Conviction, by Jack Jordan {Book Review} ⋆ An Ordinary Gal

Hands up if you feel like 2023 was all about being tested??? It was rough!! I’m happy to see the back end of 2023. Let’s hope 2024 is going to be softer….a kinder year to us all. Okay, now for the reason for this post…. It’s been a minute since I’ve done a book review, but Conviction is the first physical book I’ve read in a while, so I thought I’d celebrate the end of my reading slump by doing an actual book review.

Conviction, the blurb

Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept before burning the family home to the ground.

When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could be the career making case she’s been waiting for. But only if she can prove Wade’s innocence.

A matter of days before the case, as Neve is travelling home for the night, she is approached by a man. He tells her she must lose this case or the secret about her own husband’s disappearance will be revealed.

Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about until she follows orders.

Neve must make a choice – betray every principle she has ever had by putting a potentially innocent man in prison, or risk putting those she loves in mortal danger.

My Thoughts

I had previously read Do No Harm, by Jack Jordan and I did not love it…. I think the theme is similar here, except this is a legal thriller and the other was medical. So I was a bit apprehensive….

Neve is handed the case of a lifetime and then she is approached to throw the case, or else her deepest darkest secret will be revealed….and that’s kind of where the book takes off from. There’s a bad guy who knows Neve’s every move, and she’s left wondering how the diggins she’s going to get out of this mess!

What I loved about this legal thriller, is that it was not ‘legal-terminology’ heavy and also there’s a fun narrating style at times. The plot was well thought out and I enjoyed the format that told the story over a few days. The dive into her relationships with her friends and family was also well done, where it wasn’t too deep, but enough to get a sense of the character and their connection. Besides Neve’s secrets, what about Wade, the accused? I went back and forth about him so many times!

There was tension, suspense, danger, breath holding, shock….everything I want in a thriller. I absolutely loved it!