It's been ages since I read a legal thriller so I was excited to read this. It begins with a cracking scene - it's not part of the main story but it's one heck of an opener. A legal.case with a 'What the...?' moment.

Anyway, on to the main story. Maya is a lawyer now but ten years earlier she was a member of the jury for a huge murder case. In the jury room she was the only one who thought the accused was not guilty. Eventually, she talked everybody else round. In the following years, some of the others regret that decision.

On the tenth anniversary of the trial a TV company is making a documentary about it. Maya initially refuses but her boss encourages her to take part, for good publicity for the firm. But before the filming begins one of the jurors is found dead. And Maya is the prime suspect. To save herself she must look at the trial again, and investigate her fellow jurors - any one of them could be guilty.

Told over a dual timeline, Maya, whilst on bail, visits the other jurors whilst we see the events around the trial ten years earlier from each of their points of view. Maya also visits other key players from the trial in her efforts to find the truth, and a little more of the back story is revealed with each visit.

I loved Maya. She's strong, tenacious and determined, and willing to push to find the truth, even if it means putting herself at risk. And she doesn't waiver in what she believes to be the truth.

This is a detailed story, with lots of characters so I needed to stay alert to keep up. But that wasn't difficult as I couldn't wait to find out what happened, both in the present day and also ten years ago. It is fast moving, tense, and exciting, going off at tangents throughout. It kept my attention throughout and I didn't anticipate the ending at all. I really enjoyed this and would happily recommend it.

An interesting thriller for the lovers of the genre and as I am a big fan of tv series as Law and Order this book felt very similar to one of the episodes that I loved so much over the years.
I must admit that the first half was very slow for my liking and in my opinion, there are parts that maybe are unnecessary but after that, everything changes and I was on the edge of my seat for the remaining of the book.
It’s definitely a must-read novel of the year.

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

'Ten years ago we made a decision together...'

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. Her teacher Bobby Nock is the prime suspect after illicit text messages are discovered between them--and Jessica's blood is found in his car. 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 of their lives forever.

Flash forward ten years. A true-crime docuseries reassembles the jurors, with particular focus on Maya, now a defence 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 weaves together 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.

This is a tense legal thriller told over two timelines, during the trial in 2009 and the present day, and is narrated by each of the jurors in turn. This is the first I've read by this author and, although the intrigue of where it was heading kept me hooked, I really couldn't connect with any of the characters and this affected my enjoyment of the story, having said that the plot is well written and I would recommend it to others.

I'd like to thank Orion and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Whoa. I was not expecting this book to take me on such a wild ride - it was so much more pacy and shocking than I was expecting. With a huge murder case at its heart, the focus is on happenings both in and outside of the courtroom spanning some 10 years, and it’s absolutely jam-packed full of secrets and lies, twists and turns, threats and deaths - it had me completely gripped! 


10 years ago Maya was a juror on the high profile Jessica Silver murder case. The accused, Bobby Nock, was as good as convicted: the whole country thought he did it. But Maya didn’t feel that she was sure beyond any reasonable doubt, so set about trying to get the rest of the jury to acquit him.


Fast forward to the present day and Rick Leonard says he can prove they were wrong to find Nock not guilty and gathers the jury together for a reunion. But one of the jurors ends up dead and Maya is looking rather guilty.


It is rare that a book pulls me in, keeps me hooked, and fully shocks me with some of its twists and turns, but this is what Moore achieves in The Holdout. What, for me, is even more rare is a book that I keep thinking about long after I’ve finished it. But the issues raised in this novel are so vital and current that it really got me thinking.


The toxic role of the media in the story is manifold. The mob mentality they create in baying for the blood of (innocent until proven guilty?) Bobby Nock, is strikingly similar to the treatment that popular TV presenter Caroline Flack was subjected to recently at the hands of the British media. 


But that’s not all. The reveal during the trial of the jurors identities to the press so they have to be sequestered for 4 months. How the jurors lives are impacted later by their sequestering, notoriety and poor (?) decision making, letting an alleged child killer go free. How Bobby Nock has to disappear even once he’s found innocent, destined never to be seen as an innocent man again. And the media impact later in the book is even more devastating.


