Release Date: February 16th 2021
Publisher: Orion Books
Pages: 336
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me a copy of this book to review
Rating: 3.25/5 stars

Synopsis

One juror changed the verdict. What if she was wrong?

‘Ten years ago we made a decision together…’

Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, an 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.

Is Maya being forced to pay the price for her decision all those years ago?

Review

The Holdout is a gripping thriller that follows Maya Seale a young woman who ten years ago was part of the jury that found Bobby Nock innocent of the murder of his fifteen-year-old student Jessica Silver. Their decision rocked the country and it has changed the lives of every person on the jury. When the jurors are asked to reunite for a television show Maya reluctantly agrees, but when one of the jurors turns up dead Maya is the prime suspect – but who is behind it and did they make the right choice all those years ago?

This was a well-crafted tale and I really enjoyed the way Moore mixed the story of the current murder with the case from ten years ago. Both parts of the plot were really fascinating and full of twists and turns. I guessed some of the twists and was surprised by others but overall it made for a really engaging read.

The story is paced well and I found the short chapters had me turning pages pretty quickly. I found the different members of the jury really interesting, particularly how their lives had changed by the outcome of the trial. I thought The Holdout was an entertaining read, but it didn’t hit completely hit the mark for me. I felt that the final ‘whodunit’ of the current murder was just a little bit far fetched and this is perhaps why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was expecting to. Despite this, it was still a really interesting read. If you’re a fan of legal thrillers this could be exactly your type of book and I would definitely be intrigued to read more from Graham Moore.