***4.5***

Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and children but is he innocent or guilty ? either way it doesn't matter to his new barrister Neve as she has to make sure he is found guilty even though it's her job to prove his innocence because her life and the lives of everyone she cares about is at stake.

I am not always a fan of legal thrillers but this was written so well and the courtroom chapters had me on the edge of my seat so well written and kept me hooked. This was a fast paced rollercoaster of a legal thriller with some great twists. Would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster UK and Jack Jordan for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Do No Harm and was excited to dive into this one. However I've attempted to pick it up numerous times and just could not get into it. I even tried the audiobook but found myself not feeling immersed in the story.

I'm gutted.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love this authors books, yes ok this is only his second but still 😂 I flew through this read in a couple of sittings, just brilliant

A gripping legal thriller from Jack Jordan - I hadn’t heard of his work before but I’ll certainly be looking forward to future books! Fast-paced with plenty of twists and shocking moments.

What a gem of a legal thriller! This one is easily on par with a John Grisham or Lisa Scottoline, with its incredibly twisted storyline and a conflicted main character. So good!

Fast paced and thrilling it kept me up all night because I couldn't put it down. It had me on the edge of my seat and I loved it

Wow what a rip roarer of a book! I don't think I have felt this anxious reading a book for a long time - I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest such was the tension!

Jack Jordan has written an intense thriller that definitely kept me up at night as I couldn't sleep until I knew how things would turn out. The ending was such a sucker punch that for my next read, I had a to read a slightly more sedate book just to get my heart rate down again,

I immediately passed to my friend under strict instructions that she HAD to read this next.

Just brilliant. I can't seem to form the right words to convey how good this book was!

Another great thriller from Jack Jordan! Really tense and edge of your seat drama. My only slight criticism is that it’s very similar to Do No Harm with the blackmail elements. Still a great read though.

Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. Another amazing book by Jack Jordan. I highly recommend

I never repeat the blurb. Absolutely devoured this book. Had spent weeks trying to persist with another book and given up, but read this in two gripping sessions. Fast paced, well written and with a great plot, I loved it. More from this writer please.

Rating 4.5 stars rounded off to 5

An impossible conundrum of moral dilemma!

Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the ARC!

Synopsis -

Defense Barrister Neve Harper has just landed the most notorious case of Wade Darling, who has been accused of killing his wife and children before their house burnt to ashes. Only just before the trial is set to begin, Neve is threatened to sabotage her case making sure Wade goes to prison, or else her own secrets about her husband's disappearance will be brought out. This leaves Neve with an unbearably hard choice to make, that goes against the very core of her professional principles.


Review -

If Jack Jordan excelled at writing a medical thriller last year with #DoNoHarm, he kicks a legal thriller out of the park this time! His trump card seems to be a vulnerable MC, who is an expert at what she does, but put into a situation of extreme duress – leaving us flabbergasted at how she lives and pushes through it.

The plot wastes no times in getting into the thick of things, opening right away with the case scenario and Neve getting thrust into the bull ring with a fire encroaching her on one side and a death cliff beckoning to her on the other.

What shocked and surprised me in equal measure was how I came to adore and respect Neve for her mettle, mental fortitude and sterling career record, but at the same time loathed her ice cold demeanor and emotional disconnect, although they might be the hazards of her job.

As Neve and her colleague work to dig deeper into the case, her own past comes out in flash backs, with insufferable twists and unspeakable dark truths I could never ever imagine, not to mention her fragile mental health and the resulting behavior. This led me to even doubt her reliability and allegiance.

The intensity and pace multiplies with every page once the trial begins – what with both the prosecution and defense building up their cases trying to sway the jury. The courtroom atmosphere was built up so well, that it was as if I was in the courtroom squirming in my seat with anxious bated breath, wondering what would happen with the verdict.

The finale hits us in the gut with unbearable shockers on both the trial outcome front as well as Neve’s back story. I felt like a fool for not seeing what was hidden in plain sight, for Jordan does an excellent job at laying the trap and luring us with an irresistible bait.

However, the ending also lets us contemplate about the morality and the gray areas Neve chose to exploit while not really caring or ‘paying’ for the consequences.

Don't miss it you love a legal thriller!

Conviction is the book that everyone is talking about and rightly so as it's another corker from The Master of the Moral Dilemma, Jack Jordan. Miss this one at your peril; it's an absolute must read.

I love a good courtroom drama and this is a cracker as you actually feel as if you're judge and jury, sifting through evidence and deciding 'Guilty' or 'Not Guilty'. I must have changed my mind a hundred times as the twists and turns of the trial played out. Of course, this is a Jack Jordan book so there can't just be one hook...the defence barrister is being blackmailed into throwing the trial, which is a moral dilemma and a half.

The plotting is razor sharp, the writing is flawless and the author continues to showcase his limitless talent, so I don't have to be Mystic Meg to predict that this book is going to be HUGE. I am completely in awe of Jack Jordan's amazing writing and his imagination knows no bounds. So, is Wade Darling guilty or not guilty? You'll just need to read the book to find out!

