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

This is a decent thriller/mystery from McTiernan with a fairly original plot. The characters feel a bit one note but the pacing is good and keeps the reader turning pages. I would have liked more solid information on the Innocent Project and how it functions in the real world.

In 2019 Hannah Rokeby tricks her way onto an Innocence Project case because a diary she found written by her mother in 1994 when she was a teenager talks about a young man, Michael Dandridge, who killed his friend. The boy who was killed was her mother's boyfriend. Michael Dandridge is in prison for the rape and murder of a young women and law student Hannah wants to make sure his case doesn't get dismissed by the work of the Innocence Project. Hannah is very devious and does not so ethic things to get on this case and as she gets further into the case, she starts to question a lot of the facts along with her team about the case against Dandridge. There are a lot of twists and turns-some are somewhat unbelievable but still a very good story.

I listened to the audiobook of this and when I was getting toward the end, I read the last third of the book on my Kindle because I was really into the story and wanted to finish it quickly to see how it ended.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this title.

Internationally bestselling author # Dervla McTiernan has a new novel # The Murder Rule . This thriller is also loaded with mystery. And will keep your interest from beginning to the last page.
First Rule: Make them like you.
Second Rule: Make them need you.
Third Rule: Make them pay.
Thank you for the advance copy,
# Netgalley, # Dervla McTiernan and # William Morrow

2.5 stars, rounded up because maybe I'm being harsh, or maybe I'm just dense, but I don't feel like the title, "The Murder Rule" actually had anything to do with this story???

It was slow and not inspiring and the main character was not likable. In fact she did some really questionable things and didn't seem too remorseful about any of it and then had the balls to be upset when someone else had questionable morals and shady behavior, lol.

The middle 1/3 was the best part of the book where I actually felt like I was following along and we were getting somewhere and the story picked up a bit but then the last chunk hit and the ship jumped the shark. The reader had to suspend all belief to think any of that would ever actually happen in real life. I recommend skipping this one unless you like tedious law procedurals with unimaginative writing.

A nail-biting legal thriller that kept me guessing. With alternate timelines in 1994 and 2019, this story follows Hannah Rokeby’s quest to join the Innocence Project at UVA in an attempt to sabotage one of their cases. With alternating chapters from Hannah’s mother’s 1994 diary, we learn why Hannah has come to Charlottesville. This is a fast paced and thrilling story, with many unexpected twists. My only complaint is that it wrapped up a little too quickly! I really enjoyed this one. Love a good page turner.

I really enjoyed the UVA/Charlottesville setting since I went to college there myself. I honestly had no clue where this story was going when I picked it up, which made it even more exciting. I kind of though Hannah was a sociopath from the first page but slowly walked that back as the book went on. One of the major things the plot turned on seemed to me like it would've been inadmissible evidence in court -- granted, I have no legal background whatsoever, so I could certainly be wrong. But hey, it's fiction and I had fun reading it so what more can you ask for. Definitely recommend this one to my friends who love a good thriller especially with some legal intrigue and court scenes.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. I finished it in a day. I really liked Hannah's character, even if she did things I didn't agree with. She was feisty and did what she thought was right. The book reminded me a lot of Legally Blonde. I almost took a break from reading to watch the movie.

I didn't consider this an edge of my seat thriller, but a medium paced, good story. The twists I didn't see coming. This was my first book from the author and it definitely won't be my last. I really enjoyed her writing style. You got a sense of the scene and the characters. There were quite a few characters, it got a bit confusing, but it worked itself out. Sometimes I feel like the dialogue, especially in courtroom dramas, can feel a bit forced, but this book just had a flow about it. It seemed very organic. I look forward to seeing what else this author comes up with!

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Make them like you. Make them need you. Make them pay...
Hannah Rokeby is about to start her third year of law school when she learns about the Innocence Project at University of Virginia. She can't pack her bags fast enough. She's determined to get the Professor, Rob Parekh, to bring her onto the Innocence Project, no matter what it takes. She makes them think she's passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system. In reality, she's there to make sure the "innocent" man on on death row gets buried for his crimes...
This was a fun and interesting read. There were many twists I didn't see coming and was shocked by the ending. I read along on the e-book while listening to the audiobook; The narrators did a great job. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers with a bit of law mixed in.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Great story, well written. And a surprise towards the end, one I wasn’t prepared for.Thank you #netgalley and #HarperCollins Publishers for the chance to read this book .I got this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very good book one that I read quickly to find out what was carrying on. The twist I didn't see coming but afterwards I was surprised I didn't guess it. Well written but I wish it would have been longer. Will read again!

The publisher's blurb gives very little away about this legal thriller by an Irish crime writer living in Australia (yet, the story is set at the University of Virginia) and I very much enjoyed going in fairly blind. All I knew going in was that it involves The Innocence Project at UVA Law School. My reading experience was a little topsy turvy, but this is overall a solid thriller that kept me turning the pages. I was initially interested in how The Innocence Project worked. And, just when I was getting bored since I thought I knew where this was going, I was proven completely wrong and pulled right back in. And, of course, the author is an attorney!

This is a new-to-me author, so I really wanted to like this book. But, I just didn’t. The premise of The Innocence Project at UVA drew me in to begin with, but the story itself had a slow build with a manipulative and unlikable protagonist. Hannah inserts herself from the University of Maine law program into the Innocence Project by trying to blackmail the professor who heads the program. Strike One for me since she is a law student and lacks ethics. To me, that was not realistic. Then, Hannah makes it clear that she is not there to prove the innocence of felon Michael Dandridge but to make sure that he stays on Death Row. Her reasons are revealed slowly via the diaries that her mother wrote in 1994. Strike two for me was the switching back and forth between Hannah and Laura (her mom) instead of just telling the story in a straightforward way. The plot seemed to wander at times from the main story, so that was strike three for me. All of the extra details that were unnecessary and that just make the book longer were boring. I will say that the book did create tension at times, especially when there was an unexpected twist, but those occasions were too rare to totally keep my interest. With themes of violence and corruption and an overuse of expletives, this book was okay but only mildly entertaining for me. The plot was not substantially developed and although the characters were well-developed for the most part, none of them was relatable to me. Fans of legal justice books may enjoy this book, but it was not my cup of tea.