Whoops! I threw away the rankings before I made a chart of them & they're in recycling heaven.
Sandy - Doesn't usually read mysteries, but finished this one in just a week. If it weren't for us having read the book on Columbine she wouldn't have believed that Jacob's parents knew nothing about his problems. She thought it odd that Jacob's dad never mentioned his father's disturbing background and thought he was a bit of a nutcase himself, what with breaking and entering into Jacob's friend's house, tampering with evidence, etc. She wondered if he was more interested in winning the case, than whether or not Jacob was innocent. Jacob's mom was more honest about the extent of Jacob's problems and thought it sad that she lost all her friends. She wanted Michelle to know that if her son ever knifes anyone, she will stick by her. Sandy didn't buy into the theory of the murder gene, but thought it odd that Jacob had no feelings. She didn't think they communicated well as a family. The italics confused her at first, but made sense to her at the end and she's glad it resolved the way it did.
Miles - Read this last summer and he struggled with it. It never pulled him in, but he found the plot original. He remarked how difficult the financial debt would be. The author's decision to write it in first person made for two dimensional characters, especially since Jacob was so unlikable, and he never decided if he was guilty or not. Miles was aggravated that no one ever asked Jacob point blank whether he did it or not. Miles liked the ending and thought it sewed everything up pretty well. He found it a good set-up and plot, but the storytelling seemed longer than it needed to be.
K'Lynn - Reading this during winter break gave her time to sit and process and not rush through it. She found it a compelling read and kept wondering if Jacob was guilty or not and is still wondering. There was so much evidence against him and it was still giving her goosebumps when she thought about it weeks afterward. Jacob's mom...what a hard decision to make, to kill yourself in order to take your child out. This book has stuck with her for weeks and she is still having strong emotional reactions to it, all signs of a good book and a good pick. She would recommend. She now thinks Jacob did it, even though the evidence seemed circumstantial.
Carolyn - Read this on her Kindle and when Jacob's family was vacationing in Jamaica with less than 10% of the book left she figured there would be a happy ending. She liked it and usually these types of books are not her thing. She read it in just three days, it has stuck with her, and she was at least once on the verge of tears, all signs of a good book. She felt bad for the family and how they were abandoned by everyone. She didn't understand why they didn't just up and leave. She wondered why Jacob never really defended himself and thought that he was perhaps trying to protect his friends at first. She felt bad for Lori sitting by herself in the courtroom. She found that there is such a thing as a murder gene and that if it was combined with child abuse or certain chemical imbalances that there could be a link.
Michelle - Read right away staying up late, and didn't want to put it down. She wanted to beat the crap out of Jacob. He had no manners, could barely talk, and was disrespectful. She thinks he was a sociopath partly because he never pleaded his innocence to anyone. Michelle finds it interesting how little people actually know about the law, most of what we know is picked up from the media or movies. She felt sorry for the doctor that had to tell the parents that Jacob had the emotional brain of a seven-year-old. Michelle thought Jacob's mom had always had an intuition he wasn't normal, while his dad was oblivious. (Men are oblivious is how she phrased this.) She was shocked when Lori took it as far as trying to kill herself and Jacob. Loved the book recommended to her grandma who also she loved it.You never really fully know a person, even your own child, 100%.
Letitia - Loved this book and found it both entertaining and riveting. She read it in just two days. She thought a lot about how Andy kept putting off the emotional needs of his wife with, "Oh, we'll work on our relationship after the trial." She didn't think Jacob had a chance of being found guilty until the psychologist started talking. And then while they were in Jamaica she thought that Jacob really was guilty. She found what he wrote on the Internet disturbing and that it made it sound like he did do it, but thought, no, that what they always do in these types of books. The italicized text made her think that Andy was on trial for obstruction of justice. She didn't blame Andy for doing what he did and thought that his upbringing gave him a warped view of people. Andy was so aggressive, showing up at pervert's and friend's house. Letitia thought about her own son who was a biter as a small boy. Miles said this made him a vampire, not a sociopath. Jacob was moody and not likable.
Kellie Rated this a 7.5 with the caveat that it was a beach read. She found it entertaining and had it on her mind when she woke up at one in the morning and was happy to have the opportunity to go read on couch instead of sleep. She thought throughout that Jacob was guilty and felt bad for his parents. Kellie likes the importance of names and noted that Jacob means 'the deceiver' (except in the case of Sandy's son, of course) and liked how the prosecuting attorney's name 'Logiudice' sounded like, 'judicious' and represented the law. She liked the complexity of the novel and wondered about halfway through if the 'shocking ending' was that Jacob killed his mother. Andy tossing the knife made him suspect and he was no longer a reliable narrator when this happened. It was really compelling; not soul nourishing, but entertaining. Would recommend.
Becky - Found this a page turner, so she rated it high. Wondered where the italicized future tense transcript was taking us. Who killed whom? Did Jacob's mom kill the kid? After all she planted a knife. She didn't like any of characters. The dad was in denial and never faced any of the idiosyncrasies of his son. (He was an arrogant sicko!' chimed Sandy.) Andy had complete blinders on. There was blood on Jacob's shorts! Go wash it off, was all that he could say? Becky couldn't stand Andy and had no sympathy for him, but had some for the mom. She was reminded of the book The Dinner, in which a Dad knowingly covers up a murder for his son. Becky found herself thinking about Lori a lot and wondered if her decision was the right one.
Pat - I thought it was the best mystery I've ever read because it remained true to its premise from beginning to the end. So many mysteries start out great, but in the end always rely on some cheap trick to wrap things up. This was well constructed and suspenseful and gave a unique insider's look at a trial with the former prosecuting attorney now defending his son. I was on edge wondering about his guilt all throughout. One moment I'd be convinced that Jacob did it, the next I wasn't. I can't believe I forgot about Jacob murdering the girl in Jamaica, and after I read that I was sure he'd murdered the kid at school. I believe there could be such a thing as the 'murder gene' there was a kid at Sunday school who at the age of 4, you knew was going to wind up in prison. And I'm pretty sure he did. No one who ever worked with that kid would be surprised.
Maggie - Great to see the notes from the meeting, I wish I had been there. When I told Sandy I had already read it and she asked me if it was a good book club pick I was torn. I thought it would make for a great discussion, but like Miles and Kellie I also thought that the writing made it more of a beach read. It started well but I felt that he lost the tautness of the book somewhere along the way. I really wanted Jacob to be innocent for his Father's sake, and kept waiting for something to happen that would prove his innocence, but in the end I thought that he had done it. I thought it was interesting that Lori was far more intuitive about Jacob and seem to believe all along that he did it. It made me think of 'We need to talk about Kevin' by Lionel Shriver, a very good book and film, with Tilda Swanson and John C Reilly. Do we as mothers know our children better than their fathers? Not sure, I think we can all be blind to their fault, or maybe in denial:). With regard to friends and neighbors distancing themselves, unfortunately I think this is human nature, you only find out who your real friend are when the chips are down, as the saying goes. I did think the ending was very good and thought the author did a great job of not dropping any clues about what happened, and I did keep wondering why he was on trial. On reflection (I read it last summer) I would give it 7/10
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