NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One juror changed the verdict. What if she was wrong? From the Academy Award–winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game and bestselling author of The Last Days of Night. . . . An ID Book Club Selection • “Exhilarating . . . a fiendishly slippery game of cat-and-mouse suspense and a provocative, urgent inquiry into American justice (and injustice) in the twenty-first … inquiry into American justice (and injustice) in the twenty-first century.”—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window
It’s the most sensational case of the decade. Fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, heiress to a billion-dollar real estate fortune, vanishes on her way home from school, and her teacher, Bobby Nock, a twenty-five-year-old African American man, is the prime suspect. The subsequent trial taps straight into America’s most pressing preoccupations: race, class, sex, law enforcement, and the lurid sins of the rich and famous. 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, convinced of Nock’s innocence, persuades the rest of the jurors to return the verdict of not guilty, a controversial decision that will change all their lives forever.
Flash forward ten years. A true-crime docuseries reassembles the jury, with particular focus on Maya, now a defense attorney herself. When one of the jurors is found dead in Maya’s hotel room, all evidence points to her as the killer. Now, she must prove her own innocence—by getting to the bottom of a case that is far from closed.
As the present-day murder investigation entwines with the story of what really happened during their deliberation, told by each of the jurors in turn, the secrets they have all been keeping threaten to come out—with drastic consequences for all involved.
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Wow! I loved The Holdout, in which author Graham Moore does the impossible, creating a page-turning legal thriller with a twisty and absolutely riveting plot, as well as raising profound and thought-provoking questions about the jury system and modern justice. All that, plus a strong and compelling female heroine in lawyer Maya Seale, whom you’ll root for as the tables turn against her and she finds herself behind bars, with everything on the line. You won’t be able to put this one down!
Graham Moore’s heart beats on every page of The Holdout, a murder trial as only he could have written it: secrets and lies, mysteries upon mysteries, and a cast of characters each with their own dubious motives. This is a tense, emotionally charged, scary-good, standout read that hooked me till the last page.
While The Holdout by Graham Moore wasn’t an edge of your seat thriller, it did have some good surprises at the end. And the way Moore presents the story makes one think more about the justice system, race, one way streets, and how often the rich are given special treatment. You may need to suspend your beliefs a bit, especially when it comes to how the killer of the juror is tried, although I enjoyed how it was handled.
It felt a bit like a cozy mystery to me (with a bit more grit) in regards to the way Maya starts interrogating all the people who were on the jury with her in hopes of proving herself innocent. Sure she’s an attorney, but that doesn’t mean she has in the field investigative skills.
A good read and one that I would recommend if you enjoy more of a mystery than a nail biting thriller.
3.5
“When the villains are so clear, we can tuck ourselves into bed at night knowing that we’re nothing like them. But what if it’s not so clear?”~from The Holdout by Graham Moore
The jury from a notorious murder trial is brought together by a reality television show. The trial of a black teacher accused of murdering his white teenage student looked like a sure verdict until Maya channeled 12 Angry Men to turn the guilty votes to not guilty. The experience motivated Maya to become a lawyer.
Jury member Rick, one of the few black jurists, spent the last ten years trying to prove Maya was wrong and that they had let the murderer of a teenage girl go free. He claims to have proof. During the sequester of the jury, he and Maya conducted a secret love affair before their differing verdicts drove them apart.
At the reunion, Maya and Rick talk for the first time since the trial. Then, Rick is found dead and Maya is accused of his murder. Maya now must prove her innocence.
Readers learn the backstories of the jurors while Maya uncovers startling evidence that leads the jurors to reconvene, consider the facts, and cast their votes once again.
Graham Moore’s courtroom drama The Holdout is entertaining with a convoluted resolution.
Moore’s previous novel was The Last Days of Night and he authored the award-winning script The Imitation Game.
I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
3.5/5
I have not read any of Graham Moore’s other novels, but since I love a good legal thriller I had to give The Holdout a try when I saw it as a Book of the Month choice. I didn’t love it quite as much as I was hoping to, but it was still quite the ride and had quite a few surprises along the way. There are a sizeable number of viewpoints in the past timeline, but it was interesting to hear from the various jurors. I really liked Maya’s present viewpoint, and I loved the amount of characterization we got with her. There are 2 different cases being focused on, as well as the dual timelines, and I think I could have done without a little of it. I did like the 2 different cases and how they tied together though, and I was definitely shocked by the way things ended. This doesn’t have a very quick pace and felt a little slow to me at times, but I was still nicely engaged the entire time.
I really enjoyed the audiobook version and Abby Craden did a great job voicing it. Craden is quickly becoming a beloved narrator for me, and there is something about her voice that I just can’t get enough of. I loved the legal aspect of The Holdout and people who like a good courtroom drama will most likely enjoy this book. I loved getting the look at what goes on behind the scenes, and it was fascinating to see what being on a jury really entails. I only recently saw that this was being made into a series for Hulu but as far as I know it hasn’t come out yet. Based on the way Moore wrote it, this is clearly made for the big screen and I will definitely be watching it whenever it comes out.
