Graham Moore

Ten years ago, Maya, the lone holdout on a jury, convinced 11 of her fellow jurors to acquit a black teacher accused of murdering his white teenage student. Was justice served?

A Novel

The Holdout

Denaiir

I don’t read many legal thrillers but I love them, so this was a welcome addition to my TBR and I picked it up as soon as I could. So maybe you think I am biased, but legal thrillers have to be BRILLIANT or they are just boring, so I have high expectations. I love a good courtroom drama such as The Lincoln Lawyer where you get to experience first-hand the strategies that the lawyers put in place, the investigations that happen behind the scenes, and the fact that sometimes not telling the truth will give you better chances to keep your freedom, even though you are actually innocent.

Graham Moore mastered that aspect of the narrative: he revealed strategies as the story unfolded, moving his chess pieces one at a time with perfect pacing, distilling clues and going back on the same events from another person’s point of view, completely changing the dynamic of the group based on the new pieces of information fed to the reader. It was clever, suspenseful and well-crafted.

Another facet that the author excelled at was telling the individual stories of the twelve jurors and conveying the pressure that they were under to render a verdict that they judged fair, on a case that no one would ever wish to be part of. I loved everything that happened in the courtroom, but I also loved getting to know the people. And there were enough sub-plots going around these twelve people, the victim, her family, and the accused that I couldn’t put the book down.

I had many theories about what had happened but the twists kept coming. Each new point of view brought so much to the table: secrets had actually been discovered by many, heroes and villains were not so clear-cut, each element used in the trial had many ramifications, and many people were way more involved than I thought. Overall, the narrative and dual timeline were so intricate and so well-woven that I was completely engrossed in the book.

In addition, the plot did not stay on the pure crime thriller path, but it addressed a lot of very important and current issues such as racial bias, the influence of the media or rape culture, but even though it was quite dense everything fit together well in the story.

The plot also raised many questions about court proceedings and justice. It made me wonder what I would do if I were selected for jury duty. Maya said several times that she would never convict an innocent, even if it meant that 10 criminals would walk free. What would I do? How would I live with setting a man free without being certain that he was in fact innocent, is it better to let a murderer get away with it? I don’t want to spoil the ending of course but I want to say that the reveal was perfect in my opinion. It didn’t leave me too frustrated but it was realistic in the sense that not everything fell into place perfectly. This was an excellent thriller from start to finish, entertaining and thought-provoking, and the ending really secured my 5-star rating.

This was my first book by Graham Moore, and it was brilliant, I will definitely add him to my list of must-read authors. The audiobook was good and the narrator Abby Craden did a good job, even though I couldn’t say it made me enjoy the book more than I would have the physical format.

If you love the Lincoln Lawyer, The Pelican Brief or the movie Fracture, you should try this book!

Kristi Brockelsby

Wherever you think this story is going to go, you are wrong. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The concept is unique and the writing is good. Strong recommend. BOTM February

Sarah Vaughan

What a ride! What do I even say about this one?! 

I’d heard good things about this one. I’d been intrigued by the cover when I chose it as my Book of the Month pick. I was tempted to pick up two recent Barnes and Noble purchases before this one, and these three reads have gotten me through a long reading slump this past year. My dear Elyse, if you’re reading this, know your review led me to pick this one up from the shelf next!

Such a thrilling read. The writing was spectacular. The setup was unique. I’m not a courtroom crime drama fan, but this one had me from the beginning. 

What else did I love about this one? Plenty of things. 

1. The ability to switch between the past and present day and not confuse me or bore me. I am not usually a fan of the past to present ploy, but Graham Moore has mastered it. Finally!
2. Character development. Despite having about 20 or so characters important to the story, it was actually easy to keep track of them all, mainly because they were so well developed. Those who should have been complex were complex enough, but it didn’t feel overly done. Those who were minor characters were still developed well enough to contribute to the story without weighing it down.
3. The ending. I thought I had it figured out, but it turns out I only had part of it figured out. The ending was not quite what I expected, and not totally satisfying, but I didn’t hate it by any means.
4. No gimmicks. From the beginning there was enough to keep the story moving forward, and when new things were revealed, it didn’t feel like a cheap way to keep readers intrigued. I enjoyed the whole journey and found myself not caring if I was right or wrong about the ending so long as the story kept unfolding in a way that kept me interested, and it did.

When all was said and done, I chose four and not five stars because one of the other books I read recently was definitely a five-star read (Normal People by Sally Rooney for the curious - one of my all-time favorites), and I just couldn’t bring myself to give five stars if it wasn’t in my top reads of the last few years after the emotional rollercoaster THAT book took me on.

Whew! Now what to read next?!

Annalee Harris

In 2009, Maya Seale serves on jury duty and, after a lengthy sequester, convinces the eleven other wishy-washy jurors that Bobby Nock is not guilty of the murder of Jessica Silver. Following the infamous verdict, Maya goes on to become a respected and successful defense attorney. Ten years later, Maya is approached by a documentary film crew interested in interviewing her for a Netflix show. After begrudgingly agreeing, a juror mysteriously dies in Maya's hotel room--the same juror she not only argued with the most, but a juror she had a secret love affair with during the trail. Maya must race against the clock--and the press--to not only prove her own innocence, but to convince the world that she was right about Bobby Nock's innocence.

