Customer Reviews

Jury of One

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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

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

If you've ever read David Ellis before you know he is an excellent writer. In Jury of One he tells a fantastic story about Shelly Trotter, a lawyer, who defends a young man, she knows from helping him out previously, from a murder charge. The story of this young man becomes increasingly more complicated and interesting as the plot builds. During the trial many new things are discovered. Although throughout the book I knew there was something significant going on, I really didn't guess what it was and was quite surprised when the last critical piece of information was revealed. It reads quickly and you will never lose your attention and interest from the beginning to end. I also loved that he brought in a couple of characters from past books. If you like legal thrillers, you'll love this!

It must be me! I've tried to read three of Ellis's novels and found all of them to be wholly unsatisfactory. The story moves excruciatingly slowly, the dialogue is superficial and the plot is very one-dimensional. I'm an avid reader and enjoy a wide variety of genres including legal thrillers but I'm afraid I've got to give up on Mr. Ellis. Congratulations to those that find him a five star writer, wish I did as I'm always searching for new authors.

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.

Shelly Trotter, daughter of governor Lang Trotter, is a lawyer whose specialty is as a children's rights advocate. Her latest client, Alex Baniewicz, has been arrested for shooting and killing Ray Miroballi, a police officer. On first glance, it seems cut and dry; it was nighttime, the setting was a dark abandoned alley, and drugs were found. However, Trotter digs deeper, she discovers that Alex was an informant for the FBI, who were investigating dirty cops, and had Miroballi on their radar. She can't determine what Alex's role was; was he the target or the bait? Neither Alex nor his best friend, Ronnie Masters, are willing to open up to her about the events, and she must therefore piece everything together on her own.

One day while visiting Alex in jail, she finds out it is his birthday, and then comes to an even bigger realization; Alex is her son. Trotter was raped when she was 15, but was unfairly unconvinced to not press charges. Instead, she went to live with her grandmother, and when the child was born, gave it up for adoption. Not only does this complicate things for her, but also has her in an emotional bind.

The twists and turns that this novel takes on are suspenseful and intriguing. Ellis is a very talented writer, and can keep any reader guessing. The thing is-no matter what the reader usually guesses wrong. That is what is so great about Ellis; he can convincingly lead you down one path, and then in a heartbeat, everything changes, and the reader has to keep on reading to find out more. I couldn't put this book down, and am pretty sure whoever else reads it won't be able to either.

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??

This is the third David Ellis book and, in my opinion, it is far more uneven than the first two. A child's advocate is drawn into a criminal case when a student she had previously represented in a misdemeanor case is accused of killing a police officer. The book twists and turns but in ways that are totally absurd. Does she find out the identity of the child she gave aware after becoming pregnant as a teenager? Well, you think so but then she's wrong. Does one of the facts that she and a private investigator reenact when they visit the crime scene turn out to be a critical clue? Well, it seems that they forget what they discussed in an alley. Do the references and inclusion of characters and events from the first book add anything to this story? In my opinion, no. I think he is a very capable writer but none of his three books has lived up to his abilities. If he ever puts everything together, he could rise to the top of the heap.

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!

David Ellis has a well-deserved reputation for writing innovative legal thrillers with rich, inventive plots. In Jury of One he has created an exceptional story featuring the difficulties that defense attorneys face in representing their clients.

I recommend that you NOT read the jacket copy. It gives away a little too much of the plot. Also be careful of what reviews you read, some are bound to give spoilers that will reduce your pleasure in this marvelous story.

Shelly Trotter is a heroine who will attract you. She is an advocate for children who are about to be bounced from the public schools. She tries to get them another chance . . . a chance that will help keep them off the streets. One of her clients is arrested and charged with murdering a police officer. While attempting to defend him, she's drawn into trying to find an experienced defense attorney to handle this capital case. When no one will take on her client, she reluctantly does. In the case, she finds herself challenged to the limits of her strength and talents.

The book is organized around an opening episode that reveals part of the events that led up to the police officer's death. You are then placed in the role of trying to find out what really happened. At the same time, there are flashbacks into Ms. Trotter's life that give you more perspective on who she is and why she does what she does. Both narratives are full of fascinating twists and turns that are hard to totally anticipate. So the suspense is quite interesting.

The book's main weakness is that you will feel like it is very predictable in the first 200 pages. Then, the story takes off on you to places you hadn't expected. I graded the book down one star for that "ho-hum" beginning.