Patterson's writing is gripping and suspenseful, with intricate plot twists and well-developed characters that keep the reader engaged throughout. The novel also features extensive research into the legal and forensic aspects of the case, adding a sense of authenticity to the story. "Trial" is a compelling and thought-provoking legal thriller that will appeal to fans of the genre, as well as readers interested in issues of justice and morality.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Richard North Patterson is back! It's been years since the name even came across my radar and I didn't realise how long it had been since he had written a novel. In the acknowledgements, he tells us he has been writing more political articles and essays and this book is plucked straight from the headlines.

Malcolm is a young person of colour growing up in Georgia, the son of a prominent women who is head of a voter registration project. On his way back home, Malcolm is pulled over by a white police officer and in the ensuing altercation, the officer is accidentally killed by a gun recently purchased by Malcolm.

Even though the book is called Trial, the actually court action doesn't take place until about two thirds of the way through the book. Whilst the book is long, it never drags and skillfully takes us through how Malcolm and his mother Allie, came to be involved in the project and how difficult life is for them in the state of Georgia.

Whilst it did get a little overly-sentimental at times, it was such an important story told with great skill and suspense and the court scenes were as good as any I have ever read.

Massive thanks to Netgalley and Post Hill Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Richard North Patterson has expertly crafted a novel of our current times. A reader may not agree with all of his viewpoints but I could not resist being drug deeper and deeper into this intense story of perception and beliefs, love and hatred, fairness and bias, justice and revenge. Seeing two people from seemingly separate cultures and backgrounds mesh into truly well-intentioned people living for their passions and believing in what was most important was an awesome experience.

Thanks to NetGalley and Post Hill Press for the opportunity to read this stunning ARC.

What can I say about this novel that is not a superlative. It is one of those books that will remain with me over the next few days as I ponder some of the extremely serious themes discussed.
Firstly let me say I am reading “Trial” as a Brit who has visited the US many times and enjoyed many things this wonderful country has to offer. However scratch beneath the surface and there are many ideas that are difficult to understand. This book covers some of them and it makes for uncomfortable reading. The ease of which an 18 year old can purchase and carry a gun is one. The fact that an advanced modern democracy can still have the death penalty as a punishment and finally the attitude to race which has come so much to the fore over the last few years due to the political situation.
However above all this is a well written and researched compelling read with believable characters. This author certainly knows how to tell a good story!
When Malcom Hill, son of Allie Hill, a black voter rights activist, is stopped late at night on a dark road near his home in Georgia by a policeman, little does he know that his life will change for ever and he will end up accused of a heinous crime.
There is also a compelling love story which begins in the hallowed halls of Harvard where 21 year old Allie and Chase Brevard meet. Chase is a privileged, rich and white, a future lawyer and Congressman He comes from a completely different world from Allie who is black and has grown up in a small town in rural Georgia but they discover they have a connection.
Eighteen years later they come together again when Malcolm is in prison with little hope, accused of something he claims he didn’t do.
A lot of the book is about the trial and it is indeed an extremely well written legal drama by someone who knows exactly what he is talking about. It is also the story of an enduring romance and I must admit it did bring a tear to my eye in places. The characters were so well described that they were almost real for me and the heartbreak they suffered was awful.
This is not an easy read due to its content and it is also political in that it is critical of American society today. The issue of race is a main part of the plot and features heavily in the trial. As a white English woman I found it hard to understand the attitudes of some of the right wing racists who are portrayed in this story.
This is a long book but I read it very quickly as I was so involved with the characters and the outcome of the trial.
I could describe “The Trial” as the To Kill A Mockingbird of the 21st Century. This was one of my favourite teenage books and I have reread it and recently seen the stage play. Sadly my conclusion is that many things have not changed since Harper Lee wrote the original and North Patterson’s wonderful book simply emphasises this. “The Trial” is definitely a must read for 2023 and deserves every one of the five stars I am giving it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Permuted Press for my arc.

Ripped from the headlines without feeling trite, this is a masterful examination of contemporary America (at least it seems so for a Brit) while also being a gripping legal thriller. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Richard North Patterson is back. Thank God. After nine years spent column writing and commentating on politics, he is back with a piece of fiction that is destined to become a modern classic, Trial. RNP was writing "Grishamesque" before John Grisham ever thought about publishing and this book is his finest effort. Deeply researched, the novel explores the relationship between a young, white, wealthy politician and a young, Black voting-rights activist, from their days at Harvard to a tumultuous murder trial two decades later in Georgia. Without presenting spoilers, this searing story is ripped from the headlines of today's papers and will keep you turning pages well into the night. Patterson interviewed hundreds of residents and judicial experts throughout the Deep South to maintain accuracy throughout the novel. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I felt extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to read it. Did I mention that it's going to be a classic?

Kudos Richard North Patterson for a totally engrossing, thought-provoking, and ripped-from-the-headlines book! This is a richly woven story of a young black voting rights advocate, Malcolm Hill, accused of killing a white policeman on a dark, country road in rural Georgia. Malcolm is the son of Allie Hill, a single mother and a leader in voting rights advocacy. A Congressman from Massachusetts, Chase Brevard, gets involved in the case due to something in his history and tries to help Malcolm as he awaits trial.

The courtroom drama is dramatic. Race relations are front and center, as are voting rights, white nationalism, and the current issue of police discrimination. This is a heartbreaking story and unfortunately draws from too much truth. The book kept me turning the pages long into the night - I couldn't put it down. I have to admit it made me truly angry at how people treat others who are different from themselves. I've never understood how this can happen - and yet it happens all the time. I highly recommend this book!

