February 28, 2020

The Holdout Review

Title: The Holdout
Author: Graham Moore
Type: Thriller/mystery
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2020
Pages: 325
Rating: 3/5

What is this book about?
This is a modern day Twelve Angry Men story. Maya is the only juror among the twelve that thinks the defendant is not guilty. She convinces the others of his innocence and Bobby, the defendant, walks free. On the 10 year anniversary of the trial, the jury has a reunion in which one of them turns up dead in Maya’s hotel room. Maya must prove her innocence and find out who the real killer is.

What did I think?
I was not very impressed with this novel. The story goes back and forth between timelines which was fine. The issue I had was that the past portion was told in different perspectives. On one hand, it was kind of clever because it gives you the perspective of each juror but on the other hand, it left me not feeling connected to any of the characters. I also didn’t feel drawn into the story. When I got to the end I found myself saying, that’s it? It did keep my interest for the most part though.