"The Holdout"

Could you make the decision to put an innocent man away forever?

The Holdout by Graham Moore is a legal thriller that follows the jury members in a controversial trial and again ten years later when one of them is found murdered. The main character Maya Seale is the one juror who changed the outcome of the trial that may be the cause of the other juror member's death.

This book not only is a compelling and fast-paced novel but it also focuses on race issues and social class issues especially in large cities like L.A. where it is set.

“No verdict ever changed a person's opinion.”

I found this book to be very well written with a good range of diverse characters who have different perspectives of the trial and what comes after. When reading it I found myself wanting a bit more from certain characters and a bit less from others.

The plot was in a sense a bit predictable but the ending was a bit of a surprise. I also feel like the ending was a bit of a cop-out because it could have had such a cooler ending to the story. But other than that, I enjoyed this one quite a bit and I will recommend it to others.

I gave this 4/5 stars.