Hmmm so many mixed feelings!

On one hand, this is a quick and fast-paced thriller that I couldn't put down. The premise is fantastic and I enjoyed the dark academia vibes. At the same time, most of what actually happens is super unrealistic and the book ends up falling flat.

I'm hesitant to call this a legal thriller because at one point it suddenly pivots to some over-the-top action drama before going back to some rather underwhelming courtroom battle. Feels like this book had an identity crisis?! I liked all the insight into legal loopholes and felony murder though, it was so fascinating to me.

A fun, addictive and entertaining read overall!

I really enjoyed this author’s writing style. Plot twists were revealed throughout the book so it kept me turning pages and wanting to read just one more chapter. I would definitely read more by this author! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Haunted by what she’s repeatedly read in her mother’s old journal, Hannah Rokeby travels from Maine to Virginia to work her way into The Innocence Project. She pretends to be a UVA law student, moving to Virginia temporarily while her mother “fights cancer,” and is enrolled in a “clinical trial” in the state. Unbeknownst to the attorney(s) in charge, Hannah tries to cleverly unravel the case from within. She pushes hard to be noticed, working very late into the evenings. She also discovers and brings a female prisoner's suspected innocence to light. She totes the woman’s file directly to Robert Parekh, the attorney in charge of the Program instead of going through proper channels, trying to make herself invaluable around the office and to be noticed specifically by Parekh. After that, she targets and sabotages one of the three student team members working on the case, causing her to abruptly leave for New York. Parekh places Hannah on the team to take her place after Hannah proves to him that she’s hard-working, strong, and smart. The case is against Michael Dandridge, the target from the journal, the one who destroyed her mother’s life. The Project is desperately trying to prove the innocence of Dandridge based on the evidence and facts of the case. Hannah, however, has another motive—she’s trying to keep him imprisoned by destroying his case for his release.

What a cleverly written, surprising book! I thoroughly enjoyed the psychological and legal thriller aspects of the novel, and the inability to put it down. It is cleverly written, intense, and realistic, and the characters are brought to life by intelligent prose. One could clearly imagine knowing any or all of the characters, as each is drawn by excellent word pictures. I thought at one point I had the plot figured out, but a couple of sharp turns later, I was surprised and heartened. There were surprising things to learn about all involved, and as the quote on the front cover states, “No one is innocent in this story.” No one indeed. I highly recommend this work, and though it is my first read from Dervla McTiernan, it most certainly will not be the last.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, William Morrow/Harper Collins, and Dervla McTiernan for the ability to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The question of law student Hannah Rokeby is so determined to insinuate herself into the Innocence Project and sabotage Michael Dandridge's case pulls reader interest through Dervla McTiernan's excellent legal mystery, The Murder Rule.

Eleven years before, Michael Dandridge was convicted of the rape and murder of Sarah Fitzhugh and sentenced to death. Hannah's mother's diary confirms his guilt. Then she sees something that turns all her assumptions upside down. I highly recommend The Murder Rule.

I've enjoyed this author's previous works, so was excited to read The Murder Rule. It's quite a departure from her other books, and I really enjoyed it. As an attorney, I usually am super picky about legal thrillers, but found this one to be well-plotted and engaging. I liked the premise of the story and the pacing was excellent. I almost read this one in one sitting.

One of my favorite parts of the book was how Hannah grew so much during the book and took responsibility for what she did wrong. It made the ending of the book even more satisfying. I also felt like the author did a good job of not leaving holes and loose threads.

I'm very much looking forward to what Dervla McTiernan writes next! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending a complimentary digital copy to me. All opinions are my own.

I was pulled into this legal thriller from the beginning! Hannah has a way with words and I loved her spirit of leaving no stone unturned. Hannah is looking for answers to her past and her mother holds the key but will she be honest with Hannah? The narrative is told in multiple timelines weaving all side stories into the main storyline.

Thanks to William Morrow for my copy of The Murder Rule.

I didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Hannah read her mother's diary about her boyfriend getting murdered and ends up joining the Innocence Project so she can keep the killer in jail.

My thoughts: it was a light read. There weren't a lot of different character perspectives to keep up with and so I was able to fly through the book. However, I didn't find it to be a strong thriller compared to a lot of other books I've read.

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan is a mysterious legal thriller. Hannah joins the Innocence Project at UVA like any young lawyer who wants to fight the system…but not everything is as it seems. The story starts alternating between present day Hannah and a journal written by her mother when she was a young adult just starting out. It becomes very clear that something bad happened to Hannah’s mom and Hannah is out for revenge. There is a high profile case murder case being taken on by the project and Hannah will do anything to be a part of it. But what does the rape and murder of a local woman in Virginia have to do with what happened to Hannah’s mother one summer in Maine? And why is Hannah so convinced that this man they are defending is guilty?

I felt like this story moved along pretty quickly and I wanted to keep reading to find out what Hannah was going to do next. I started to make connections about halfway through but there were definitely some twists and turns I didn’t see coming later in the book. An interesting, quick read if you like mystery/thriller books!

Did not see this one coming! Thought I had the story figured out the first half of the book. Did not see the twists and turns coming, and did this book have them! Was on the edge of my seat until the dramatic courtroom finish. Best legal thriller I've read in years. Don't hesitate. Rush to get it. You won't regret it!

Excellent book! Absolutely loved this one! I recommended this to my book club, and I will definitely be reading more by Dervla McTieman.

This book was so addictive! I couldn't put it down. I sort of guessed a twist, but not for the real reason; I just stumbled into it. The diary entries interspersed with the real-time events were very intriguing. The end came up quickly, but it felt so natural based on the pacing of the action.

