Jury of One

By David Ellis

Book Overview

An edge-of-the-seat legal thriller about a woman who learns the boy she's defending for murder may be the child she gave up for adoption years earlier-from an Edgar Award winner who belongs "in the ring with Scott Turow" (Kirkus Reviews). Life Sentence, David Ellis's follow-up to his Edgar-winning debut, Line of Vision, inspired great admiration from lovers of courtroom suspense. "Ellis balances plot, setting, pacing, characterization, and surprises in just the right measure to create a compelling high-stakes drama," said The Washington Post Book World. In Jury of One, Shelly Trotter, the daughter of the state's governor and a children's-rights advocate, is thrust into a world in which she's completely unschooled-the criminal court. The defendant is a seventeen-year-old former client who is accused of killing a cop. Shelly soon learns that this boy was caught in the middle of an undercover operation to trap corrupt officers. But what was his role in the sting? The target or the bait? And what does the prosecution really have against him? Then comes the shocker: The kid says he is the son she gave up in a private adoption kept hush-hush by her father, who had political ambitions beyond their small town. As the evidence mounts, Shelly finds that nothing-not legal ethics, not her father's reelection campaign-will stop her from keeping her son off death row-for with this client, she is truly a jury of one.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399151494
• ISBN13: 9780399151491
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Putnam Adult
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Causes loss of Sleep

Couldn't put it down until 3AM. Story starts as a run-of-the-mill police blotter crime, reveals, early, a coincidental twist between defense attorney and client, only to twist again--and again. I love a novel where I can't outguess the author's outcome. Once you get into the trial phase, you'll stay up until the end. Strange title, though-don't know how it connects with the story??

A Sensational Read - Guaranteed!!!

This was my first experience with a David Ellis novel and it left me enthralled. The story is complex and complicated and takes a while to gather steam, but once all the elements have been brought to bear it is an absolute can not put it down read. It is hard to tell too much about the story without giving away some of the many twists and turns in the plot. The basic story line is that a young woman lawyer who is a children's rights advocate finds herself representing a former client who is charged with the murder of a police officer. The case seems relatively straight forward from the prosecutions's point of view and difficult to defend. But in this tale, things are seldom what they seem. The characters are well drawn and the dialogue is written so well you can hear the voices. Couple that with an outstanding plot and you have a hard to beat combination. David Ellis has written a legal thriller that is all of that and a bit more.

Spectacular!!!!

Dave Ellis has done it again - creating intriguing characters along twisting and winding plot lines - to create another masterpiece. Better than the last four Grisham books - this one belongs on the NYT bestseller list!

Outsanding-a work that can be read on many levels

In a Midwestern city, attorney Shelly Trotter works for the Child Advocacy Project by representing troubled students in court. Because she has never worked a capital case, Shelly asks Paul Riley to defend Alex Baniewicz, accused of killing police officer Raymond Miroballi. Paul prefers Shelly lead the defense, which she reluctantly agrees to do.Already having doubts that she can provide an adequate defense, Shelly learns that Baniewicz may be the son she gave up for adoption following a rape. Made public that revelation could destroy her conservative father's reelection for state governor. The case turns even more complex when federal agents inform Shelly that Alex was working undercover for them trying to find evidence that martyred heroic cop Miroballi sold drugs. As she continues to develop the defense, Shelly investigates the link between her client and a vicious gang of reported drug dealers, the Cannibals. Her probe leads to Alex's friend Ronnie Masters, who not only may be a cop killer, but seems more likely the infant that she gave away.The twists in this incredible superb legal thriller are amazing (there are plenty more to come than what was described above) yet each one feels right though the megatons are at hydrogen bomb level revelations. That along with a solid cast makes for a terrific terse tale that will make David Ellis a household name. Even the street punks come across as real making a JURY OF ONE the must sub-genre read of the year so far.Harriet Klausner

A COMPLEX AND COMPELLING THRILLER = FINE LISTENING

Accomplished audio book reader Sandra Burr always suits her voice to the story, whether it be comedy, drama or romance. She can be old, young, happy, frightened, all with equal skill. Once more she vocally captures the essence of a protagonist in this courtroom thriller. Shelley Trotter is a fine lawyer with a troubled past. She's a child's rights advocate/activist. When Alex, a former client of hers in the Children's Advocacy Project, is accused of murder she immediately stands to defend the 17-year-old. So great is her desire to prove the boy innocent that she overlooks asking some very important questions. Her mind set is also affected by her past - as a young girl she was a rape victim, and became pregnant. In addition, her relationship with her father, the governor, is a bit tenuous. Quite obviously Shelley's legal training and experience has not prepared her for the battle she faces in criminal court, especially when Alex is accused of killing a policeman. Author Ellis weaves these threads together to form a complex and compelling thriller. No wonder he's an Edgar winner! - Gail Cooke