- this edition supplied by my local library
- published 2022 Harper Collins Publisher Australia
- ISBN 978-1-4607-6012-3
- 292 pages
- article by the author
- my earlier review
Synopsis (publisher)
Provocative blurb on back cover
First Rule: Make them like you.
Second Rule: Make them need you.
Third Rule: Make them pay.
They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, 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.
My Take
I read this for the first time only last year, and here I am re-reading it for discussion with my U3A crime fiction discussion group.
I have decided to compile my review as a list of discussion question.
- The Prologue - how does Hannah get entry into the Innocence Project? What does this show you about her?
- Why does McTiernan set the novel in the USA? Can you imagine it could have been set anywhere else?
- Why does Hannah want to be on the Innocence Project?
- There are 2 narrations: Hannah's and Laura's diary. Are both reliable?
- Why did Laura write her diary?
- What qualities does Professor Parekh see in Hannah?
- What do we know about Hannah? About her mother?
- What is the murder rule? Does it exist outside USA? Does Australian law include elements of it?
- Are there Australian equivalents of the Innocence Project?
- How authentic does the plot feel? Are all the elements credible?
- Which of the characters do you like/dislike? Why?
Hannah, Sean, Professor Parekh, Michael, Laura, Camila, Tom, Hazel - What did you think of the Pierce element of the plot? Why is it there?
- What grade out of 5 would you give the novel?
- This novel is set mainly in August and September of 2019. The author says she wrote it during the pandemic, but there is no mention of it in the novel. Does that matter?
- Did you keep the cover blurb in mind as you read the novel?
- Did any of the author commentators hit the spot with their pithy comment? Why are they there on the back cover?
- If you were telling a friend about this novel, what would you say?
My rating: 4.6
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