Gripping, fast-paced and super-twisty, Conviction is absolutely brilliant and it's easily going to be one of my books of the year. Once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down. Very highly recommended.

I absolutely loved Do No Harm last year so I had Conviction on pre order!
This was another gripping story where the main character had to make a choice between doing the right thing or saving her family.

The story is narrated by barrister Neve Harper who is representing
Wade Darling as he stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept before burning the family home to the ground.

A matter of days before the case Neve is approached by a man who tells her she must lose this case or the secret about her own husband’s disappearance will be revealed.
Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about until she follows orders.

Neve must make a choice – potentially send an innocent man to prison or risk losing the people she loves.

This was another fast paced, intense psychological thriller that I read in just over a day. I was intrigued to find out more about Neve's past and what had actually happened to her husband Matthew (who had mysteriously disappeared.) I loved the court room drama and all the twists and turns along the way. I did find I had to suspend belief a few times along the way but I still thoroughly enjoyed this unpredictable thriller. I'm looking forward to the next one!

One word: PHENOMENAL!!! Jack Jordan has knocked it out the park again with his moral dilemma thriller! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Neve is an amazing barrister, the sort you want defending you, especially if you’re innocent. She’s been appointed to defend Wade, accused of killing his family. Did he do it? Well it’s not for Neve to decide; she just has to poke holes in the prosecution’s evidence. But there’s someone who doesn’t want that. They want her to get Wade found guilty – if she doesn’t she pays the consequences…

Having loved Jordan’s previous novels, I was very excited to settle into this latest thriller where he puts the main character in such an awkward situation with a horrible decision to make. I was intrigued to see what Neve would do. Would she throw the trial or would she uphold the principles she had as a barrister?! Neve is a desperate woman with this on her plate, and that’s before you come to her mother-in-law with such a chip on her shoulder!!

Conviction is a tense and impeccably plotted thriller that made me hold my breathe on a number of occasions. Jordan has carved himself a ingenious little niche with his new style of thriller with Conviction being the perfect follow up to Do No Harm. If you love your thrillers making you think and ponder a quandary, you so need to read Conviction – just superb.

The story:
When defence barrister Neve Harper is asked to represent the defendant in the Darling Murders at short notice, she jumps at the chance to work on such a high-profile case. Her client is Wade Darling, accused of the triple murder of his wife and two teenage children.

But Neve also has her own demons to battle, and is soon forced to make a choice… Whose freedom does she value more — her client’s or her own?

My thoughts:
“Conviction” by Jack Jordan was an unputdownable read that gripped me from the start! With the untimely death of defendant Wade Darling’s barrister, Neve Harper is called in to take over the case at the last minute. At first she is elated, and we see how much her career as a lawyer means to her — after 15 years in the profession this could be her chance to earn the coveted status of QC.

But things quickly start to unravel for Neve, and we learn that not only does she have dark secrets in her past, but that someone is prepared to use them against her to ensure Wade’s conviction. Neve is forced to choose between her duty as a barrister and the safety not just of herself, but the fragile family she’s built; something she’s longed for all her life.

Neve is a really interesting character in an impossible situation, and the more she tries to control things, the more they spiral out of her control. I was intrigued to find out why she’d done the “bad thing” in her past that was being held over her, and how on earth she’d hidden it!

On the other side we have the equally intriguing Darling murder case, and the potential guilt of a husband and father in the murder of his family. I flip flopped between thinking Wade was guilty and innocent as I read, and of course this influenced how much sympathy I had for him having a barrister with more things than his defence on her mind!

Overall this was a thriller of a read that I sped through, and would highly recommend to all. I will definitely be adding the author’s previous book, “Do No Harm” to my reading list, which features another authority figure, a surgeon, given another ethics-defying choice. I’m sure it will be another nail-biting read!

If ever there was a book for the adrenaline junkie, this is it! Fast-paced, twisty, and with a shock factor that’s off the scale, this no-holds-barred legal thriller had me banging my gavel in delighted approval.

Like Jordan’s 2022 runaway success, Do No Harm, Conviction once again focuses on an agonising moral dilemma. This time, one faced by defence barrister, Neve Harper, whose client, Wade Darling, is accused of murdering his wife and two children. It’s a high-profile case that Neve secretly hopes might secure her the coveted title of Queen’s Counsel. But there’s a fly in the ointment. Neve has been warned by some very nasty men that she must throw the trial or risk having the secret of her husband’s disappearance revealed.

Tasty, right?

The irresistible pull of a storyline like this is that you can’t help but ask yourself what you’d do in a similar situation. And that immediately gives you a powerful connection to protagonist Neve, as her moral compass swings violently back and forth, and she fights to balance two sides of an impossible situation.

Jordan expertly delivers a thrilling blow-by-blow account of the trial, while simultaneously depicting Neve’s emotional and physical unraveling as she tries to cover up the evidence of her dark secret. It’s gripping stuff; at times shockingly brutal. Jordan is not a writer who pulls punches when it comes to the use of descriptive language.

