Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was extremely excited to read this book as I adore Hank Phillip Ryan. I really enjoyed this book as it was not a typical thriller and I loved that it included more legal aspects than a typical thriller. Hank really hit it out of the park with this book.

Truly a great psychological thriller. There were so many twists and turns my head was spinning! Lots of drama and suspense. I recommend this book if you like thrills galore! I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving this review

Wow, what a ride! When I first started reading the novel I was afraid the changing POV and timeline were going to be confusing. The novel starts in the present and then moves to the past frequently during part one. However, because it is well marked when changing from one to the other, it wasn't a problem. Then in part two it changes to the past and stays there, changing POV from different characters. Again, because it is well marked and changes tense (Rachel is always first-person present and everyone else is third-person past) it isn't difficult at all to determine whose POV is being used. Parts three and four pick up the story in the present and follow through to the conclusion. This novel also kept me off balance and guessing as to who the "bad guy" was. About the time I THOUGHT I had a clue I would find out I was greatly mistaken! There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged and I really hated to have to put the book down to do mundane things like eating and sleeping! I highly recommend Ms. Ryan's books and this is one of the best I have read.

Oh My… what a suspense thriller. Hank Phillippi Ryan has an amazing talent to take her readers on a twisted, turned upside down path that will surprise, shock, and pulled the reader in from the very beginning of the book until the very last page.

Rachel North is a law student, married to defense lawyer Jack Kirkland. Rachel gets a summer internship with Martha Gardinier, who has a hate-hate relationship with Jack. That in itself should be enough for a great story but then add in the reason that Rachel is working with Martha and it gets so much more interesting.

The Murder List could be considered a legal thriller but a lot of the story happens outside the courtroom. It is more the story of three characters, who all could be considered a little shady, who work within the scopes of the law and how they revolve around each other and the system that they took an oath to uphold.

Rachel has the perfect life, until she doesn’t. When an old murder case comes up, it causes a rift between herself, her husband, and her mentor. Who is the murderer?
It almost seems like a game, watching to see who comes out ahead. I must admit, my idea of the guilty party was totally wrong!

Wow! Wow! Wow! The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan is one of the best...ever. The first thing that comes to mind is a spoiler so I can't say it. The next thing is how carefully crafted this book is. It pivots between then and now; between points of view. It is the story of a lawyer, Jack Kirkland, who is in a midlife marriage to Rachel North, who is now a law student between her second and third years. Jack is the best defense attorney around and Martha Gardiner is his nemesis-the county prosecutor. Both hate to lose, especially to each other. Rachel is now Martha's intern for the summer. She thought she would learn from her. Now she's not so sure. Neither is totally above board in his/her methods. Jack and Rachel have been together for six years, nowhere near the end of his first marriage. Rachel had been Chief of Staff for State Senate President, Tom Rafferty. Rachel had first seen Jack when he was the defense attorney in a murder trial and she was on the jury. She had first met Jack when he contacted her to ascertain that there had been nothing irregular in the guilty verdict that had been rendered. The same day the body of her colleague, Dani Zander, had been found near the dumpster, behind the offices of the senators. In fact, she had been with him when she heard the news.

In this story it is hard to know whom the bad guy is. It seems to shift. None of the parties are guiltless. Ryan does a masterful job of weaving the story together with the help of some other characters: the TV news report who had been seeing Jack, and was mad she wasn't any longer; two of the women that had been on the jury with Rachel; Martha's other interns; and former colleagues of Rachel's, including Tom Rafferty and his now ex-wife, Nina. The personalities are all laid out, much of it by detailed physical descriptions of each of the characters, telling the reader everything he needs to know about their personalities. Plenty of red herrings and subplots that are never followed to completion to keep the reader guessing. Adept plotting is what makes this book the outstanding work it is. Read it. I recommend it, highly!

I received a free ARC of the Murder List. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are my own. #netgalley #themurderlist

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book through the generosity of the author, Hank Phillippi Ryan.

The important thing first: Ryan writes terrific stories. Like her other books, this is a darn good story with lots of twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

It tells the story of three people – Rachel North, Jack Kirkland, and Martha Gardiner – whose lives are tied forever together by a criminal trial and the effect it has on their lives afterwards. It is also about the corrupting influence of power and the hubris power can bring.

I never really warmed up to Rachel, Jack, or Martha. They weren’t bad characters; just nothing about them hooked me into caring for them. For one thing, all three were playing passive-aggressive games with each other all the time, and I don’t find people like that at all endearing. Liking the main characters is important to me.

Those three also spend too much time analyzing the implications of their actions and words. Rachel, especially, looks at everything from every angle. She can’t seem to hear a ‘Hello’ without wondering why the person said it.

As an ARC, it had the usual number of production glitches – missed words, misplaced punctuation, etc.

This is a good book, it’s just that the main characters never ‘clicked’ with me. I never rooted for one of them to come out on top.

I’d rather see more stories featuring Jane and Jake.

Another up-all-night read from Hank Philippe Ryan! Murder List keeps you guessing! It also make you think about the criminal justice system. Great Read!

