Hannah lives with her mother Laura. Laura has a secret she is desperate to keep, but Hannah just wants to uncover the past. Hannah found a diary that her mother kept as a teenager and gains some insight into her father’s murder. She believes she know who the killer is and is prepared to take them down. Will she succeed?

I could not put this one down. It felt like a rollercoaster ride at times. Dervla McTiernan takes you on a twisty journey until finally the truth is revealed. This was a very fast paced and puzzling story that I was dying to solve. Any book involving a court case seems to draw me in and this was no different. I really enjoyed THE MURDER RULE!

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

The Murder Rule is a twisting tale of deceit and deception wrapped in a unique legal thriller.

This book ended with an absolute flurry of action and intrigue. It was a slow burn until the final stretch and big reveals. Certainly an enjoyable read, but really took until around the three quarter mark to REALLY get going and capture my attention. Once that happened, I finished in a single sitting.

McTiernan has a unique and impressive writing style that I'll always enjoy reading and I look forward to the next book.

I loved this book. It is mostly the story of a young woman who is determined to prove the guilt of a man who the Innocence project is working to save. She is working with them and in the course of investigating, lots of truths about her life and her relationship come to light. Very well written and very interesting

3.5 stars. Hannah weasels her way onto the Innocence Project in an attempt to derail a case to keep the man she believes to have killed her father behind bars.

This legal thriller hooked me immediately. The first half of the book alternates chapters from Hannah's 2019 perspective to her mother's diary entries from 1994. While Hannah isn't very likeable, I appreciated learning about her motivations and was engaged as she does whatever she can to reveal the truth.

The last quarter of the book was a bit of a let down as you really had to suspend belief for the scenarios that unfolded. The wild scenes felt highly unlikely and I wish we learned more about the defendant to care more about the outcome of his case.

Overall it's a popcorn thrill that I think many will enjoy if you don't look too closely at the details.

Thank you William Morrow for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Nostalgic for the first 5 or 6 Grisham Books?

Thank me later.

Well I mean thank me for the rec
Thank Dervla McTiernan for the book.

And the narration? Spot. On

Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this title prior to publication.
I have read everything written by McTiernan, and I trust her skill in writing a captivating tale. This new stand-alone legal thriller is much different from her straight mystery series, and once I started reading it this morning I could not put it down, reading the entire book in one day. Hannah, a law student in Maine, travels to Virginia to be a part of the Innocence Project because of something written in her mother's diary related to an ongoing case. Hannah is not likeable during much of the book - she is ruthless and won't let anyone beyond her emotional borders. The tale is told with alternating chapters from the diary, and the pages seem to turn faster and faster the deeper you get into this book. It was a fun ride, a solid 4-star read for me, and I will eagerly await any other tales McTiernan wants to tell.

Law schools across the nation have different academic statuses. Maine has very good schools but they pale to those in Virginia. Hannah Rokeby needs to fill her experience basket and applies for a position with “The Innocence Project” and Professor Robert Parekh. Although the positions have been filled, she is able to coerce the good professor with knowledge of events he would like to keep quiet.

Eight hundred clients were clamoring for assistance from The Innocence Project. One of the cases was “The Dandridge Case.” Dandridge had been found guilty of rape and murder and received a thirteen years to a life sentence. His case was coming up for appeal the following week. Hannah wanted to be involved but another of the volunteers had been selected. Hannah devised a way to get her to quit the project.

Dervla writes a compelling tome into the life of a third-year law student. There are many hours spent reviewing the case as originally tried looking for loopholes.

After tricking the other member of a three-person review team into leaving for a job interview, she is put on the review team. She immediately starts investigating the entire case. Circumstances proceed and show that the investigation and discovery techniques leave a lot to be desired. Can the team prove that Dandridge had been unfairly tried and convicted?

Enjoy this book as you find that becoming a lawyer is not an easy task and one’s personal life can get in the way of hours of investigation. 4.5 stars - CE Williams

The Murder Rule, not only is this a mysterious and exciting title but it definitely peaked my interest at what could be held inside.

Also, look at this cover..... it screams, "READ ME", and I am so happy I did.

The Murder Rule, has instantly become one of my favorite books thus far. This book is perfectly narrated and the character development was on point. The twists and turns throughout the entire book kept me engaged and begging for more. I read this book in one evening. I could not get enough!!!!! I was up way past my bedtime (well worth it!!)

I wont lie, I also checked under my bed before talking myself into falling asleep.

Yes, it was that good.

Dervla McTiernan is a literary genius.

I am completely hooked on this writing style and I will anxiously await the release of her next novel.

I dont want to give away any spoilers, all I can tell you is that you need to pre-order this book. This is without a doubt a 5 star book that will leave your jaw on the floor and your mind in limbo trying to get around the "what just happened" feeling.

THE MURDER RULE
by Dervla McTiernan
William Morrow
Pub Date: May 10

Twists and turns galore will keep you pinned to the page of THE MURDER RULE, in which a law student -- seeking to revenge her mother -- gets involved in an Innocence Project. Only she wants the convicted man to stay behind bars after reading her mother's diary. Fast-paced and unpredictable, I could not put this one down!

Thanks to the author, William Morrow, and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are mine.

