among those attorneys who write are John Grisham (1991’s “The Firm”) and Scott Turow (1987’s “Presumed Innocent”), authors who translate their knowledge in legal matters into authoritative grasp of the law as applied in fiction but are also able to graft mind-boggling imaginary situations onto reality.
You may now add a new name to that august group: William Landay. Though he already is the author of two previous novels, it is Landay’s newest book that catapults him to such revered company. Like the others, the Yale graduate and Boston native knows his stuff—because he’s almost writing about himself.
Family catastrophe
Like his previous two novels, “Mission Flats” and “The Strangler,” the new novel “Defending Jacob” (Delacorte Press, New York, 2012, 421 pages) is set in Landay’s home state of Massachusetts.
Andy Barber is the successful and driven Assistant District Attorney (ADA) in Middlesex County. He lives in suburban Newton with wife Laurie and teenage son Jacob.
One day, the body of Ben Rifkin, one of Jacob’s schoolmates, is found stabbed to death. Barber handles the case, applying all of his professionalism.
But there is something off about the case, and Barber hears rumors about a conflict between the dead boy and his son. Alarmed, Barber searches his son’s rooms and, to his shock, finds a knife. Keeping the knife a secret, he finds out he has been removed from the case—because Jacob’s fingerprint was found on Rifkin’s body.
What follows is a professional and personal catastrophe for the Barbers, as he is forced to go on leave, his case now handled by an ambitious colleague who would want nothing more than see Barber fail—and his family ostracized as his son is to be tried in court. He struggles to communicate with Jacob, who has turned sullen, even as he holds fast to his son’s being innocent.
Meanwhile, Barber admits to his wife a long-kept shame: that his father and grandfather were both murderers.
Unassuming cover
“Defending Jacob” has an unassuming cover, and it starts off just as unassuming plot-wise. But once Landay gets the ball rolling, the novel just keeps your attention, as you are riveted waiting to know what happens with the case and with the Barbers as a family.
Landay writes about the case in remarkable detail and paces his pages to imitate real-life docket drama. Instead of being faceless mannequins, the lawyers, officers and related characters are well-crafted characters. The case itself touches on some hot-button legal topics such as the so-called “murder gene.”
The most remarkable character is that of Barber himself, a man now faced with everything he feared but also determined to fix all that is wrong. Hot-tempered, smart but impatient, Barber’s biggest weakness is that he loves his son unconditionally and cannot believe Jacob did what he is accused of. This makes him perfect as a narrator, because the reader soon realizes there is almost nothing he will not do for his son. The question is how far will he go to defend Jacob.
The reason all this works is because Landay spent eight years as an ADA in Middlesex County. Yes, he essentially held the same job as his protagonist—and the familiarity with the material shines through.
Beyond the legal verisimilitude, Landay succeeds because of a killer ending that no one will see coming, but makes all the sense in the wicked world once it happens.
It’s a subtle yet shocking ending that makes “Defending Jacob” a standout legal thriller readers will be talking about long after the reading, finally establishing that William Landay knows what he’s writing about, especially if it takes place, or because of what happens, in the nearest courtroom.
Available in hardcover from National Book Store.