This highly complex thriller wrapped rings around me and fried my brain. This was my first read of Hank Phillippi Ryan’s and I’m going to be bold and say she is the queen of misdirection.

What I thought was going to be a hit list is actually anything but. The murder list as the title states is actually a list of lawyers that take on murder cases.

This clever book throws cases at you from all directions and although I was confused at the start it soon became clear that little pieces of information can become hugely important.

Rachel North is stuck in the middle of a win or lose war between her husband a defender and her new boss a prosecutor. Loyalties are tested to the limits and an old case resurfaces that throws everything into question. I was completely unsure who to trust and showing all sides of a trial really helped build this. Unreliable narrators are a joy and with this book you have no clue who is telling the truth as they all believe they are.

Told in chapters of before and the present, the before really helps add in little snippets of information.

So many twists my head was like a revolving door and the ending was a total shocker!

This is not only a great legal thriller it’s also a highly astute character assassination of people your freedom is in the hands of and a classic whodunnit.

The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan is for any reader who loves a good legal thriller. Rachel North is an older law student interning for the local DA, Martha Gardiner. The problem is, Rachel’s husband is a prominent Murder List public defender, Jack Kirkland. Jack also just happens to be Gardiner’s arch nemesis of sorts. Gee Rachel, do you think there might be a reason you were picked for this internship?

Rachel’s not only stuck as the ping pong ball between her husband and boss, they also both happen to be royal narcissistic jerks…you know lawyers being lawyers. In addition, Rachel met both Jack and Gardiner first when she was a juror, then again when she was inadvertently involved in a murder mystery when she worked for the state senator.

As you can see, we are weaving multiple legal webs here. So if you are ready to find the Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion, "IRAC" (a law school reference that is made multiple times), then this book is for you! I took a star off for beating the readers over the head with the title of the book and the IRAC reference far too many times. Overall a good legal battle.

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.

The Murder List by Hank Phillippi Ryan has me in a bit of a quandry. I really enjoyed the first 2/3 or so, but as they ending approached it just seemed to drag for me. At about the 2/3 point I suddenly just didn't care for the characters any longer.

The book started out great and I was very invested in several of the characters. I enjoyed the dual back and forth timelines quite a bit and was quite interested in the part of the book that took place in the courtroom. Even after the courtroom part I was enjoying watching Jack and Rachel's give and take after Rachel joined the DA's staff for the summer.

The author does a great job plotting the story and building suspense and I will likely look for one of her books in the future. if you like suspense or thrillers, this may very well be the book for you. Give it a shot!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC at my request. The thoughts in this review are my own and freely given.

I loved this unputdownable book!
It was a thrilling, unnerving read. The characters were realistic. The plot was gripping and fast-paced. Run, do not walk, out to get this fab book.
Thank you NetGalley.

Thanks to Netgalley, MacMillan Tor/Forge and the author for providing me a free copy of this book for this honest review.

Hank Phillippi Ryan’s latest book, The Murder List, is and exciting and interesting book, that takes place in two back and forth timelines with three main characters. Rachel North is the main character with her story told in the first person. In the earlier timeline, Rachel is working as an aide for Senator Thomas Rafferty. She is promoted to Chief of Staff and Danielle Zander is promoted to replace her. Soon after her promotion, she is placed on a jury with Jack Kirkland as the defense attorney and Martha Gardiner as the prosecuting attorney. In the current timeline, Rachel is now married to Jack Kirkland and is also a third-year law student interning in the Middlesex County Massachusetts DA office with Martha Gardiner. Sounds like an unlikely scenario, but the author does a good job interweaving these timelines and not making these odd circumstances seem too unusual. She presents part of the story in third person perspective of both Jack Kirkland and Martha Gardiner. You get the differing perspectives and be aware that these are their perspectives and not necessarily always the truthful one.

Soon after the trial, Jack asks Rachel to meet to discuss her jury observations from the trial. While they have just started their discussions, Rachel is called back to the office since Danielle Zander has been found murdered. Jack agrees to go with Rachel to help her and soon after ends up defending the Senator’s wife who is charged with the murder. He successfully gets the case dismissed and it goes unsolved. Six years later, Martha Gardiner decides to re-open the cold case, with Rachel’s assistance, now that she’s interning. Other cases are also mentioned in the book and the author does a good job of presenting varying perspectives of prosecuting and defending people charged with murder.

This is the third book I’ve read by Ms. Ryan, having read one of her early books and then 2018’s TRUST ME, the second of which is more like the style in THE MURDER LIST. These are easy books to read and the author certainly builds the tension to keep the reader interested. The reader does need to pay attention though and never trust (as in the last book) everything being told by the narrator. I’m certainly looking forward to reading more by Ms. Ryan and fortunately I already own most of her back list.

This book was so good! Thrilling and fast paced, I couldn’t put it down. The best pool side/beach read I’ve read all summer! Highly recommend.

Told in very limited POV by three unreliable narrators, The Murder List will consume you as you try to keep everything straight. Spoiler: You can’t. The ending will shock you even as you see it coming. This is one of the suspense novels of the year.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.

Right from the start this book sounded edgy and different. I haven’t read anything by Hank Phillippi Ryan before, but I liked that the main character in this book sounded like she had her shit together but yet it might all be a lie.

