Publisher, Blackstone Audio (January 2012)

NOTE: RETAIL EDITIONS are packaged in attractive, compact cardboard, jewel-case or DVD shrink-wrapped cases, with full-color art.

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“William Landay makes bold use of his genuine storytelling gift, his amazing ability to craft believable dialogue, and, above all, an extraordinary understanding of what it means to be a husband and father to present us with an unforgettable tale of an ordinary marriage and family in crisis…On the surface this novel reads like a first-rate thriller, but at its heart it’s a love story. It’s the story of a man who adores his wife and child, but more than that, it’s a novel that describes the fine edge between love and madness and the lies we sometimes tell ourselves. Landay has proven himself to be an extraordinary writer, and Defending Jacob is an amazing novel. Do yourself a favor and read it. It’s that good.” —Nicholas Sparks, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Defending Jacob is smart, sophisticated—and suspenseful on more levels than one.” —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Powerful…Leaves you gasping breathlessly at each shocking revelation.” —Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“Seamless and sensational…This has got to be one of the best novels of the year.” —John Lutz, New York Times bestselling author

“A novel like this comes along maybe once a decade. William Landay’s Defending Jacob is a tour de force, a full-blooded legal thriller about a murder trial and the way it shatters a family. With its relentless suspense, mesmerizing prose, and a shocking twist at the end, it’s every bit as good as Scott Turow’s great Presumed Innocent. But also something more: an indelible domestic drama that calls to mind Ordinary People and We Need to Talk About Kevin. A spellbinding and unforgettable literary crime novel.” —Joseph Finder, New York Times bestselling author

“A page-turning, stomach-clenching exploration of family.” —Chevy Stevens, New York Times bestselling author

“A stunning novel that will be compared to classic courtroom thrillers like Presumed Innocent and Anatomy of a Murder.” —Phillip Margolin, New York Times bestselling author

“Brilliantly conceived…Combines a harrowing family drama with riveting courtroom scenes that make readers feel they are actually witnessing the trial unfold.” —Stephen Frey, New York Times bestselling author

“Powerful, disturbing, complex, and gripping, Defending Jacob is also impossible to put down. William Landay is a stunning talent.” —Carla Neggers, New York Times bestselling author

“An unflinching appraisal of the darkest, most poignant consequences of the love that binds, and blinds, families. Defending Jacob is one of those rare books that call for contemplation and insight along with every breathtaking surprise.” —Stephen White, New York Times bestselling author

“Riveting, suspenseful, and emotionally searing.” —Linwood Barclay, internationally bestselling author

“Harrowing…Landay, a former DA, mixes gritty court reporting with Andy’s painful confrontation with himself, forcing readers willy-nilly to realize the end is never the end when, as Landay claims, the line between truth and justice has become so indistinct as to appear imaginary. This searing narrative proves the ancient Greek tragedians were right: the worst punishment is not death but living with what you—knowingly or unknowingly—have done.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A carefully plotted and precisely written thriller about a family put to the ultimate test…Propelled by an ongoing courtroom drama and with a neat final twist, Defending Jacob is bound to enthrall.” —Thomas H. Cook, author of The Quest for Anna Klein

“Landay spins a tale of such complexity and emotion that you don’t even realize you’re spiraling deep into his world until he spits you out at his shocking, shattering conclusion.” —Carla Buckley, author of The Things That Keep Us Here

“Defending Jacob centers on a father's worst nightmare, to find his fourteen-year-old son charged with the murder of a classmate...Defending Jacob made my courtroom thriller loving heart sing for joy, a well written, deftly plotted legal tale that was full of hidden depths. Fans of crime fiction, even if not particularly legal thriller fans, should not miss this utterly enthralling novel…Gardner has this wonderful voice that is just suited for first person narratives. He almost sounds like your favorite uncle, the one who always has the best stories to tell you. You become so used to his voice, one that has a unique quality to it, that, especially in first person tales, it takes you a while to realize just how well he is voicing the peripheral characters…I think one of the hardest things for a narrator to do is have authentic sounding dialogue between two characters, and here it was like I was listening to a masters class on how to do it…Grade: A.” —Bob Reiss/The Guilded Earlobe

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: his fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.

Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, and as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive.

Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control.

About the Author: William Landay is the author of The Strangler, a Los Angeles Times Favorite Crime Book of the Year, and Mission Flats, winner of the Creasey Memorial Dagger Award for Best First Crime Novel and a Barry Award nominee. A former district attorney who holds degrees from Yale and Boston College of Law, he lives in Boston.