The Holdout was a thrilling and fast read. Graham Moore is a white author, but he delicately, ferociously, and passionately discussed racism, sexism, homophobia, and social expectations. The majority of the novel's protagonists are either people of color or part of the LGBT community, which makes for not only a realistic portrait of Los Angeles community, but gives the genre a pop of representation. Unfortunately, Maya Seale--who the novel is centered on--is a privileged cisgender, heterosexual woman and we get a lot of her opinions on the racism in America. There is one particular passage where she gets called out on her views, and it's really only in the flashbacks where she's in insufferable "social justice warrior" mode, but she does provide an accurate reflection of (most) white people.

Overall, The Holdout was equal parts entertaining, thrilling, and thought-provoking. Reading it was like watching an episode of True Crime Daily, which is the feel I imagine Moore was aiming for. The twist at the end may have added a strange fairytale aspect to the story, but it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the novel. Moore obviously put a lot of effort into this novel and it shows.

I hate that I don't love this book, because it started out with an interesting premise, but quickly tried my ability to stretch reality, and ended up losing me completely.

Mainly, your book needs to go down some different paths. You can make it a mainly realistic, procedural or legal mystery/thriller, or you can go "normal person goes cop" like they do in cozy mysteries. And cozy mysteries are great, I read tons of them, but this tried to buy me with promises of a legal drama, and slowly broke down into the cozy/amateur breaks laws and no one seems to care. Seriously, no defense attorney would do that stuff, and more charges would have been filed for her talking to witnesses. It just got to the point where I asked "are you kidding me" many times.

The story was okay, though I felt like that really broke down towards the end as well.

Abigail F

After reading The Silent Patient, I went on a bit of the thriller kick, and then a legal thriller kick. So when I had to choose between The Holdout and The Girl with the Louding Voice for February’s BOTM, I decided to get The Holdout from my local library. After patiently waiting my turn, I finally got my hands on this novel and then devoured it. Like, I typically take the time to take notes about the book after every chapter, and I had to make an agreement of every 7 chapters for this one! I did not want to put it down!

The characters are all so complex, and as the story progresses and we get a glimpse from each juror on the original case, you can only start to understand the true complexity there is to people. Maya is driven, smart, and determined girl with a high regard to our country’s legal system (she is a defense attorney after all). I don’t know if I loved her, but I was definitely rooting for her the whole time. What I did love with getting two mysteries in one book! I’m not sure which I was most curious about, because both were so captivating. 

The ending was kind of a letdown after the rest of the book. It was really unrealistic. I want to say more, but I can’t without giving anything away. If you don’t mind the ending being a little far-fetched, I would still definitely pick this up. To be honest, I didn’t fully realize how far-fetched it was until I sat down the next day to write up some initial thoughts if that affects your decision at all.

I can’t talk about this book without discussing how Moore continuously critiqued our current justice system throughout the novel. He brought up important questions and ideas on topics like race, sex and class and how it all relates to treatment by the courts. Not all the ideas get the type of fully fleshed out attention they deserve, but the overall concept on the justice system being flawed comes across loud and clear. This is something I personally think isn’t discussed enough, and I was really glad to see it here.

The Holdout gets 3.5/5 gavels from me. I loved the mystery and how well the book grabbed my attention. And despite the unrealistic actions of a defense lawyer throughout the novel, and a far-fetched ending, the novel leaves you wondering when a person who has committed a crime stops being a human, and if we can judge what guilty and innocent is when lives we can barely begin to understand are involved?

Jan Talkington

Great story that kept me guessing all the way through. Character driven and well written.

Riley

Darcy Lambert

Sarah engelhardt 

Arianna

Kate Lillie

Caitlin Hooker

Jerilynn Hallett 

Manuel J. Rivera

Alistair James

Tate

Anne 

'The most gripping and satisfying thriller I've read in more than a decade' Sophie Hannah 'One of the best legal thrillers ... as elegant and gripping as Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent' Daily Mail 'Quite the tour de force! Twelve Angry Men meets Chinatown and creates something of its own' Sarah Pinborough 'This is a tense, emotionally charged, scary-good, stand-out read' Caroline Kepnes ********** MAJOR TV SERIES COMING SOON - FROM THE PEOPLE WHO BROUGHT YOU NETFLIX'S UNBELIEVABLE... One juror changed the verdict. What if she was wrong? 'Ten years ago we made a decision together...' Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, heiress to a billion-dollar fortune, vanishes on her way home from school. Her teacher, Bobby Nock, is the prime suspect. It's an open and shut case for the prosecution, and a quick conviction seems all but guaranteed. Until Maya Seale, a young woman on the jury, persuades the rest of the jurors to vote not guilty: a controversial decision that will change all of their lives forever. Ten years later, one of the jurors is found dead, and Maya is the prime suspect. The real killer could be any of the other ten jurors. Is Maya being forced to pay the price for her decision all those years ago? ********** 'Plunge a syringe filled with adrenaline into the heart of Twelve Angry Men and you've got The Holdout: the first legal thriller in thirty years - ever since Presumed Innocent and A Time to Kill electrified readers the world over - to rank alongside those two modern classics.' AJ Finn 'A page-turning legal thriller with a twisty and absolutely riveting plot ... plus a strong and compelling female heroine. You won't be able to put this one down!' Lisa Scottoline 'Clever, well-written and twistier than a can of silly-string. You absolutely need to read The Holdout!' Emma Kavanagh 'Amazing thriller, deserves to be one of the biggest books of 2020' Michelle Davies 'Terrific, twisty and well-structured thriller' Adele Geras

The Holdout A Novel

Reviews