When reading the blurb of this book, I thought it sounded a little like Twelve Angry Men, but, you know... ten years later. Then as I kept reading, and realised there was extra murder involved, I was totally sold.
The book is told in a mixture of present-day murder investigation and flashbacks to the trial of Bobby Nock, a black teacher who was tried (and acquitted) of the murder of billionaire heiress Jessica Silver. Maya, our protagonist, was the turning point of the jury, convinced that there wasn't enough evidence to convict Bobby, who turned the rest of her jurors around to her side. But as the tenth anniversary of Jessica's disappearance approaches, the jury reconvenes for a retrospective, where one of them is found dead - in Maya's hotel room. Secrets unravel in present day and past day chapters, as Maya races to discover who the killer is - and where they might strike next.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, reading it over the course of two engrossing days, deeply engaged in the twists and turns of this mystery/courtroom thriller/detective novel. Past wrongs intertwine with present as characters who barely know each other and yet intimately know each other form allegiances and gang up against each other. And at the centre of the book is fifteen-year-old Jessica Silver - blonde, beautiful, billionheiress, her body never found.
This was actually my only problem with the book. Jessica, the central victim of the narrative, was never a person so much as she was an image on which to hinge the story. There were flashes of exploration of why that might be the case near the end of the book, but not really enough for me. I think there was a whole angle to be explored in this book about why the daughter of a billionaire - white, young, pretty, female - was the subject of a media frenzy, and whether that contributed to the excoriating backlash against the jury who failed to convict her purported killer.

But outside of that complaint, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Maya was a compelling and enjoyable heroine, a lawyer whose legal training fails to stop her from doing the eminently stupid things that the protagonist of every gritty thriller does. That is to say, investigating her own case. But that was knowingly presented in the narrative, with Maya's boss rolling his eyes in frustration at Maya's refusal to act in the way she knows is most effective. Maya's present-day narrative is interspersed with chapters from the other 11 jurors, each in turn. I didn't realise at the beginning that this was the format. Rick, the juror whose perspective is presented first, is perhaps the most central to Maya's story, so I thought they would be dual narrators. When he vanished, I realised I had been mistaken, and then a parade of other narrators began to appear, so I realised what was going on. There was, perhaps, a lack of depth to some of the other jury members, as they appeared only for their few pages, to present their view of how the court case developed, but I can appreciate the reasoning behind that narrative decision. It didn't quite work for me, and I'm not sure why - just didn't quite hit the right note. But it wasn't terribly off-putting either. That does mean that there are a total of 12 different POV characters in this book, some of which are only seen incredibly briefly, so if you're not a fan of multiple POVs, this will definitely put you off.

Overall, though, this was a thoroughly engrossing thriller, with enough elements of danger, mystery, and legal proceedings to keep things interesting. Maya was a relatable and sympathetic heroine, and the plot was littered with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing throughout. Very enjoyable, and I'll look out for more from Moore.

WOW!!! I absolutely loved this book, I read it in less than 24 hours and just couldn't put it down - I almost considered not sleeping so that I could finish it quicker!!

Easy, page-turning thriller following the fallout of a jury's non-guilty verdict a decade ago, and the effect on the accused and the jury themselves since. I kept thinking this was going predictably until it twisted, and again!

Recommended if you're after a thriller.

The Holdout by Graham Moore a thrilling four-star read. The characters and concept of this one is good, they will keep you on your toes and keep you wondering, but the wondering does go on. This story will make you feel like you are there in the jury room, you will taste the palpation in the air feel the tension that will make your Goosebumps rise. With some good editing and cutting down this could have been a five-star read.

This book is a cross between a court room drama and a crime thriller with a lot of mystery thrown in. The writing is good, flicking from past to present and the characters develop at a fast pace. For me the opening of the book wasn't great and I nearly gave up as it’s got a little confusing, however I’m glad I carried on, all became clear and the ending was worth waiting for.

This is not my normal genra and was thinking of putting it down after chapter 1 BUT boy as I read on I go so into the book and I am sure I am not the only one that said WOW I never saw that coming.... Very very clever with fantastic twists that - I would have preferred the chapters shorter or to have sub chapters I will be looking out for more books like this in the future and from Graham Moore

A group of strangers come together to determine the fate of one man and are changed forever because of this. The decision they make comes back to haunt them ten years later.
I really enjoyed this look at how sticking to your beliefs can change the course of your life and those around you. Definitely recommend.

I just realised this is the first thriller I’ve read this year. I read a lot of thrillers so this is unusual. Still, this is a great start. I don’t often read courtroom type thrillers or drama. I’ve read a few in the past but they tend to leave me cold. Judging by The Holdout I just haven’t read the right book before. I thought this book was great. It covers all the bases for me; interesting premise, great characters and compelling prose. It’s a win-win situation. I loved the occasional flashbacks to the trial ten years before gradually revealing how Maya is able to persuade everyone to choose not guilty. I also loved the present story as a reckoning for the choice the jury made ten years ago is played out. This is a terrific book.