I am rounding up from a 3.5 on this book. I was really looking forward into delving into this book, and while it was a bit disappointing, I still enjoyed it and was completely engrossed in the story.
This book is about Hannah, who finds her way into The Innocence Project at the University of Virginia. The reader knows she has schemed her way onto the campus and into the inner workings of The Innocence Project in order to subvert their case involving Michael Dandridge, who was convicted of murder many years ago. Hannah will do anything to ensure that Michael never sets foot out of prison.
While I will say that the story completely drew me in and I stayed up way too late reading because I had a hard time putting the book down, the book definitely had its problems. First, the "Diary" portion of the book, which was interspersed with Hannah's action in the present, was a bit far-fetched (this could be a spoiler, but maybe that was the point...?). In the diary Hannah's mother Laura reveals the events that occurred during an ill-fated summer when she worked as a hotel cleaner in Maine. She relates dialogue and moment-by-moment events that seem to be a bit hard to believe, if someone is truly later writing down events that occurred earlier.
The writing style was a bit odd, as well. Minute details were added about very superfluous things, like exactly what characters ordered to eat in restaurants, exactly how characters walked outside to vehicles and unlocked the car and put their luggage into the trunk, or descriptions of the "curb appeal" of various locations. The very specific descriptions of details that were really irrelevant to the story felt odd and a bit jarring.
Then the big "twist" in the middle just kind of confused me more than anything. I needed a bit more explanation and clarification on the details.
But my biggest issue was with Hannah herself. I had a very hard time really identifying with her, or rooting for her. The reader knows her motivations, but Hannah comes across as slightly devoid of emotion. The reader knows that Hannah has had a very difficult upbringing, but that still doesn't quite justify her actions in the story. I was just missing an emotional connection to Hannah that let me excuse her dubious machinations because I rooted for her.
All of that makes it sound like I didn't enjoy reading this book, which is not at all the case. I was totally drawn into the story. This is not a bad book, but I've read better. If you enjoy mysteries, it might be worth checking out.

This book started with such promise … a young law student, Hannah, is heading to a new law school because it runs The Innocence Project. The Project helps get unfairly convicted people out of prison and off death row. Hannah has a vendetta, and joining The Project is a great way to get revenge for her mother, Laura, who is wasting away as an alcoholic woman who can’t forget the past.

The first two-thirds of the story were pretty good. The Project thinks that Hannah is there to find justice for an innocent man, but Hannah has her own plans. She pretends to be a student, gathers evidence and gains the trust and friendship with a couple of other students she works with. She is ready to get this man to stay in prison, in the hopes that Laura will find peace and be able to stop drinking.

Then we get to the end, and to me, it felt like it was rushed, like it had to be jammed in somehow. It wasn’t what I was expecting, but it didn’t really shock me. It just was too abrupt (and I must say, had a slight “Legally Blonde” feel). I was left with a few questions at the end, and that’s not something that I usually like. I finished the novel slightly disappointed.

Overall, I’m giving this book 3.5 stars. The beginning was four-star worthy, but the ending was so average that I just can’t hit that fourth star for the overall rating. This was entertaining, but not brilliant.

(Thank you to William Morrow Books, Custom House Books, Dervla McTiernan, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

I just finished The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan. I was hooked on this book from the first page! It was a different twist on the typical courtroom drama. A great summer read.

A thoroughly absorbing and satisfying novel illustrating how we think we know 110 percent of the truth, the way we want to see it and how it may possibly fall apart in front of us no matter how we try to not see it. Not just on an interlectural level but on a day to day level, radically changing how you live corresponding to what you believe. I smugly considered myself a right/wrong person with little respect for grey areas. Now I will try to see, evaluate and maybe, just maybe, alter my perceptions. Brilliant book!

Wow I loved this book!!!!!! A refreshing fiction look into legal justice & how the system fails people sometimes or does it??!!!!! Read this amazing book to find out.

I really love Dervla McTiernan's Cormac Reilley series, so I was excited to see she had a new book coming out - but a little worried that like Tana French's initial foray outside of the detective series I love her for, it might be a little disappointing to me. In this case, it was and it wasn't: while my general preference is for a detective procedural, this is a bit more of a psychological twister (but not crazy twisted) with a legal aspect - but in the end that combination ended up coming together for me. The book starts with Hannah transferring to a new law school in order to try to join their chapter of the Innocence Project and work on a particular high-profile murder appeal; it's clear that she has ulterior motives having to do with something in mom's past but unclear at first exactly what that's about. As her chapters alternate with diary entries from her mom's teenage years, it gradually becomes clear what the instigating event in her mom's past was, and what it has to do with the case that Hannah is trying to sabotage. It took me a little while to get into because I found Hannah and Laura both kind of unlikeable/annoying (partly as a rule follower I have trouble with stories about people being duplicitous!) but then the twist partway through the book got me both very interested and more sympathetic to Hannah, and I was hooked by the end. The latter part also had more of the legal investigative/courtroom type thriller than the psychological, and I was more interested in that part. So in the end, a solid read, and I can see a lot of people enjoying it. E-copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ★★★.5

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan was pretty twisted. I liked the rules. No matter what, the end justifies the means? Perhaps just this time.

The premise of this novel intrigued me from the start. I thought I had it all figured out, only to be totally thrown by what was actually going on. The protagonist was rather unlikable, but the overall story makes it worth the read.

Well written and engrossing. This author is becoming one of amy favorites for her razor sharp writing. Love it