Maya Seale is an amazing lawyer - she is intuitive, quick-thinking, and incredibly smart. Her skills are what puts her near the top of the law firm she works for. But the return of her past threatens to bring everything she's worked for to a screeching halt. Ten years ago, Maya was the lone juror who thought English teacher Bobby Nocks was innocent of the charge of murdering a teenage girl. As the "holdout", she managed to convince the rest of the jury (some willingly, some begrudgingly) to agree with her. Now, as the anniversary approaches, Maya finds herself the one convicted of murdering one of her fellow former jurors. In order to prove her innocence, Maya will need to discover what really happened to that young girl ten years ago...

Thoughts:(I was going to say, "Verdict:" but thought that was be too cliche, HAHA!) Moore sure likes to take readers on quite a twisty-turny ride! Not only do we get to know Maya as the lead character, but little secrets start spilling out about all of her fellow jurors, leaving you to wonder who is really to blame for the death Maya is being charged for. And also will have readers wondering if anyone is really innocent in this world. The Scales of Justice are meant to weigh the needs of the many against the needs of the individual -- but whose needs prevail, and who gets to decide? Moore's The Holdout takes the notion of a "jury of your peers" to a whole new level. I would happily recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good crime/mystery!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.**

loved this roller coaster of a read. members of a jury seem to be all in favour, yet one person manages to sway them all to her side. 10 years later, they reunite to discuss their verdict, and find all their lives have changed. this would adapt greatly to film or television.

As always, thank you to Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of The Holdout.

Everyone loves a 10 year reuinion, unless it's the reminder of the time you led a jury into acquitting a potential murderer in a nationally known case. 10 years before the story begins, Maya the holdout on a jury that did just that. Slowly after the months long trial, one by one, she convinced her fellow jurors to join her side.

Ten years later, her fellow juror Rick contacts a production company stating that he had proof that Bobby Nock killed Jessica Sterling. The jurors all agree to a reunion, where Rick will hare his newly found evidence. Once gathered, Rick ends up dead, and all signs point directly to Maya. Innocent, she now needs to figure out who had motive to kill rick before she has it pinned on her by the police!

This book kept me on my toes! I really enjoyed the way the story was written. Not only did we go back and forth from the present to the time of the trial, but we also were able to understand each of the jurors reasonings for their beliefs and the lives they led during the trial.

The Holdout kept me engaged and I stayed up many nights just trying to read a few more pages. I'm just sad I waited so long to read it! I'd definitely recommend it to friends and would be delighted to pick up another book from Graham Moore.

This was a great legal thriller, it had all of the elements that you'd expect for a book in this category. Graham Moore is a master-storyteller and he proves it once more with this book. If you're a fan of John Grisham or Scott Turow, this book must be on your TBR.

I was looking forward to reading, but I just couldn't get engaged in the story. Very disappointing....

Have you ever served jury duty? Did you walk away confident you made the right decision...no second thoughts? What if your decision put a killer back on the streets? Equally disturbing, what if your choice sent an innocent person to prison! Could you live with that guilt? Just cast it aside like a bad dream and move on with your life?

Ten years have passed since Maya sat for a well publicized murder trial. She was able deliver a convincing argument, swaying the jury in her direction. Now a fellow juror approaches her revealing new information regarding the trial.

All but one of the jurors are reuniting, spending the night in the hotel where they were sequestered all those years ago. The following morning there would be one less juror at the breakfast table.

Now Maya finds herself in quite a pickle, realizing she may find herself facing a jury of her own.

I’ve always been a big fan of legal thrillers and this one had it all. Explosive courtroom and jury drama supported by a well-crafted back story.

I toggled back and forth between written and audio version, depending on where I was. The narrator did a fantastic job bringing both the characters and the story-line to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC to read and review.

A bit of a legal thriller. The story moves quickly with a little bit of twist here and there. It was quite enjoyable

I loved this book. I was so excited to read it and it did not disappoint, Lots of unexpected twists and turns, I really had no idea where the story was headed. The end totally caught me off guard and left me thinking for a few days. Great novel that takes a different look at the juror process.

The Holdout by Graham Moore references Agatha Christie's work including Murder on the Orient Express. While this book does not go quite in that direction, it does have the same flavor of lots of lots of secrets and layers. Beyond the story, the book is a cynical commentary on the legal system, the jury trial, and the role of truth in a courtroom. The story and the implicit commentary both make this a memorable read.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/01/the-holdout.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

This book follows the story of a court case that is all the talk of the area. It tells the inside story from the jurors, and follows both the case, and the aftermath years later. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be involved in a case like this.. the jurors put their life on hold for 4 months. When the deliberation starts, the vote is 11-1, with one hold out.

This was a very entertaining read for sure!

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I LOVE a good courtroom drama - both in television and in my books - and I will say that the Holdout definitely met my expectations. I read a lot of thriller novels, always wondering when I'll find the next book that actually keeps me on my toes, unable to guess the ending, and I was not disappointed with this book. It was a quick read once I picked it up, and we get to the murder mystery pretty quickly rather than dragging it out until 40%-50% of the book which I appreciated. I don't mind a slow build up, but when it comes to thrillers (especially legal thrillers) I tend to lean more toward something fast paced.