#TheMurderRule #DervlaMcTiernan #WilliamMorrow #NetGalley

Working in the legal field love the legal thrillers. This book was a great read! Hannah and her mother are very close. Laura. Hannah's mother, has a dark past and she has been hiding it from her daughter for many years; Hannah find her mother's old diary and has revealed some of those secrets and longs to right some wrongs from her mother's past. So one day Hannah decides after reading and article about a man on death row who was wrongly convicted, that she can make a difference.

Hannah takes a road trip and poses as a ideal law student so that she is able to work with the innocence project and this man on death row. While everyone there thinks she is working to help this man, she is really there to do the exact opposite. What really happens as she gets involved and digs deeper. Is she able to right those wrongs? Does she succeed in keeping him in prison on death row? OR will she help free him on a wrongful conviction after all? This book was full of twists and turns. I really enjoyed the storyline and the author did a fantastic job of keeping us guessing. This book will be released on May 10, 2022. Thank you to #HarperCollins #TheMurderRule #NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

For some reason, I've suddenly become enthralled with court case thrillers and this one is no different. While we don't spend a lot of time within the courtroom itself, we are entangled in twists and turns.

The summary of this book doesn't give too much away and I'd like to leave it that way. I will say that if you want a novel that gives you a look within the justice system, law school student drama, and a dash of murder and twists thrown in, this is the book for you.

It was a little slow to get into, but at about the 30% mark, I started wanting to pick the book up more and more, finally finishing it in less than 24 hours. Parts seemed a little far fetched to me, but overall it was an enjoyable read.

The main character, Hannah, leaves Uni in Maine to join The Innocence Project in Virginia. This program uses law students to review death or life sentences and look for evidence that might exonerate the prisoner. They are currently working the case of a man sentenced to life for rape and murder. Hannah uses lying to get one member of the team kicked off so she can take her place. Her reasons for this are revealed slowly, but the book is far-fetched. Too much trust is placed on third-year law students to be believable. Just a less than average read.

An incredible page turner, suspenseful, intelligent and characters you truly get to know even though it's a quick read. It was almost if Legally Blonde had more to be revengeful of and was a thriller, this would be it. You will be at the edge of your seat and fully invested, the end is satisfying while still wanting more from these characters.

In her first standalone novel available in the U.S., master of the twist McTiernan takes us on a ride through an Innocence Project—where someone wants to KEEP the convicted in prison—enough to send the reader down the proverbial rabbit hole of grey areas ethically and morally from the very first pages. It challenges the reader to ask “how far would you go to make your family feel vindicated?” However, this is more than a straightforward “justice” thriller. Be prepared to have to keep going until the last page once you start “Murder Rule.”

Full review closer to publication date!

I'd like to thank the publisher, William Morrow and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of McTiernan's Cormac Reilly books, and I always enjoy her crisp writing, great pacing, and interesting characters. With this standalone, I found myself disengaging from the characters and narrative as the story went along, but I think much of that could be chalked up to my general ambivalence about legal thrillers (plus, I missed the Irish setting). Ultimately, not my favorite of McTiernan's works, but still well worth a read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

This book is full of tension and unexpected twists. Working on an Innocence Project does not turn out as expected. Who is lying and who is telling the truth? Is the local sheriff to be believed? Do rules apply? his is a very clever book that you will enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan and William Morrow, Publishers. All opinions are my own

5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Not only is Dervla McTiernan a great suspense writer she knows the law, Ireland or US. Making me want to read it all the more.

Hanna had lots of rules. Rule #1,2&3 plus the rules of law especially the Murder Rule. Hanna had us all on the edge at one point or another, I totally believed everything she told everybody including everything she told herself. Hanna is a strong advocate of correcting that small piece of a broken system. There are many stories to tell with this character and I for one look forward to her next case, and Dervla McTiernan’s next novel.

Strong core of events presented as interspersed present day chapters and past sequences of events written in diary form. A diary Hanna believes to be her own reason to complete the manifesto she believed to be true. A diary so we’ll constructed I thought about reading the diary chapters first then reading the book it’s self. But I didn’t……I’ve pre-ordered the audiobook as the author explains how the narrator was chosen for this US character.

Read it for yourself, find the true purpose, the reason to advocate with the ferocity of this US lass.

Another strong title by this author. Good plot and character development. Shines high above many other titles in this genre.

I’m a huge fan of McTiernan’s other novels, and love this one as well. That said, note that this is NOTHING LIKE her Cormac Reilly series — it’s a US-set legal thriller about a UVA law student inserting herself into an Innocence Project case because she believes the person they’re working to free is someone who did her family wrong years ago. Of course, there are tons of twists along the way.

The protagonist does not come across as entirely likable at first (deliberately), something I appreciate (but which I know irks a certain kind of thriller reader, so fair warning), but she’s got some great layers, and her relationship with her alcoholic mother (whose diary of her ‘90s years is interspersed present-day chapters for the first half of the novel) forms a great core of the story. Likewise, her friendships with her two fellow law students (both of whom catch on that she’s hiding something) help keep the book moving nicely, and the final courtroom scene is a great denouement.

I was genuinely surprised that McTiernan wrote a US-based novel, since she’s from Ireland and lives in Australia, but she gets things right (excluding one handwavey “I paid a hacker” moment of magic), and clearly did her research.