Further prejudices are also examined. Jessica Silver is the daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the State. A beautiful, young, rich, white girl. Was she killed by an older, poorer black man? We see how racial and social pressures come into play at the most basic level when the jury are deliberating.


As we follow Maya’s quest to prove her innocence the narrative jumps between 2 timelines - that of the original trial and the present day. While I wouldn’t consider Maya to be a particularly warm character I grew to really admire her, her ethics and moral code.


With great writing, a fast pace and compelling storyline, this book is destined to be one of my thrillers of the year. I would highly recommend.

The plot of this book is a refreshing change. Having persuaded a jury not to convict a boy accused of murder the aftermath of this decision is unveiled over the following ten years.
The back stories of the jury members are gradually fed in to the story.
I thought I knew how this would end so was pleasantly surprised when I was so wrong. There are some parts of the story that are not at all believable but overall a good read.

This was a compelling thriller that kept me reading until the very last page. The characters were relatable, the plot was engaging, and the commentary on society was fascinating. I would have preferred a more ambiguous ending though as I felt some of the power of the novel was undercut by the final reveal.

WHOA!! WHAT. A. BOOK!! Shut the front door. It was twisty, it was rocking, it blew my mind away with the legal aspects interleaved with the human psyche. So literally, shut the door and get to reading this cracking thriller.

One case 10 years ago of a black man being accused of a murder of a white girl. 12 members of the jury. One thought non guilty, rest favored guilty. Over time, all the rest came to the non guilty verdict. 10 years later Maya was a defense attorney, and Rick came to her with a proposal. The case was going to be discussed on a podcast and all jurors were called back. And a murder occurred.

My first book by author Graham Moore, the story was brilliant in its conceptualization to execution. Every step made me feel there was something more to the jurors and the case. Tension hid at every corner waiting to pounce on me. And I welcomed that. A wisp of truth seemed hidden behind the statements. It reminded me of a game of chess where every move was strategized well.

I had so many theories about what could have happened. And the author sideswiped me a brilliant move. Damn, I could never play chess. The book worked at many levels. It gave me those butterflies of an impendending twist. It raised my suspicions about the plot that was to happen. My twisted mind kept thinking about the ways this could have played out. Absolutely dramatic. Wow!!

Kept me completely engrossed for those few hours until I reached the end. A fantastic midnight read.

A riveting combination of courtroom drama and psychological thriller! The story begins in the present day with readers being introduced to Maya Seale, a successful attorney and partner at the law firm where she works. Walking out of the courtroom one day, she’s confronted with someone she hasn’t seen in many years … someone who brings her past very much into the present – a past that she’d hoped would remain buried under the successes she’s achieved since then.

Rick Leonard, who served on the jury with Maya during the notorious ‘Bobby Nock’ trial ten years previously is asking her to join him and the remaining members of the jury for a docuseries that’s going to be filmed to commemorate the anniversary of the trial. Maya flatly refuses. She has absolutely no desire to re-live the events that occurred back then when 25-year-old African American, Bobby Nock was accused of murdering 15-year-old Jessica Silver, and Maya single-handedly managed to turn an entire jury’s opinion from ‘guilty’ to ‘not guilty’, allowing Nock to walk free and making herself and her fellow jurors the most hated people in the country!

However, after a bit of arm-twisting and gentle persuasion from her boss, Maya realises that she actually doesn’t seem to have much choice. And so it is with grim determination that she sets out to join her fellow jurors at the same hotel where they were sequestered for the duration of the trial ten years ago. The trial itself changed the course of their lives. The verdict that they handed down led to their lives being drastically transformed from the ones they had led prior to becoming jury members. If they thought that was bad, re-visiting the past is about to introduce a whole new litany of disruption!

Switching between 2009 and the present, we get to know each jury member and we slowly get to know the story of Maya and Rick, Bobby and Jessica. Graham Moore strings us along, teasing us all the way. Be warned … you WILL lose sleep over this one! You WILL NOT be able to put it down because Moore throws out a line and reels his readers in ever so slowly, and oh so cleverly, ensuring that they will never loosen their grip on the bait! He throws together a cast of such unlikely characters, some of which don’t even play major roles. But even then, he’s meticulous in describing them in detail so that readers don’t miss out on understanding where exactly they fit in his twisting, intricate plot.