I liked Neve. I liked that she was able to put on her game face every time she stepped into court, no matter her inner turmoil. That she was flawed and vulnerable but still displayed a steely determination not to be bested.

Yes, some of the plot points may have stretched the boundaries of plausibility. But this is a book that’s all about entertainment value, and bottom line: I was thoroughly entertained.

Another excellent novel from Jack Jordan. Well written and carefully thought out. I enjoyed so no harm and would be interested in any further titles by the author.

I have a confession, despite buying Jack’s previous books, this is the first I have actually read – and what a fantastic one to start with. I’ve spent most of my working life in a legal environment and I love legal thrillers, I was thrilled when a review copy arrived from the publisher’s The Likely Suspects

Neve Harper is an ambitious 38 year old barrister. She has been been handed a controversial murder case which has made the headlines. Wade Darling has been accused of familicide – killing his wife and children and then burning the family home, injuring himself in the process. This is a last minute case for her and she has very little time to prepare for the forthcoming court appearance, however this is not a straightforward defence by any means and a moral dilemma is in store for Neve.

Neve has a backstory of her own and it is this history which makes her vulnerable to the ultimatum she has received. Those behind the threats are deadly serious, in fact Neve is shown at first hand just how far they will go to get the result they wish.

I was glued to this book and to see which way Neve would go. It seemed as though she didn’t have any choice and although at times her decisions seemed rather unwise and irrational, she was definitely caught between that rock and a hard place.

As for Wade Darling, at times he cut rather a pathetic figure. He wasn’t always minded to cooperate which made me suspicious and I was for the most part, undecided as to his guilt or innocence, veering constantly between the two.

Split into three parts, focusing on different aspects including the Defence and the Prosecution, Conviction is a thrilling and dramatic read with some deceitful characters and a sinister violent edge which ticked all the boxes for me. I was kept guessing as to whether Neve would throw the trial to save herself and her loved ones and fearful for the consequences if she did not. She was definitely a character that I could get behind, her conflicting emotions were made clear and even Wade Darling, as awful as his alleged crimes were, garnered some sympathy from me with certain disclosures that came to light.

I thoroughly enjoyed the moral dilemma and the emotional consequences which the author skilfully creates in Conviction and the twists and surprises kept me intrigued to the last page. I had already bought Do No Harm, his previous book and am now particularly keen to bump this up the list.

Since the disappearance of her husband three years earlier, there are only two things that Neve Harper holds dear to her - her stepdaughter Hannah, and her work as a criminal barrister. Neve soon finds herself in the enviable position of defending in a dream trial, the landmark case having been handed to her after the sudden death of a colleague. She knows that a win in this case would see her career skyrocket and she is determined to make an impression with both the media and her peers, but at the same time, give her client the fair trial he is owed.

However, Neve's elation quickly turns when she is approached by a man on her way home. He tells Neve that he knows details about her husband's disappearance that she would not want anyone to find out. If she loses the case, her secrets will be safe. If she refuses, her career will be over and her family will be put in serious danger.

I was a big fan of Do No Harm when I read it last year but I have to say that Conviction takes the author's trademark 'will they, won't they?' tension and ramps it up to a completely different level. My opinion on whether Wade was innocent or guilty honestly switched every other chapter. As if that wasn't enough, Neve's indecision about whether she should throw the trial, how she would go about it without making it obvious and whether there was any way she could play the men who were blackmailing her, all built up to create an incredibly stressful and compelling psychological thriller.

The 'ethical dilemma' theme runs throughout the story but what makes this so interesting in this book is the main character. Neve obviously has secrets, she has a story to tell but we don't know exactly what that involves. Is she no stranger to murder herself? Would she really have issues throwing her client under the bus based on the things she has done in the past? In some ways she seems so cold and detached, but she is obviously dealing with some trauma and is considering risking everything to keep Hannah safe. Neve is exactly the strong and unique character needed to carry through this breakneck thriller.

The perfect choice for fans of Jeffrey Deaver, John Grisham's The Whistler series and the Eddie Flynn series by Steve Cavanagh.

I read Do No Harm and really enjoyed it and I was looking forward to this one. It did not disappoint. A similar theme to Do Not Harm in that the main character is faced with a moral dilemma.

Neve Harper is a barrister and Wade Darlings case lands on her desk. Darling is accused of murdering his wife and two children. Neve knows this is the case that could elevate her career if she can prove the mans innocence.
Days before the trial begins Neve is approached late at night on the train on her way home by a man who tells her she must throw the case and Darling must be found guilty. Neve has her own dark secrets and this man knows them and Neve will lose everything if anyone else finds out. And so she is faced with making a decision to go against her principles or risk everything she has and everyone she loves.

This was dark, tense and unputdownable. Set over a short amount of time, the tension leaps from the pages. Well paced, twists galore, clever, sharply written and impossible to predict where it would go.

Recommend.