I have been having quite a bit of luck with thrillers this summer but I was looking for something with a little more suspense rather than the thrills and chills of a psychological thriller and this book sounded like it would fit the bill. I mean it does have ‘a novel of suspense’ in its formal title on Goodreads!

Eager to read this one, I started it one afternoon and flew through it in a few days time! If you love interesting and suspenseful legal mysteries then you will probably devour this one as quickly as I did!

Summary

Law student Rachel North will tell you, without hesitation, what she knows to be true. She’s smart, she’s a hard worker, she does the right thing, she’s successfully married to a faithful and devoted husband, a lion of Boston’s defense bar, and her internship with the Boston DA’s office is her ticket to a successful future.

Problem is–she’s wrong.

And in this cat and mouse game–the battle for justice becomes a battle for survival.

The Murder List is a new standalone suspense novel in the tradition of Lisa Scottoline and B. A. Paris from award-winning author and reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan (summary from Goodreads)

Review

This title implies that this book is about a list of people that a killer wants to murder, but it’s actually a list of attorneys that take on murder cases. Initially I thought it was the former, and was surprised to see that this book was more focuses on the legal drama—very much in the vein of classic courtroom dramas like Law and Order. This was obviously a surprise for me, but a welcome one for sure!

I loved how the author details the mystery, characters, and the legal aspects without making anything boring or over the top. This book had a lot of twists and character development which I felt was balanced nicely throughout the story which kept everything moving along. What you ended up with was a well constructed mystery that had lots to enjoy with memorable, realistic characters.

While I thought the characters (Rachel and Jack) were fully realized, I didn’t necessarily trust them which kept me on my toes throughout the book. I love when the characters have something to hide because it really puts the reader on edge and creates this sense of distrust throughout the book and you begin to wonder on such a more personal level who you believe and who you don’t. Unreliable narrators and characters truly make suspense and thriller books so much more unsettling for readers and I absolutely love it!

This book was a shot in the dark for me since I haven’t read anything by her before, but it hit the mark! I loved this book and was thrilled to find another suspense writer that I could spend an afternoon reading. Her writing is superior and the story engaging, interesting, and had so many twists and turns that by the end I wasn’t sure what to think! Well done and I think this book is worth a read for any fans of suspense or thrillers!

This novel didn't grab my attention. I usually love anything law related but I couldn't connect or care about the characters.

Oh what a twisty tale she weaves.! Hank’s latest will leave you guessing whodunit until the last page. Here’s poor law student Rachel, caught between her high powered lawyer husband and the relentless DA who hand-picked her for a career-making internship in her office. What are their motives? Who can you trust? You’ll find yourself torn while reading this book because you’ll want to race through it to find out what happens but you’ll want to slow down and savor it. It’s that good. Can’t wait for the next one!

The Murder List | Hank Phillippi Ryan
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
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We start off by being introduced to Rachel, in the present day. She's a "mature" law student, married to Jack - a defence attorney on "The Murder List". He basically provides legal aid for accused murderers who wouldn't be able to afford a lawyer.
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Rachel is about to embark on an internship with Martha Gardiner - a prosecutor from the DA's office and Jack's sworn enemy!
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But, Rachel has an ulterior motive. She's spying on Martha to find out her "style" as she and Jack plan to become partners in the future.
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Mixed in with the present day narrative, we also learn about Rachel's previous life - how she was quite senior in the Senator's office, how she met Jack and her own stint as a juror on one of Martha and Jack's cases.
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And then we find that Martha is re-opening a cold case. None other than a ghost of Rachel's past.
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The chronology switches to the past and fills us in on the story and then comes back to present day where the murderer of the cold case is revealed.
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This book is clever. I found Rachel a really likeable character and for the most part it was an easy read. The ending itself was somewhat believable (we all know how much I dislike a ridiculous 'never gonna happen' ending!)
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Worth a read for fans of crime, thrillers and the law.
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Thanks to @netgalley who provided me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great. As someone obsessed with murder and law shows, this book was right in my wheelhouse.

The book follows a woman named Rachel, who, after starting out in politics, decides (with the help of her defense attorney husband) to go to law school. The reader finds out how she meets her husband, which is after she sits on a jury for one of his trials. Coincidence that they meet later, fall in love, and get married?

The Murder List refers to a group of lawyers who defend possible murder suspects who can't afford a high priced defense attorney usually. Her husband, Jack, is constantly touting the fact that he helps people get justice, even if everyone else thinks they are guilty. One of my favorite parts of the book is Rachel describing her time in the jury room. I'm one of those weirdos who actually doesn't mind jury duty. The law is fascinating, and I've only been called once for a jury in Brockton. The spot-on characters in the room with her could have been lifted from the same jury I was on. The discussions were similar too. Luckily I wasn't involved in a murder trial, but man,

Hank does a great job getting into details of the defense and prosecuting sides of the law, and one wonders how much research needed to be done. Her investigative reporter instincts must have helped immensely.

And reader? The epilogue is banana-pants. I gasped. And I was reading it on my phone b/c I couldn't put it down.

This thriller was great!