Customer Reviews

A Jury of Her Peers

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"A Jury of Her Peers" is a mediocre legal thriller about a dedicated public defender named Sybylla Muldoon. Sybylla devotes her life to helping her indigent clients, even though she receives very little appreciation for her efforts. While defending a homeless client who has slashed and maimed a nine-year-old girl, Sybylla learns of a nefarious right-wing plot to undermine the jury system. While investigating this plot, Sybylla places her life in jeopardy and she uncovers some horrible secrets concerning her parents. Does this sound impossibly complicated and far-fetched? Well, it is. Although the author gets credit for creating Sybylla, who is an attractive and witty individual, the mystery gets more and more preposterous as the book wears on. Ultimately, the sometimes witty dialogue and the compelling courtroom scenes do not make up for the weak and implausible story.

This book wasn't a yawner, but it wasn't a page turner. Sorely unrealistic, this book was good for bed time reading as it woud not keep you awake. On the good side, there were no slopy ends that were just tied up to end the book. If you are looking for a nice book this will work.

I thought this book was excellent. It gives a new meaning to jury selection. It is a book that kept one surprised.

It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Highly original, it would make a smashing film. I look forward to Korelitz's next book

Jury of Her Peers kept me up all night. I just couldn't (or wouldn't) put it down

A Jury of Her Peers is a compelling first novel from a first-rate mystery writer. The pages in this book practically turn themselves, and the story will keep you guessing until the very end. A young liberal attorney in New York City uncovers a diabololical scheme that goes way beyond the typical definition of jury-rigging. In defending a homeless man accused of stabbing a young girl, she tries to understand what led to his violent attack. What she discovers is nothing short of horrifying -- a tale of corruption and power that shakes the very foundations of the legal and political systems. As she struggles to reach the truth, she must use all of her wits to stay alive. Korelif writes with a flair for wit and cynicism, pacing her story with enough action and intellect to satisfy serious mystery fans. Like Scott Turow and John Grisham, she knows her way around the legal system, and she weaves in a tight plot that fits like clockwork. Quite an impressive debut.

While I like Admission and the White Rose, I found A Jury of Her Peers pedantically long and tiresome. I just want the book finished when I was a third through it. The whole book felt like she just wants to teach you something about the law through her story, which is extremely tiring. Thank goodness it's her earlier books and thus that means she's gotten better with the white rose and admission.

I liked the lead character. She was protrayed as brilliant and compassionate and devoted to fairness in the law. However, after building her up to be this kind of person, the author then allowed her to make some exceedingly foolish moves, such as keeping key evidence (that could get her killed) in her purse while she went alone and unarmed into a dangerous situation with the villains. Also, for a supposedly brilliant person, she was very quick to dismiss the statements made by her client as insane ravings instead of investigating, even though she had evidence that something was amiss. I found the premise of implanting a drug into people to turn them into jury zombies to be highly improbable. The quality of the writing was excellent and the dialogue was witty. However, I quickly figured out the plot and I actually felt frustrated at times when the characters just didn't react to obvious clues and danger. Didn't keep me awake and in places I even found it a bit preachy about the jury system.