Thoughts To Ponder
ABOUT THE BOOK
Earl Thomas, a straight-laced taxman with his fair share of police encounters, is the begrudging foreperson in a high-stakes trial in Miami. Laura Hurtado-Perez is a physician whose unassuming manner conceals a private pain. Joseph Cole is the founder of his local neighborhood watch, unduly obsessed with the families around him.
Along with four others, these jurors of varying ages and walks of life whose paths would likely never have otherwise crossed must come together to make one of the most important decisions of their lives.
On the night Melina Mora, a free-spirited woman both proud and kind, was murdered, she was seen with a young man of Gabriel Soto’s description. Two strands of her hair were found in his bedroom. Sandy Grunwald, a young prosecutor whose political ambitions depend on securing a conviction, finds herself pitted against Jordan Whipple, a preening public defender armed with a freshly discovered, dynamite piece of evidence on the eve of the trial—if the Honorable Darla Tackett will admit it.
What Sandy, Jordan, and Judge Tackett all know, however, is that the criminal justice system is complicated, and everyone has a story—especially the jury. And it’s their experiences, biases, and beliefs that will ultimately shape the verdict.
With striking originality and expert storytelling, Robin Peguero’s debut novel explores the prejudice that hangs over every trial in America. You’ve never read a legal thriller quite like this. There’s never been a thriller writer quite like Peguero. And you will not be able to predict how it all ends.
- Publisher : Grand Central Publishing
- Publication date : May 17, 2022
- Print length : 320 pages
My Thoughts
Legal and medical thrillers tend to gravitate to the top of my favorite books. So I was extremely excited to receive With Prejudice from Grand Central Publishing.
The courtroom drama revolves around a young woman who was brutally raped and murdered. She was last seen with a man believed to be the defendant, Gabriel Soto, and two strands of her hair were found in Soto’s bedroom.
But I jump ahead of myself. The book opens with jurors in a room discussing a case. If you’re like me and don’t usually read a book’s synopsis, you might be a bit lost, since you don’t have any leadup to what’s going on.
We then move to the prosecutor, who is sharing information with an intern regarding choosing jurors. She didn’t hesitate to inform the intern that, “The jury is a crew of misfits.” She went on to state that both sides strive for jurors who don’t say anything important or intelligent, and aren’t informed, or opinionated. Okay, some of that seems pretty depressing.
Later the prosecutor meets the lead detective at the defendant’s home so she can “totally” reenact what probably happened to the dead woman. The detective will play the part of the defendant and she will play the woman who is raped and murdered. She believes this will help her understand what happened and do a better job as a prosecutor. Afterward, the two end up having sex. As the detective is leaving he asks if he can kiss her. Huh? She says no. Goodness, I’m beginning to see that everyone in a courtroom is coming with baggage. But this thought was presented too quickly and I hadn’t had time to know her enough to really care.
We slowly and in a mixed-up fashion learn that each character has baggage that affects their thoughts.
My Concerns
I started out feeling like the pieces of this and that would soon tie together, but I kept struggling to make it happen. Without a story that flowed coherently and character development, it felt more like a clinical view of people and the courtroom.
Though I thoroughly enjoy bantering in the courtroom, these scenes were far too long. And really felt more like transcripts.
I’m a reader who sits down and reads in spurts. In doing this I found the choppy prose and reference to so many characters, jurors sometimes identified as juror and then a number, or sometimes by name, only made it harder to keep them sorted out.
Final Thoughts
This review probably feels pretty negative, but Robin Peguero’s debut novel has a very interesting message, it also has the signs of a good book. After all, when the author is a lawyer, it’s bound to be more authentic. This one just didn’t fit together in an enjoyable, easy-to-read, story.
Would I read Peguero’s next novel? You bet.
Should you read this book? We are all unique and have different backgrounds that we not only bring to a courtroom, but to reading and enjoying books. My concerns may not even be noticeable to you.
You decide.
My thanks to Grand Central Publishing for a copy of the book and the ability to post my thoughts without stipulations.
Rating
About the Author
Robin Peguero spent seven years storytelling to juries for a living, most recently as a homicide prosecutor in Miami. An Afro-Latino and the son of immigrants, he graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School. He has written for the Miami Herald, the Harvard Crimson, and the Harvard Law Review, and he served as a press spokesman in the U.S. House and as a speechwriter in the U.S. Senate before becoming a lawyer. He is currently a U.S. House investigative counsel working on domestic terrorism.
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