I definitely plan to check out more of this authors work now!

A quick read, expertly told and expertly paced. Entertaining without feeling trivial. The characterizations and dialogue are very well done, and the plot keeps one turning the pages!

RATING: 4 STARS
2020; Random House Publishing Group - Random House

If you are a fan of Twelve Angry Men, this is the book for you. The Holdout is an engaging and interesting read. It looks at the fallout when one jury member sways the rest to see the case from her point of view. When they come out of being sequestered they learn some things that causes some jurors to change their mind to their original decision. One of them makes it his life crusade to rectify the wrong. The holdout juror goes on to become a defence lawyer who hasn't wavered from her original decision. When the crusader is murdered in the defence lawyer's room suddenly everything is doubt. I liked that Moore took a look at the racial aspect of the case, and white privilege. It was timely, and added an other dimension to the novel. This is a standalone novel set in contemporary LA, California.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I was able to read this book thanks to NetGalley. I absolutely loved this suspenseful thriller. It kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. The writing was fantastic and I was invested in the characters. Thanks again to NetGalley.

The premise and setup are all excellent. However, by about halfway through the book, I was only finishing it to try and figure out what the advanced copy reader had seen in it. There was nothing thrilling about it. The stakes felt so low as to be negligible. And the "twist" at the end was lackluster.

I really wanted to like this book, but by the end I was just disappointed.

This book reminded me of those old 1950’s courtroom movies with the juries deliberating, 12 Angry men for one and there were others. Here you have a case where everyone thinks that Bobby Nock an African American school teacher is accused of killing a wealthy white student because DNA was found in his car. They have no body though and he is acquitted. Really you have one juror out of twelve who got the other eleven to go with her. The other eleven though still think he is guilty though.
Now 10 years later and the anniversary of that decision is coming up. Maya Seale who has secrets herself and was the juror to talk to everyone into voting the way they did is one of the best defense attorneys in the city now. Not wanting to be part of the anniversary show she is forced because of an act she did during the trial. She goes partially because of her boss, but also because of Rick one of the jurors she was with and him saying that he has new information. He is holding what the two of them did during the trial over her head so she goes to the meeting. The story takes a turn when she arrives at her room to find Rick in a pool of blood. Now it is up to her to prove her innocence.
A very good book that will make you the reader think. You have many different characters and you go back also to the previous trail, what if anything did Rick have? So many questions. A very good book, and so worth the time to read.

If you ever want reassurance justifying your desperate desire to get out of jury duty, then this is the thrilling, disturbing, and fascinating cautionary tale for you.

Why yes, I did stay up all night reading this. I have no regrets.

The Holdout is a deeply satisfying, exceptionally compelling legal thriller, and the best I’ve encountered in the subgenre in a very long time.

This is one of the most unique legal thrillers I’ve had the pleasure of reading, and also boasts a terrific protagonist and supporting cast. It’s also terrifically complex yet compulsively readable, two things not often seen together in the subgenre.

Moore has written one hell of a story, complete with enthralling legal complexities, harrowing suspense, and a terrific And Then There Were None-esque whodunnit amongst the jurors around whom the novel revolves.

Just don’t make any plans immediately after you start this one. I guarantee you’ll be cancelling so you can stay home and keep reading all the way through the end.

Great murder mystery that jumps between the past and present and kept me turning pages and trying to guess what really happened.

The Holdout flips the Twelve Angry Men trope on its head. We get diversity in this jury. We get unintended consequences. We get a cat and mouse investigation where blame for one of the original juror's murder is cast on another. This juror won't allow that to rest, after all, she's now a defense attorney herself. This stunning tale of blame, innocence, and the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is gripping. I couldn't put it down.

The Holdout by Graham Moore is a modern take on 12 Angry Men. For months in 2009, 12 Los Angelenos had the difficult task to decide the fate of Bobby Nock. Bobby Nock was accused of killing his student Jessica Silver, the daughter of a local billionaire. One juror, Maya Seale, did not believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Bobby did it and convinced all of the others to vote not guilty. Now ten years later a famous murder podcast is doing a documentary on the trial and gets almost all of the jurors to meet and talk. Before the show can be shot the most vocal juror, Rick Leonard, is found dead in Maya's hotel room.

In order to find out who killed Rick they need to find out what happened during the original trial and after. Rick claimed that he had proof that Bobby killed Jessica, so did Bobby kill him? Rick had been doing research on everyone involved in the trial so did one of the other jurors kill him?

I will say as a lover of 12 Angry Men that I really enjoyed this novel and couldn't stop reading it. It is structured to bounce back and forth between now and then and each then chapter is from the point of view of a different juror so you learn new things that you might not if the entire book was from Maya's point of view. I would definitely recommend this book to any fiction reader.