Keeps you guessing until the end.
Good read.
I really enjoyed it. It had a different plot than most of the books I read which I liked.
Fun read!
Throughly enjoyable and change of pace for courtroom drama. Eager to see the movie. Well crafted
I didn’t analyze every bit of the cases but rather let myself be swept up in the story. I liked the approach of current times with flashbacks to the original trial/jurist stories. While the story was not a nail-biter nor a real page-turner, it kept my interest throughout and I didn’t guess the ending. I appreciated Maya’s desire to investigate on her own, although as a partner in the firm and the one defending her, I would have been all over her and probably threatened to drop her as a client. The two-pronged “surprises” at the end – one solving each murder – were designed to surprise you and pull you in to agreeing with the outcome, but I thought the current murder solution was emotionally satisfying but highly unlikely to actually occur. The original murder resolution did not surprise me, and while the author did not put a definite stamp on what Maya’s decision was, I didn’t feel it left me hanging as I’m sure I know what she chose. Overall an entertaining book and I would read another from this author.
I always worry about reading law-heavy books, whether it be rom-coms or legal thrillers, that I won’t enjoy them because I’m a lawyer. Sometimes the law or description is inaccurate, annoying me to no end, and sometimes it’s just a little to real and too close to home. However, some friends were reading this book and I really wanted to give it a try based on the fascinating description!
Maya was a juror on a famous case ten years ago, where she and her fellow jurors acquitted a man of killing a woman, when the public widely believed him to be guilty. Now, she’s reluctantly gathering with her fellow jurors for a ten-year reunion special. However, before they can even film the special, one of the jurors ends up dead! The worst part? Dead in Maya’s hotel room. Maya must investigate who killed the juror, and uncovers some surprising facts about the original case along the way.
This book is definitely more mystery-suspense than thriller, which I enjoyed. The chapters alternate between present day and the time of the original trial, with the flashback chapters each focusing on one of the original twelve jurors, which I loved. It was a creative cast of characters, each with their own secrets, and I appreciated the way the plot wove together. Lots of fun details I picked up on along the way and definitely some I didn’t! I did not predict who the killer was, which I love. I didn’t love portions of the ending, but I don’t want to spoil it. Some inaccuracies and idealism when it comes to the legal profession, but whatever.
But he author is docked points for spoiling the ending of three of greatest Agatha Christie books of all time within the first few chapters. Like, what???? This is cruel. And terrible. I know they’ve been around for a while, but not everybody’s read them!!! This is just so unnecessary and inexplicably MEAN I can’t believe it was included. So don’t read if you haven’t read all the Agatha Christie greats, because MAJOR SPOILERS.
5 stars – 8/10
Groan!
What drivel! I must be the “holdout” cos I didn’t think this book was as good as some of the other reviewers did.
Hey so I’m including some stuff here that really has nothing to do with the story itself. I am not giving anything away here so cool those jets.
At first I was hoping what I was reading here at book’s opening was a dream someone was having. I mean, who would believe in the possibility of cutting off someone’s head with “a pair of gardening shears?” Ah, maybe I’m a skeptic but do ya really think those shears would open enough to get the job done? And do you really think this woman would have the strength and the (pardon the pun) guts, to get the job done?
Who believes it’s possible to stuff an adult human head in a Hyundai’s glove compartment completely so that nothing sticks out, all before the police officer who just pulled you over, approaches your window?
And who believes that the officer could have, might have seen some of the hair from the head, sticking out of the glove box, in the dark especially when the stuffed head had a buzz cut? My husband pointed out the discrepancy in that one. Someone please explain how hair from a buzz cut sticks out of anything?
Oh good, the author is not an attorney. For a moment there, I was a bit nervous for any clients he might have had. Does he even know what a buzz cut is? As far as I know, a buzz cut is even shorter than a flat top.
And what about the reckless endangerment – time served that the defense attorney was going for? LOL When is murder ever considered “reckless endangerment?” Especially when it’s premeditated? I mean this lady did have to go and get the garden shears and attack him while he was sleeping. You couldn’t even call it self-defense. He had been SLEEPING! Reckless endangerment? What’d she trip on the throw rug and the shears opened themselves, cleanly slicing off the guys head? You’d have to stretch believability as much as you’d have to stretch those gardening shears.
That aside because that’s not even the story. But….
WHAT? NO!!
What the heck kind of ending was that? I mean there was a LOT of unbelievable shit in there but overall, the story was decent.
Maya hadn’t been “convinced of Nock’s innocence” as the synopsis suggests. No. She just wasn’t convinced of his guilt. There’s a big difference. Innocence would indicate “No way was this person guilty of what (s)he was being charged with.” Not being convinced of someone’s guilt could be saying that there just wasn’t clear, obvious proof. That there was at least a shadow of a doubt in one of the juror’s minds.
