The Sentence

There are books where you’d wonder what you’d do if faced with similar situations to the characters – and this is one. American states are up in arms about the death penalty – for some, the pros, for others, the cons. Then there’s prosecutor Justine Boucher who has asked for the death penalty once, the result of a horrific murder case. Due to a law, if the convicted are later found innocent, the lawyer who requested the execution will be sentenced to death. Yes, that’s right. But Justine is convinced that she did the right thing in helping to end another’s life… until evidence is presented which could change everything. Justine needs to find the truth – and fast. Along the way, we learn a lot about her background, her relationships and the decisions that she makes that do not exclusively affect her. If you loved Vox, also by Christina, then I predict you’ll love this. ‘Love’ is a difficult word to use for this novel as there’s nothing delightful about the subject matter, but it’s an intense read that has stayed with me long after I finished.

Very intriguing book. Quite an emotive subject, capital punishment.
It would be very interesting if this concept made its way into law.
Looking forward to more from Christina Dalcher.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC and opportunity to enjoy this wonderful book

Wow Wow Wow !!!!! What a book!!!

Justine Boucher is a prosecutor who worked on one of the biggest cases in modern days.....and ensuring the death penalty was handed out as punishment.
Justine is convinced that she's got the right man and that pursuing his execution is the right decision.
Much later on, evidence appears that would make her doubt this. Due to law that states that anyone convicted...later to be proven innocent.....will require that the prosecutor who ordered the execution also be put to death.
Will Justine continue to pursue justice....even if it puts her life on the line.

A fantastic story which I couldn't set down. I absolutely loved it

Brilliant. Harrowing. Intense.

I inhaled this book in about four hours, unable to put it down. The topic of the death penalty is so complicated and CD took me through a whole range of emotions regarding it whilst reading The Sentence. The ending was, despite frustrating me, perfectly done and expertly crafted to fit the narrative built throughout the story. If you haven't yet read a CD book yet I highly recommend you do. I don't want to add much detail now as I'm reviewing an advanced copy, but I will undoubtedly update my review once the book is out to fully discuss all my thoughts on this story

gripping, addictive and completely unpredictable. I devoured this book in just one sitting. This is unique and pulled me in quickly. Well-written and able to transport the reader.

Imagine an America where the death penalty still exists but is rarely issued. The reason for this is that any prosecutor who seeks the death penalty has to be absolutely convinced they are right because their own life is on the line. If the death penalty is carried out and the person is later exonerated then the prosecutor will be killed.

I love books like The Sentence from Christina Dalcher, ones which are set in a society we are familiar with but where one small thing has been changed. Not as dystopian as something along the lines of The Handmaid's Tale but with enough of a dystopian element to be thought-provoking.

The Sentence is told from two very distinct perspectives, the main one is prosecutor Justine Callaghan. When we are first introduced to her she is struggling with the aftermath of her latest trial. She has managed to gain a murder conviction but despite the overwhelming evidence and a confession, she refused to seek the death penalty. This has not gone down well with a vocal, and hostile, group of people. With a young son to take care of she's not prepared to risk her own life should the person she has just convicted ever be exonerated.

The second character we hear from is Death Row Inmate #39384 via extracts from his diary. Convicted of murder seven years previously he is counting down the days until his execution.

As the story progresses we learn a little about each character's background. We learn that Justine was partly responsible for the Remediation Act becoming law. As a law student, she met her future husband and they were both strong advocates against the death penalty, arguing that it was an arbitrary sentence. They also argue that with advancements in science evidence used to convict people has been discredited.

We also discover that seven years previously Justine, during a moment of extreme distress, sought the death penalty for Jake Milford, a man convicted of the brutal torture and murder of a child. Overwhelming DNA evidence and lack of an alibi were enough to convince Justine.

Jake Milford is inmate #39384. In his diary, we learn about the moments leading up to his arrest for murder and the reason he has no alibi. His story is heartbreaking. We learn that despite an unhappy childhood he has settled down and made a life for himself.

Following Jake's execution new evidence arises. Justine is placed in a difficult position, should she destroy the evidence, flee the country or pass the evidence on? Deciding to investigate the events leading up to the murder Jake was found guilty of, Justine discovers there is far more to the case than was initially made public. She feels that with everything that has happened, there is only one thing she can now do to make things right.