Thanks to Permuted Press, Post Hill Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on June 13, 2023.

On a country road at night, an 18 year old Black man shoots a white sheriff's deputy. As news breaks, the country finds out the shooter is Malcolm Hill, the son of prominent voting rights advocate Allie Hill. With Malcom arrested for murder and calls for the death penalty coming from the populace, national attention is on the case. Chase Brevard is a Congressman from Massachusetts who takes an interest in the case, endangering his potential future political career to help Malcolm fight for his innocence. The book details the next year of these characters lives as they feal with the fallout from the shooting and Chase learns about the community where it takes place, culminating in a nationally televised trial.

Richard North Patterson grapples with the biggest issues of race and its intersection with the criminal legal system in this novel. The characters have some of the same conversations that many have had to have over the last few years, and he does a great job showing he has done research in this area and knows what he is talking about. I was astonished by the level of detail, and Patterson details all of the various groups he interviewed around Georgia and the country to make his characters come alive and create a realistic fictional Cade County.

This book is an excellent distillation of issues about voter suppression, white nationalism, discriminatory law enforcement, and the legal system's intersection with race. It helps that Patterson also wrote a thrilling book with a compelling central throughline. For as long as the book is and as wide-ranging as the topics it covers, it moves at such a fast pace. All of Patterson's characters are deeply drawn and complex, making you care or know about all of the actors involved in the case before he finally gets to the titular trial in the final act. Then the trial itself is masterful. Patterson's experience as a lawyer makes the examinations come alive with some thrilling lines of questioning. By taking the process step by step from the crime on page one to the trial in the final section, Patterson has done an amazing job of showing readers how dehumanizing and complex the legal system can be. I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who is even remotely interested in the legal fiction genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Permuted Press for a copy of Trial in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fast paced story that really makes you think. The main characters were well developed and very relatable.

I really enjoyed this story, the authors bias not so much.

Thank you Me. Patterson, Permuted Press, Post Hill Press. And #Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. #Trial

A Black eighteen-year-old voting rights worker, Malcolm Hill, is stopped by a white sheriff’s deputy on a dark country road in rural Georgia. His single mother, Allie, America’s leading voting rights advocate, restlessly awaits his return before police inform her that Malcolm has been arrested for murder. In Washington D.C., the rising, young, white congressman Chase Brevard of Massachusetts is watching the morning news with his girlfriend, only to find his life transformed in a single moment by the appearance of Malcolm’s photograph. Suddenly all three are enveloped in a media firestorm that threatens their lives—especially Malcolm’s.

Absolutely brilliant, I was totally obsessed with this story. Racism, revenge, love, heartbreak are all strong themes of this book and of course bring out a lot of emotion in the human spirit , it also demonstrates how strong we can be when facing adversity. This story is so real and well portrayed, the characters so well developed, I could not put this down think this may have been my favourite book so far this year. Highly recommended, 5 stars. Thank you to Negalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book.

My first reaction is “wow!” While I have RN Patterson’s columns in recent years, I had forgotten how much I missed his narrative voice in fiction. This story is grounded in our factious times. It is elegantly drawn and exquisitely told. Some will find fault with the bent of his narrative. For me, it is a clarion call to all of us to wake up to the. Halle goes of racism, voting rights and the dangers our democracy faces in our times.

A great read and I dare say, an important one!

One of the best books I have read in a long time. I read somewhere this book is a modern To Kill a Mockingbird and it isn't far off. This book starts with two unlikely lovers at Harvard and their bond and subsequent moving away from each other but still being in love. Allie goes back South and works on voting rights reform and making sure all citizens vote. This makes her a target of those on the other side of the political spectrum. Chase goes on the win a seat in the House of Representatives and lives his life in Massachusetts. Then something awful draws them back together. A wonderful book and I don't want to spoil any of the story. I hope to read more from the author in the future.

Talk about ripped from the headlines!
Trial, the latest book from Richard North Patterson puts the reader right in the middle of the political/social climate in Georgia. The basic story regards a trial of a young African American man accused of murdering a white deputy. The overall story covers racism, voting rights , and the responsibility and mission people chose to try to make things right.
In another reality some of the situations described in the book seems over the top … unfortunately many of these scenarios are played out in the evening news each night.
There are twists and turns in this book that also makes it a well written legal drama.
Thanks to net galley for making this book available in exchange for an honest review.

A masterful novel written by a master of his art. It is topical and fascinating as it covers institutional racism at its worst politics and behind the scenes manoeuvring for power a trial scene and a good old fashioned tale of thwarted love.

All combine for an intoxicating mix and a page turner that gripped me from the beginning.

Highly recommended.

Richard North Patterson is a genius at storytelling. This is one of those books that you're going to feel compelled to read straight through without stopping since the story unwinds so adeptly.
Two different worlds collide when two lovely people meet while students at Harvard. They fall in love but both faintly realize that love alone is not enough in their case; they both feel a strong sense of obligation towards making the world a better place and they both graduate and go on to do just that.
This is a very timely story about truth, race, fear, and the ugliness that prevails when there are inequities in power. It examines police culture and white privilege and how both can be used positively and negatively. It's a great story--in fact a love story. But it will also give you plenty to think about and an opportunity to walk in someone else's shoes.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book and even more gratitude to Patterson for writing this book.