The author’s knowledge of the minutiae of the legal system is evident and one must appreciate the manner in which he displays the tricks and manipulations used by both prosecution and defense. I really hope there’s a chance of this being developed for our screens. It would make for brilliant viewing!

This is a gripping 5-star read! Highly recommended, but make sure your schedule’s cleared first – you won’t be able to do anything else once you get stuck into this one!

Wow ! Roller coaster of a read that I couldn’t put down. Engaging characters with plenty of twists and turns. Thought provoking - how would you react as the juror in such a case. I hope I never find out. Will be looking for other novels by this writer. Highly recommended.

The idea of being called for jury service really freaks me out for the very reason of making the wrong decision – so The Holdout immediately appealed to me.

I have to confess to having a tricky relationship with The Holdout. It took me about two months to read as I’d move on to something else and come back to it. I enjoyed it when I was reading it but there was something missing for me that meant I didn’t want to pick it up. Having now finished the book, I think I’ve cracked why.

The story is set in two time-points – present day and 10 years ago. The story from 10 years prior was far more fascinating to me than present day, because I got to see the perspectives of all the jurors, their lives, backgrounds, and how it impacted upon their decision-making. This mean that whenever it swapped to present day, I just wanted more of the past.

Some of the present day elements tried to fit in that little bit too much information which made them quite long and didn’t necessarily add a huge amount to the book. I think I also struggled to form a relationship with the protagonist, Maya.

But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it. On the whole, I very much did. The Holdout is a very well-constructed and complex commentary on how we perceive ourselves and the lives of those around us, especially when it comes to race. Moore has clearly given these constructs a great deal of thought and expresses them with great care and clarity.

If you enjoy Agatha Christie novels then you may also find this book is for you – there is a Murder on the Orient Express feel to this book and given the many Christie references within the book, I would safely assume the author is also a fan.

Overall, I would recommend The Holdout. It’s a solid read and would be a popular choice with book clubs.

This book was fab. Really enjoyed it. A young girl has gone missing (presumed murdered) her teacher is prime suspect. The jury is picked.

The book jumps between past the time of the trial and present,the 10 Yr reunion. At the reunion one of the jurors is murdered. Another juror is prime suspect as he was found in her room.

It's a journey through past and present figuring out out old crimes and new.

I was really surprised at the end. I thought I'd figured it out bit I was wrong.

I would recommend this book.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Holdout is an intriguing legal mystery which starts with an eye-opening scene that brings our lead character, lawyer Maya Seale – her job, her skills, her personality – clearly to life in a few short sentences.

The mystery at the heart of the book – whether Maya was right or wrong ten years ago – is eclipsed by a shocking new murder and both storylines make this book compelling reading.

For a while Graham Moore keeps his cards close to his chest, drip feeding you information. For the most part this makes the book all the more compelling but occasionally I felt some information came too late and I had been feeling like I’d missed something.

I couldn’t help that parts of The Holdout made me think of the OJ Simpson trial or at least the excellent TV dramatisation: the sequestered jury, the crazy media coverage, the crucial discussions about race and racism and the knock on impact on the lives of everyone involved.

If you are looking for a legal mystery with a complex female protagonist, a look at the desperate lengths to which some people can be pushed and a debate about class prejudices, race and racism in 21st Century America, then I recommend The Holdout.

With thanks to Orion for the ARC of The Holdout and Tracy Fenton for my spot on the tour.

I really love a good legal thriller and I’m delighted to say this one is a belter! Ten years ago, Maya Seale did not know what she wanted to do with her life. Then she got picked as a juror in a murder trial, the one everyone was talking about. Maya thought then that the State had failed to make the case that the young black teacher, Bobby Nock was guilty of the murder of his pupil, Jessica Silver. Ten years later, Maya is now a lawyer and though that verdict, the one that Maya persuaded the jurors to follow, is now infamous and Maya’s name is synonymous with that verdict, she still thinks she made the right choice.

Maya’s been cornered into attending a re-visiting of those events. In the same hotel in which the jurors were sequestered, with a TV company in attendance, to film their discussion about why they reached their verdict.

