JURY OF ONE

Jury of One by David Ellis (5 stars)

Shelly Trotter works as a children’s advocate and a lawyer. Her aim is to keep kids in school, since education is the only hope to escape their gang-infested neighborhood. Shelly is defending her client Alex’s right to stay in school when she suddenly finds herself in criminal court defending him for shooting a cop.

 Alex keeps secrets from Shelly, and even the threat of the death penalty is not enough to scare him into sharing the truth. Shelly is threatened by the FBI, two masked thugs, and a gang member as she uncovers the truth. A second storyline is interspersed as a flashback to Shelly as a teenager, depicting the violence that she suffered alone and making her a strong, courageous woman. She taught self-defense classes and never told the truth to her father, the Governor. Shelly and her father were estranged until the murder trial, where Governor Trotter adds himself to the list of people fighting against Shelly. Shelly fights alone for Alex’s freedom, hence the title, believing in Alex’s innocence.

Many surprises are revealed in this fast-paced novel, some of which I saw coming. However,  I admit that David Ellis integrated hidden twists that I never anticipated.

I recommend this book to all adult readers as it was one of the special books that I couldn’t put down. I ended up finishing it one night at 3AM.

Susie Hamilton