Graham Moore's legal thriller is a compulsive and enthralling novel, based in Los Angeles, that points out many of the shortfalls of the justice system, from law enforcement, media intensity and social media, right through to the court trial and the jury system. Moore exposes the multiple ways that society throughout its racist judicial system stacks the cards against black defendants. In 2009, 25 year old black music teacher, Bobby Nock, is on trial for the murder of 15 year old schoolgirl, Jessica Silver, the daughter of billionaire, Lou Silver. There is no body, but the prosecution led by Ted Morningstar, think they have a slam dunk case with the evidence they present, only to find themselves being confounded. As the trial sets to conclude, the jury, with the exception of Maya Seale, plan to deliver a guilty verdict. However, Maya does not fall in with the others, instead she turns each juror so that Bobby Nock is found not guilty.

However, each juror found themselves facing public and media excoriation for their controversial verdict, bringing with it notoriety and a raft of life changing consequences. 10 years on, Maya is now a successful lawyer, a partner at Cantwell & Myers, invited to a reunion of the original jury members at the same hotel they had all been sequestered in. The Murder Town podcast team are turning the trial into a Netflix docuseries, in which Rick Leonard, one of the jury members, is planning to present incontrovertible evidence of how they all got it wrong and Bobby Nock was as guilty as sin. A reluctant Maya attends, and in a narrative that goes back and forth in time, what happened at the original trial is slowly revealed, and in the present, the reunion kicks off a cycle of death and destruction that threatens to claim Maya as a victim.

Moore writes a fast paced, intense and riveting legal drama, peppered with twists, underlining from a legal perspective, that often while the truth can be an accurate reflection of what occurs, it can prove to be a poor legal strategy, leaving defendents with the stark choice of the high likelihood of being found guilty if they tell the truth or have a better outcome by lying. Whilst feeling ambivalent about the ending, I found this to be a highly entertaining read that touches on the serious issues of ethics, morality, race and justice, or more aptly, injustice. There are instances where a suspension of disbelief will be required, but otherwise this is an engaging legal thriller that I recommend. Many thanks to Orion for an ARC.

This is a story with many twists and turns,some unlikely in the real world,but that adds to its undoubted attraction. The author also shares astute observations on the Californian legal system,on racial tensions and many other relevant issues. That raises the book above being a mere mystery. The lead character is well constructed as are the other members of the jury who having declared an accused not to be proven guilty come together ten years later to supposedly hear new evidence gathered by one of them,Rick. The style of going back over each juror's character and lifestyle works well. The book is full of unexpected turns particularly at the end. Any reader who guesses the outcome deserves a medal! I recommend this is a read that will hold your interest throughout.

I never repeat the blurb. Interesting premise here, looking at the after effects of a ten year old jury decision on the lives of that jury, one in particular. A slow burn with frequent flashbacks and a little too much thought process and navel gazing at times. I'd also kind of guessed the outcome, or art of it, but was really glad in the end that I persisted with it and it did speed up as it went along. Worth a read.

“One Jury member changed the verdict. What if she was wrong?”
Ten years ago Maya and Rick were part of jury who found Bobby Nock innocent of the murder of Jessica Silver. Jessica was the daughter of a wealthy statesman and she was never seen again- a body was never found. Maya famously changed the whole jury from 11-1 guilty when they started to a non guilty verdict.She went on to become a successful defence lawyer. For the ten year anniversary a TV show wants to get together the remaining jury members. Maya isn’t sure about this at all but her company wants her to go and support her.. Rick says he has new evidence to show that they were all wrong- Bobby did kill Jessica after all. When one of the jurors is then found dead- could it be one of the others? Is Maya safe or is she about to pay the price for speaking out all those years ago? Oooh!!! This gripped me early on. chapters flip between what went on at the trial and now and are easy to follow. I quickly liked Maya as she fought for what she believed in and wasn’t a push over just to get a quick verdict. A jury story with a difference- a real difference! A brilliantly written thrilling read that kept me in its grip to the very last page
(rest of links as part of blog tour)

Thank you to Orion Crime and Netgalley for this ARC.
Just brilliant, gripped from the first page to the last. Only disappointed when I finished it as I didn't want it to end.
Totally compelling.

Just when you thought it was safe to go into the court room… “The Holdout” comes along! It has a hell of a bite. A razor sharp one. Sinking it’s teeth into everyone and everything at every opportunity.

And boy it shows how justice wears two faces: one that is based on facts, and another which is influenced, or obstructed, by our own convictions. No matter how unbiased we think we are, some minor detail, subconsciously or not, can so easily alter the course of someone else’s life forever.

I was impressed (and disturbed) by the ‘alchemy’ of the debates and how easily ‘fact’ can turn into ‘fiction’, and vice versa. I especially loved how the story invited all players onto the field without overcrowding it, while it seamlessly managed two very different games: the then and now, along with some pretty herculean soul-searching.

