Conviction – Jack Jordan | Book Review | @JackJordanBooks @simonschusterUK @likely_suspects #Conviction | Legal Thriller – Moral Dilemma

TO STEAL A MAN’S FREEDOM ALL IT TAKES IS . . . CONVICTION

Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept before burning the family home to the ground.

When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could be the career making case she’s been waiting for. But only if she can prove Wade’s innocence.

A matter of days before the case, as Neve is travelling home for the night, she is approached by a man. He tells her she must lose this case or the secret about her own husband’s disappearance will be revealed. Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about until she follows orders.

Neve must make a choice – betray every principle she has ever had by putting a potentially innocent man in prison, or risk putting those she loves in mortal danger.

For fans of Steve Cavanagh, Linwood Barclay and Gillian McAllister, introducing the latest novel from the master of the moral dilemma, Jack Jordan.

MY THOUGHTS

My thanks to the publisher Simon & Schuster for the copy to review. Conviction was published on 22 June in ebook, audio and hardback with the paperback to follow in February 2024.

I have a confession, despite buying Jack’s previous books, this is the first I have actually read – and what a fantastic one to start with. I’ve spent most of my working life in a legal environment and I love legal thrillers, I was thrilled when a review copy arrived from the publisher’s The Likely Suspects

Neve Harper is an ambitious 38 year old barrister. She has been been handed a controversial murder case which has made the headlines. Wade Darling has been accused of familicide – killing his wife and children and then burning the family home, injuring himself in the process. This is a last minute case for her and she has very little time to prepare for the forthcoming court appearance, however this is not a straightforward defence by any means and a moral dilemma is in store for Neve.

Neve has a backstory of her own and it is this history which makes her vulnerable to the ultimatum she has received. Those behind the threats are deadly serious, in fact Neve is shown at first hand just how far they will go to get the result they wish.

I was glued to this book and to see which way Neve would go. It seemed as though she didn’t have any choice and although at times her decisions seemed rather unwise and irrational, she was definitely caught between that rock and a hard place.

As for Wade Darling, at times he cut rather a pathetic figure. He wasn’t always minded to cooperate which made me suspicious and I was for the most part, undecided as to his guilt or innocence, veering constantly between the two.

Split into three parts, focusing on different aspects including the Defence and the Prosecution, Conviction is a thrilling and dramatic read with some deceitful characters and a sinister violent edge which ticked all the boxes for me. I was kept guessing as to whether Neve would throw the trial to save herself and her loved ones and fearful for the consequences if she did not. She was definitely a character that I could get behind, her conflicting emotions were made clear and even Wade Darling, as awful as his alleged crimes were, garnered some sympathy from me with certain disclosures that came to light.

I thoroughly enjoyed the moral dilemma and the emotional consequences which the author skilfully creates in Conviction and the twists and surprises kept me intrigued to the last page. I had already bought Do No Harm, his previous book and am now particularly keen to bump this up the list.

Jack Jordan is the global bestselling author of Anything for Her, My Girl, A Woman Scorned, Before Her Eyes, and Night by Night and an Amazon No.1 bestseller in the UK, Canada, and Australia. After selling at auction in the UK and numerous foreign territories, Do No Harm is set to be the thriller of the summer in 2022. The idea for Do No Harm came to Jack after undergoing a minor medical procedure where he had to be sedated and trust strangers with his welfare. After the anaesthesia wore off, Jack began scribbling his notes, wondering to himself just how iron-clad a surgeon’s oath is, and what it would take to break it…


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