Now one of those jurors has been murdered, and Maya is the prime suspect. The events of 10 years ago must have a bearing on what happened in that Los Angeles hotel room.

The Holdout has a dual timeline which shifts between the present and the Bobby Nock trial 10 years ago. As we learn what happened at the original trial, we see how history impinges on the present as Maya becomes an innocent victim on trial for her life.

What I really liked about this book is the way in which Moore sets out the challenges facing an accused person and their lawyers. It’s worrying to think that a lawyer might be advising their client to plead guilty to something they didn’t do, because the defence team can think up a plausible strategy for getting them acquitted, while telling the truth may be more problematic.

Moore also uses a fairly light touch when dealing with the moral and ethical issues of this case, but clearly drawing attention to the way in which the race of the defendant and the victim impinges on the rationale of the jurors as they deliberate their conclusions.

Justice, they say is blind, but the reality is that justice is just as often skewed, motivated by a host of other concerns and is often not really justice at all.

Verdict: A sort of reverse 12 Angry Men, this is nicely paced with a neat range of surprises and a very decent twist or two. I found the Holdout to be entertaining and suspenseful if it slightly stretched my credulity in places, I forgave it for the strength and duplicity of the story.

A very different story based on the actions of the jury and how they made their decisions. Lots of twists along the way and some big surprises.

A legal thriller that will keep you guessing from the very beginning, I enjoyed THE HOLDOUT by Graham Moore which raises many questions about the legal system and racial prejudice that is built into that system.

When fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver, a wealthy white heiress, disappears into thin air, it isn't long before the police have arrested and charged her teacher, Bobby Nock, a young, black man, even though no body has been discovered. According to the authorities they have caught their killer and they expect the trial to be a quick and easy 'guilty' all round. But when Maya Seale, a woman on the jury, questions many parts of the case and actually manages to convince the other jurors of Nock's innocence, a 'not guilty' is brought back to the courtroom.

Fast-forward ten years and the jurors are gathering together to reconnect and to question whether or not they made the right decision all those years ago. But when a dead body is discovered, everyone seems to be pointing the finger at Maya. Somebody is out to get her and is determined to make her pay for her choices in the past.

I have always enjoyed legal thrillers and this one was no different. Maya is a clever and intelligent main character and as the narrative switches from past to present, I was able to get a good handle on her as a person. There are two stories happening simultaneously - the disappearance of Jessica over ten years ago and who was guilty, and the current situation where there is a dead body and Maya is the main suspect. The problem of racial discrimination in the justice system is portrayed well throughout and makes you stop and think about the reality of what that means to so many people.

With plenty of tension and drama, THE HOLDOUT by Graham Moore is sure to please all legal thriller fans and I will definitely read more from this author.

