The Holdout

The Holdout by Graham Moore, 322 pages

Maya is a successful defense attorney in Los Angeles. But 10 years ago, she was an idealistic writer and a juror on the trial of the decade: Bobby Nock, a young black man, was accused of murdering Jessica Silver, the 15-year-old blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter of a billionaire real estate magnate. Maya wasn't convinced of his guilt, and over four excruciating weeks, convinced her fellow jurors to return a verdict of not guilty, to much outcry from the public. When the jurors gather for a tenth anniversary documentary, Maya's most vocal critic among her peers turns up dead, in Maya's hotel room, and she's suddenly trying to solve two murders in a race against the clock.

This is a tightly woven thriller that also manages to discuss racial, social, and judicial disparities intelligently without making it seem like a lecture. It's a gripping read.