This is the type of book where you wish everyone around you was reading it at exactly the same time so that you had someone to talk to, obviously it will be ideal for a book group.

I'll be honest and say I've had a...not a love/hate relationship, that's too extreme, but definitely a like/dislike relationship with Dalcher novels, but I can't always point out why. Some I have really enjoyed and others have just been a bit too much for me. So I went into this one with open eyes and an open mind.

And this one had me hooked almost instantly. It flowed so well and had such a thrilling story and some great well-rounded characters.

And this is why I never write an author off, even if previous books weren't my thing, because then they come up with something like this and it blows all my preconceived ideas out of the water.

What I will say about her books is that you always know you're going to get more than just an enjoyable, entertaining book. You're going to get difficult questions and difficult answers, your morals will be questioned, and it will really fight against your opinions, and she has managed that through all of her books.

It is so brutal, in the literal visual deaths, but also in the emotions. It had me holding my breath on several occasions.

I don't know much about capital punishment happily, and I know that some bits of this story are fictional (I did have to Google to ensure that the main clause was fictional), and some is based on the little I know about it. But the level of research I imagine she did for this book to make it sound true and to be sensitive to quite an emotive topic, is very horrifying but very impressive.

There are a number of characters but a handful of main ones. We've got Justine, who is our protagonist and I really liked her. She's not perfect, she's clearly very conflicted inwardly and outwardly, in a personal and professional capacity. She's flawed. and I liked her for that. She's got a job that no-one would want and all the pressures that come with that. Then there's her partner Daniel. I don't know why but I didn't particularly like him. I can't say there was a particularly obvious reason why, but there was just something I didn't like. There's her son Jonathan, her sister Susan and he nephew Tommy. Not huge characters but they do enough to further Justine's story. We also have Jake, the death row inmate, and his wife Emily. I shouldn't have liked Jake really, but I did. Emily on the other hand...she was okay, but I didn't feel as much sympathy towards her as I suspected I should have. But overall, this is Justine's story through and through; she steals every scene and shines off every page.

It's mostly set in the present as a linear narrative, but every so often we get a chapter written by "Death Row Inmate #39384", otherwise known as Jake, the inmate who Justine did sentence to death. This is a great way of writing the story because we get enough of the present scenes to get involved and invested, but with enough little background jumps to understand the difficulties in her life, and what is making her act the way she is in the present.

It is a really powerful book. Yes it's enjoyable and entertaining and good for passing the time. But it's got such a punch that you won't stop thinking about it even once you've finished. It'll stay with you, uncomfortably so, asking you questions. I think it'd would make a brilliant book club read.

I love Christina Dalcher’s books. I think this one might be her best one since Vox: it follows the story of a prosecutor living in an alternate-day America where the punishment for sending someone to the electric chair or lethal injection and their later being proved innocent is the execution of the prosecutor who called for the accused’s death. Brilliantly intense with elements of thriller fiction.

#bookreview #netgalley #kindle #bookstagram #fiction #dystopianfiction #thriller #speculativefiction

An absolute masterclass as usual from Christina Dalcher.

The issues will stay with you long after reading. A little bit of dystopia and a huge helping of moral questions that are very current issues. Capital punishment doesn’t seem like something you may want to read about but I can guarantee you will want to finish this quickly and then be sad there isn’t more

I cannot recommend her books highly enough..

Put everything on hold, you need to pre-order this and take the day off when it arrives! It's that simple. It will blow your mind.

I remember reading my first Christina Dalcher book, a few years ago. As I closed the book on the last page, I was already picking up my keys to go to the bookshop to buy anything else by her. Her writing is so powerful, evocative and thought-provoking. You can't escape the the of the book, devastatingly worrying as it is.

If you order the death sentence and the person turns out to have been innocent, the life that is lost will be your own.......Discuss the rights and wrongs of the death sentence but this is a killer of an idea.

Another great book by Christina Dalcher.
Hooked from the beginning I felt fully immersed into the main character’s emotions. If work, reaching destination and other day to day mundanity hadn’t got in the way this is easily a read in one sitting book as I didn’t want to stop reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I am a big fan of Christina Dalcher and have loved all of her books so far. This new one has to be her best so far! A brilliant story with a slight dystopian twist, although not as dystopian as her previous books. I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole way through the book. The ending was perfect! Absolutely loved it. Highly recommended to all. A massive 5 stars from me.