The Holdout is the compelling story of a legal trial held ten years ago in Los Angeles and its ramifications for the suspect, jurors—whose verdict was massively unpopular—and their families.
Bobby Nock was set free after being found not guilty of first-degree murder following the disappearance of Jessica, daughter of wealthy businessman Lou Silver. Sequestrated and isolated from the outside world, the jurors only found out after the trial that the court of public opinion had declared Bobby guilty; the jurors were now viewed as pariahs. Maya Seale, in particular, was vilified as it was she who managed to persuade the jury to find Bobby not guilty.
The jurors reconvene ten years after the verdict. Netflix is making a docuseries about the case and one of the jurors, Rick Leonard, claims to have vital new evidence. Before he gets a chance to reveal it, however, he is murdered and Maya becomes the prime suspect.
The dramatic opening chapter of The Holdout drew me right in, focusing as it does on one of Maya’s court cases—a particularly gruesome one. That case turns out to be irrelevant to the story, but is immediately followed up by the appearance of Rick, who has tracked Maya down to invite her to the reunion. I was intrigued. This is a clever, gripping story that made me think about the (un)fairness of the American legal system (and by extension all legal systems), the fact things don’t fall neatly into categories of right and wrong, manipulation, the horror of an unethical media and the secrets we keep for the sake of our families.
I seem to have read a number of books recently that limit the pool of possible suspects (Six Dirty Reasons by Jo Spain and the Hunting Party by Lucy Follet come to mind) so that unless the author throws in a total curved ball, the murderer has to be one of a small group of people. In this case, Rick’s murderer has to be one of the jurors. But which one? Several of them have motives.
And was Bobby really guilty all those years ago? What exactly did happen to Jessica Silver? Maya, now a lawyer, is quite fearless as she begins to investigate these questions in a bid to save herself from being found guilty of Rick’s murder. I’m not sure that I really warmed to her, but I certainly admired her tenacity.
We meet the other jurors who were thrust together with Maya and Rick all those years ago. They are a diverse group, “a strange cast of characters…. In a way, the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center [where the trial had been held] had proved a more exotic locale than the Orient Express.”
This is a quick, exciting, interesting read, especially for those who enjoy a good legal thriller. It’s also quite an indictment on the legal system “She well knew what those newly minted jurors would be like, filled with the best of intentions to ascertain the truth. They might even think they would find it.”
Try it!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn’t dislike it but I just couldn’t really get in to it either. It became a bit of a chore to finish it but I don’t know why. I thought ,given all the positive reviews, that I was missing something.
The story was a good one. Twelve jury members made a decision ten years earlier after being persuaded by one of the panel to change their original decision. However, one of them isn’t happy that their decision was correct and allowed a guilty man to walk free. He sets about trying to change their minds again by trying to prove they were wrong. However, he winds up dead and the main suspect is the woman who persuaded everyone to alter their original decision.
As the book progresses the reader learns more about the individual jurors and how jury selection isn’t an exact science. The storyline also raises the dilemma of whether “doing the right thing” necessarily means obeying the law.
Interesting twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. Despite struggling a bit with this book I look forward to reading more from this author.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Orion publishing group for an advanced copy of this book.

I was so excited to read this as after reading the description I thought this was going to be intriguing. However, I was left feeling quite flat. I didn’t particularly like Maya which didn’t help.
It went from the original trial to the present day and from different characters perspectives. I felt that there were a lot of questions not answered and it took me longer than normal to just get through it as it just didn’t pull me in enough. Such a shame as it had great potential from the blurb.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy. This book started out good but I quickly lost interest. Characters got too confusing and I just gave up.

This book had a really great promotional campaign at the end of last year, and I was so intrigued I just had to request a copy. And I was thriller to have been approved (thank you very much to Orion).

There’s three elements to this novel that I really wanted to call out, so I’m cracking out the bullet points!

Courtroom Drama
I’m a sucker for a clever lawyer in fiction. I really loved the way courtroom elements were brought into this story, really emphasising the point that in some cases the way to approach it is how to get the jury to think your way, rather than necessarily getting to the absolute truth.
This was definitely written in an interesting and engaging way (no boring legal jargon here), and seeing things from the perspective of the jury was something I’ve not really read before either
Murder Mystery
Alongside the courtroom focus, there’s also a classic mystery afoot. Now we know that Maya is innocent, and its really great to follow her as she fights between her sensible lawyer head and that emotions going on with the death of a fellow juror as well as the murder accusations
Through flashbacks from the jurors we also get to see the evidence presented on the Bobby Nock’s case, which allows us to question whether the ‘innocent’ verdict was the correct one
Racism in the justice system
Firstly I want to call out that as a white reviewer I can’t give an own voices opinion on this topic. I should also point out that Graham Moore is also not an own voices author.
There’s a lot of focus throughout the book on how the justice system, and at times society in general treats POC. Interestingly this element is much more apparent in the US blurbs I’ve seen, compared to the one above which is from NetGalley UK.
Bobby is a black man accused of killing a privileged white teenager. Racism often seen in the justice system is referred to throughout the novel, with certain characters not wanting to ‘appear racist’, references to people ‘looking guilty’, and the question about whether certain things would have happened if it was a white guy.
It’s also brought up several times (by POC characters), that you equally shouldn’t just vote not guilty because the justice system often fails people of colour.
This was an interesting discussion to have as part of the book, although it did feel a little heavy handed at times. I’d also be interested in the topic being covered by an own voices author, particularly someone with some sort of link to the justice system (any recommendations please let me know!)



Overall this was a really interesting read and a solid mystery. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author.