That’s where Maya stood. And it’s everyone’s responsibility to be 100% certain of a person’s guilt before condemning them to a life behind bars or even death. Wouldn’t you want the same consideration for yourself?
Eye roll! Eye roll! Eye roll! And a shake of my head. The plan Maya had concocted toward book’s end and presented to the remainder of Bobby’s jury panel, and to what they had ALL agreed to, was highly implausible. She may have been able to convince the other eleven jury members to change their minds from guilty to not guilty years ago but to get every single one of the remainder of them to agree to lie now about another murder and break the law? Like that’s gonna happen!
And this second eye roll? It’s such an eye roll that I can see the back of my head! Elaine knew that Maya had something of her own to hide, “something valuable to protect.” Ya! How the hell would she have found out about Maya protecting Lyla? How could she have figured that out?
Mr. Author Man, you NEED to tell/show the reader how these things came to be. Otherwise, we are looking at holes too big to leap. These blunders stretch believability to the snapping point.
The rest of the book was even worse. The reader has no idea what decision Maya had made when faced with the decision she was faced with. Crap! Crap! Crap!
Mr. Author Man. Your ending sucked! A good portion of the beginning and a good portion of the ending sucked. Do yourself a favor. Give this book a do-over.
Why even 3 stars? It didn’t put me to sleep. Never once did I not want to finish it.
It kept me guessing all the way to the end.
Not the usual who done it
Twisted ending
Grahme Moore is one of the better writers out there. This book will not disappoint
I liked this one. As a former lawyer (albeit never a trial attorney), I’m always fascinated to see how writers choose to relay attorney protocol and ethical dilemmas and courtroom procedure and issues. While admitting I’m no expert, I think Moore did a fine job with these aspects of the story – they felt weighty but not overblown, with equal measures of respect for the system and a recognition that the system is inherently (IMHO) limited (if not outright flawed) in its ability to balance truth and justice. But by far, I think he did a finer job walking the line on issues of personal responsibility, guilt, and the complications of being a human player attempting that balancing act between truth and justice…
I enjoyed the back-and-forth nature of the narrative, finding the interplay between then and now in the relationships between characters and the outcomes of their decisions to be well-crafted and well-delivered. The story held my attention from the get-go. I was angry, uncomfortable, guilty, and self-satisfied throughout – sometimes all at the same time – and felt like my descent into the effortless roil of emotions was a natural outcome of the engaging writing style.
I have enjoyed Moore before – although we don’t always meld. I loved reading The Sherlockian and watching The Imitation Game and found myself immediately catapulted into those stories as I was into this one – but struggled mightily with The Last Days of Night and ultimately wasn’t able to find my way into the story enough to finish it. In The Holdout, I think he brought the intensity of TIG and TLDoN while maintaining the storytelling flow of TS, and it worked well for me and for this tale. I think he’s a very talented writer, capable of evoking a sense of time and place that feels authentic and when he does so, it pulls the reader into the created world hook, line, and sinker.
There were a couple of twists here that I really think added to the tension and emotional resonance of the story. They were well-managed and dropped in almost casually, in a way that I think added to their impact. Too many authors seem to feel the need to aim for an obnoxious sense of shock value with their revelations; it’s getting old for me and the heavy-handed nature feels forced and often disrupts the flow of the tale. Not so at all here; the twisty-turny bits were deftly added in at just the right time with just the right amount of emotional attachment. It made for a thoroughly engaging read that I would recommend in a heartbeat. I think that, based on this read, I will have to give TLDoN another look – and will definitely be on the lookout for his next book…
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.
This author won an academy award for the screenplay of The Imitation Game. This novel is already optioned for a movie and should also win a prize. This is not just a thriller but a very intellectual debate about our jury system and whether it can determine guilt or innocence. Also, it is a commentary about sequestering and the economics of jury trials. It is a wonderful mystery with twists and Implications that keep you riveted. A friend I recommended it to made this observation. I am reading it on my phone, on audio and on my iPad because I could not put it down. You won’t be able to either.
Ten years after a man is found not guilty of a murder, the original jury members reassemble for a documentary and to revisit the case. The one holdout in the original case is now an attorney herself and all hell breaks loose when one of the other former jurors who was also her secret former lover gets killed and she’s the main suspect. A terrific read.
In 2009, Maya is a juror in a murder trial. When the jury goes in for deliberations, she is the sole juror believing that the defendant is innocent.
Ten years later, a TV production crew wants to have a “reunion” of the jurors and gets all but one together in the same hotel they had been sequestered in ten years earlier. Maya decides to go at the last minute and runs into fellow juror, Rick, with whom she had been involved during the trial and shortly afterward. Rick also wrote a book about Maya after the trial which did not put her in a favorable light. When Rick is found dead in Maya’s hotel room, she becomes the prime suspect but she claims she was out for a walk at the time.
The book is written alternating between then and now. The “then” chapters tell a version of events from a different juror’s perspective while the “now” chapters describe what happens before, during and after the reunion.
I really enjoyed this book. I heard that Hulu is going to make this one into a series. Will most likely watch.