The Verdict
A cheating wife. An estranged mother. But is she guilty of murder?
Please raise your right hand.
An affair at work has cost Julia Winter her job and her marriage. There’s no denying she has let her family down.
Please remain standing.
When a body is discovered on the North Downs, it hits local headlines. But for Julia, the news is doubly shocking because the body was buried just opposite the house she lived in over twenty years ago. And it is one of her former housemates.
Please resume your seat.
Up on the stand, Julia’s not the only person to have secrets that are unearthed during the trial. But the evidence against her is overwhelming.
And yet one question remains: is she the murderer, or the victim?
Jurors, you may be excused.
Readers, what is your verdict?
This book bats back and forwards between 1994 and 2018 and a couple of other years on occasion. It does it every chapter and there are a lot of chapters. Would have been an easier read to have split it into parts as for me it completely broke the flow of the book.It was pretty tedious to get into, but by about 70% the actions ramps up a little.None of the characters are particularly likeable, maybe they are not meant to be. I didn't find Julia particularly believable either, certainly not career wise.Although I have never sat in a court in England, something felt off to me and not true to life about the court scenes.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC copy in return for an honest review.