This was a unique thriller told from the point of view of Hannah in present time and Laura, Hannah's mother, via her diary entries 25 years ago. Hannah creates a story about her mother being sick, which has led her to transfer law schools to work for the Innocence Project. She chose the college because of the case the Innocence Project is currently working on, one that she has personal ties to. Via Laura's diaries we learn that she met someone, fell in love, got pregnant, but the father of her baby died at the hand of one of his friends. This same friend is currently imprisoned for killing someone else, and the Innocence Project is fighting to save him.

The author does a great job weaving between the two points of view and leading the reader down one path only to throw in a few twists and turns along the way. Hannah is an interesting character as she is very willing to take risks to satisfy her goal of keeping an 'innocent" man behind bars, but she also tends to see both sides of the argument and speaks up when needed. I very much enjoyed reading this and can't wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review.

I love this author and have loved her other series. This book is completely different. It takes place here in the US for one thing. It starts out a bit slow and it took until more than half way through before it picked up. But once it did there were plenty of twists and turns you will never see coming. The end was a surprise and while it may have felt a little forced and more than a bit far fetched it was really perfect. Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

This book represents a significant change in setting and tone from McTiernan's previous Cormac Reilly books, but maintains the very high quality of writing and plot established in her earlier books. Set in the East Coast of the US, it traces a young law student's involvement in an Innocence Project re-visitation of an old conviction, a complicated undertaking with rapidly-shifting loyalties and motivations. It's a fast-paced book with nuanced characters and enough details about the legal process to add color, but not so much that it's a courtroom procedural. I loved it!

Many thanks to Harper Collins, Scene of the Crime, and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of this title.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, and that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.

They think I’m working hard to impress them.

They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.

They’re wrong. I’m going to bury him.

And with that, we know Hannah has an agenda. Right now she is a third-year law student in Maine. Living with her mother, Laura, who is a master manipulator and an alcoholic. Hannah understands her mother is damaged by things that happened to her in the past. Things Hannah has read in her mother’s diary that covers the summer things went horribly wrong.

First, Hannah needs to convince the head of Virginia’s law school that she is transferring there and wants to be a part of the Innocence Project. The group working to get Michael Dandridge out of prison. While the court has vacated his conviction, the local DA is refiling charges. The project is trying to get him out. Hannah is working to make sure he stays in.

Hannah had a plan and boy did she stick to it. She pretty much blackmailed the professor to let her in the project and then proceeds to sabotage the case. But the sheriff and the district attorney are in cahoots and are blackmailing pretty much everyone in the town and they don’t need her or the team snooping around and they aren’t above killing to ensure they stay don’t get caught.

The mother-daughter relationship was really well-done. We tend to want to make excuses for our mother’s behavior so we believe what they say. Until we don’t and then, it’s over. Hannah was a really good character. Smart in all the ways that count, but naive when it came to her mother. Secrets and lies, and a shocking ending! Well Done!

NetGalley/ May 10th,2022 by William Morrow & Company

Three and a half stars. I really wish it hadn't taken over halfway through The Murder Rule for the story to feel like it was finally interesting. I like slow burn thrillers and mysteries, but there has to be things in the plot that help keep the reader engaged, and it just takes too long here. The first half of the book alternates between Hannah, a law student who hatches a plan to get onboarded as part of the team at the Innocence Project, and her mother Laura's journal entries from an eventful summer where she worked as a maid and met a lonely, wealthy boy her age. It becomes clear to the reader that Hannah has an agenda for being where she is - get on the team working Michael Dandridge's case. Through her mother's journal entries she knows he's a connection to her family and whether he's guilty or not in his current case isn't necessarily Hannah's concern. Finally, as the story goes on, the reader learns just how complicated the situation is where Michael was arrested for murder, and realizes there may be more to Laura's story than Hannah knows. If the reader can stick it out, the latter half of the book helps make up for a relatively uninteresting first half, but you do have to suck it up to get there. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

#TheMurderRule:

I flew through this book in about a day and really enjoyed it. I really didn’t know what it would be about, or even if I would like it. But, @harperaudio recommended it, and I’ll always take a hot recommendation. This [in my honest opinion, don’t come for me] gave me like a Elle Woods but badass, pissed off, and more reckless, I was here for it.

I loved that Hannah was cynical. She doesn’t give AF about them and their ethics, and would call them out about how pretentious they were being or not following their oath. It was so refreshing because that’s the side commentary I’m yelling while reading.

There’s 3 readers, and one is a male. I kept wondering when he would appear and I’m glad he finally did. Kate Orsini, Sophie Amoss, and Michael Crouch gave me everything and more. It flowed with the different POVs very well with the different readers. I do feel like the dual timelines and POVs weren’t confusing, but there’s a part where the back and forth between present day seemed a bit muddied. We don’t know what’s truth and what’s fact and it was a head scratcher for a hot second.

Now, to Legally Blonde. There’s a courtroom scene that gave me the Chutney and last year Prada’s shoes in one. It was a “oh snap” and I couldn’t help think of our iconic gal, Elle. I didn’t picture Hannah as Elle at all. She’s not this blonde bubbly law student. She’s a woman on a mission to destroy that needs to be destroyed, make no mistake.

Overall, a super quick listen with great promise! I enjoyed The Murder Rule and feel like it gave me some time for reflection after the explanation of what it actually is. (I learned something!) Thank you so much WM and HA for the copy! The Murder Rule is out May 8th

3.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this one! Most veteran thriller readers will see the twists coming but I still really enjoyed the story. Focusing on the Innocence Project was a really unique plot and I loved getting a tiny peek into how that organization works. I love messy characters with questionable motivations so Hannah was the perfect protagonist for me.

*** Disclaimer that I think the ending of the book requires the reader to suspend their disbelief quite a bit. Especially anyone with experience in the legal field.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review!

Fantastic book -on the surface you think "The Murder Rule" is about Project Innocence working to get a falsely convicted murderer/rapist out of prison but once you read it you will see it also explores relationships in many different forms and it above all reminded me to question everything. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to discovering Dervia McTiernan's other books.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow Books and Custom House for the ARC of this book!

Hannah is a third year law student at UMaine Law School. She transfers to the University of Virginia Law in order to work with their Innocence Project. After blackmailing her way onto the Project, she begins her work to try to get on the high profile case that the Project is working on – Michael Dandridge. Michael Dandridge was convicted of raping and killing a woman, but he maintains his innocence. While the Project works diligently to free Michael, Hannah is doing the opposite.

This book was great. I am a lawyer, and went to law school – though I never worked at my school’s innocence project. That alone made me connect to the book.

Aside from the connection to the law, it was written very well, kept me engaged, and had some great twists and turns. It is a very fast read. I had no idea what was going to happen, and I couldn’t guess the end at all. Honestly, after finishing the book, I wanted there to be another one with the same characters! I wanted to know what happened with Hannah.

If anyone is wondering, my law school’s innocence project did send out students to conduct investigations – find new witnesses, talk to people, etc…

This is my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last!!

Please go ahead and pre-order this book here.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of this book. It kept my attention. I didn't see the end coming, It was a bit of a stretch what happened but I enjoyed it a lot.

Not quite as good as McTiernan's first book, which is always disappointing. For some reason I expect an author to get better with time. I'm sure the pressure to produce can be counterproductive.

What a terrific read! I literally couldn’t put the book down. Put this at the top of your reading list.

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.