The more I learned the less I knew, and who or what could be trusted. So, not only is it consistently suspenseful it’s hugely entertaining, and its slick delivery made it an absolute breeze to read.

For me there was no choice but to binge read until there were no words left, as it was way too good to put aside. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

A book that draws you into the lives of 12 jurors and the aftermath of the case. Who did it? Did Bobby really do it. What will become of those jurors? Thank you netgalley for the arc. To know what happened,you must read it. I hate giving spoilers.

A thriller set in a court room. What a moral dilemma in this book!

Maya is on a jury and she is the only one to not share the view of the majority. The final result is Not Guilty - and this is a very high profile LA murder trial.. Well that is not the end of it as there are consequences years later as the old jurors meet up and they find out that someone is stalking them.The verdict was unpopular and someone is very unhappy with it and want someone to pay. When one of the jurors is killed, all hell literary breaks loose.

The writing was excellent and the twists and the 'what would I have done?' moments are fast and furious. I wasn't gripped but I was interested to see what would happen next and it did remind me of that movie Runaway Jury. How jurys are selected, sequestered and how they deliberate and weigh up all the evidence was fascinating but I didn't like anyone in the book. Probably the point but it did make me think what I would have done in the same situation. There's racial tensions, social commentary and this could actually be a cracking film.

Great for book groups

Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If Agatha Christie and John Grisham had a love child it would look a lot like The Holdout. Graham Moore's novel is a compelling synthesis of And Then There Were None, Twelve Angry Men and The Runaway Jury. Utterly addictive and intelligently written, The Holdout took me back to the halcyon days of vintage Grisham and my discovery as an excited teenager of A Time To Kill.. I remember thinking with some sadness, since, that although there are many imitators of Grisham, none have come close to matching his pre-eminence as master of the legal thriller. That was until I read The Holdout. This is quite a tour de force of a legal thriller, with a wonderfully twisty Agatha Christie-esque mystery at the heart of the narrative. There is more, pardon the pun, from Moore. For whilst he straddles genres with a deft touch, he has also manages to capture the zeitgeist of frenzied speculation and hysteria that surrounded the O.J. Simpson trial and the mystery of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. Indeed, the mystery at the heart of the novel: the disappearance of billionaire heiress, Jessica Silver, has more than a touch of the same hyperbole that characterised the legends of Simpson and Lindbergh in the annals of American legal history.. Whilst this also gives the novel a certain distinctive atmospheric resonance that hooks you from the first page, this novel is also front loaded with question upon question. Did Bobby Nocke really kill Jessica Silver? What role does the jury's acquittal of Nocke play in current events? Why was a juror, who increasingly believed in Nocke's guilt, murdered at a reunion of jury members? These are just some of the questions that demand answering in The Holdout. Propelling the narrative forward like a heat-seeking missile is Maya, the young woman who convinced the jury that Bobby was not guilty by reason that there was more than a preponderance of doubt that he had committed the crime. We see the unfolding events through Maya's eyes as she begins to unravel the events that connect past to present and the identity of the juror who is setting her up as a suspect for murder. Moore ratchets up the tension to an unbearable degree until we reach the final, stunning denouement. What a denouement it is too! With its electrifying plot, authentic dialogue and characters who defy their fictional existence, this is one novel you wont want to miss.

A sure smash hit for 2020. My favourite legal thriller of the last two decades.

The Holdout is part legal thriller part mystery. Maya now a defence attorney sat on a jury 10 years previously where a black American teacher was on trial for the murder of a white female student.
Rather like in 12 Angry Men where other jurors had decided the accused was guilty Maya dogmatically gradually changed their minds. The not guilty verdict cause a news storm and affected all the other jurors over the decade that has past.
A documentary is to made about the trial and all the jurors are reunited to reassess their verdict and decide whether they would now change how they voted.
The story alternates between the past and present, we are given the points of view of others jurors. As to the mystery I will say no more as I feel it would add too many spoilers.
All in all a well paced read, lots of twists, great dialogue and a cast of well rounded characters, enjoyable and well written.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

A fast paced and gripping legal battle, with lots of twists. Gripping, I didn’t want to put it down.
Ten years ago, fifteen year old, Jessica Silver was murdered although her body was never found. Bobby Nock, her English teacher was arrested and tried for the crime.
Maya Seale, now a lawyer herself. was on that jury and turned the verdict around, convincing the other jurors that the case against Bobby hadn’t been proved.
A lot has happened in the last ten years and not all the jurors are convinced they made the right decision. When they decide to all meet up and discuss the trial one of them is murdered and Maya is arrested. It seems though they all have secrets to hide and nothing is straight forward.

It’s not my usual fare in fiction but I am so glad I read this book, exciting, tense and thoroughly enjoyable