The Holdout

When the March book of the month club selections came around, I was torn between two: The Holdout and You Are Not Alone. The plot of the Holdout intrigued me, but You Are Not Alone was an early release by authors I knew and trusted. In the end, I knew You Are Not Alone would be around for awhile, so I took a chance on The Holdout and I was so pleased! I ended up reading it in the month of March, which like never happens, but thanks COVID-19.

Maya’s life changed ten years ago when she was on the jury for the Trial of the Century–a young black teacher accused of murdering a rich, white teenager. Maya was the instrumental juror in getting the jury to vote not guilty–and she went on to become a criminal defense attorney. But as the ten year anniversary of the case nears, and a new podcast Murder Town wants to look into the case, Maya ends up drawn back to the other jurors and entangled in another murder trial: this time, she’s the one facing time.

Told in a dual timeline with chapters from the different POVs of jurors intersliced with what Maya is facing as she tries to figure out how to get herself off of a murder charge, this book delivers. I love a good dual timeline like I can’t even explain, and I loved getting to see the different reasoning behind different juror’s decisions, how Maya swayed them all, and the ending was EXACTLY what I wanted, tbh.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I picked it because it mentioned Serial, but tbh the podcast doesn’t play a role at all in the book other than getting the jurors together. I wish it had been more, but I liked the book nonetheless. Maya was fascinating, I loved the ending, and the juror chapters were so well done. I can’t wait to recommend this book to crime lovers!