I had to DNF this book just because it wasn't for me. I don't know if it would be for others, but it just didn't grab me so when I put it down, I'm sorry to say I forgot to ever pick it up again.

I know the saying is don't judge a book by its cover, but it's difficult when the cover is so wonderful! "No one is innocent in this story." And with that one sentence I knew I had to read it!

Murder Rule is a legal thriller set in the US - think Grisham or the 90s movies of Ashley Judd. It's a story of murder, rape, the Innocent Project and a mother/daughter relationship. It's also the first book I have read from this author (and won't be the last.)

A man is on death row with his final chance at freedom. Enter a 3rd year legal student, Hannah, as she inserts herself onto the Innocent Project. Is he innocent or guilty of murder. And what is Hannah's agenda?

As the reader who just read the cover, you know not all is as it seems. Slowly, and with the help of chapters from Hannah's mother, Laura's, personal journal, we peel back the layers of truth. This is a story of family and trust. The author artfully twists the plot keeping us engaged as the cracks start to appear. The characters are interesting and the legal shenanigans are compelling.

Murder. Secrets and Lies.... will keep you firmly in the front row seat as you figure it all out!

Many thanks to DerVla McTiernan, NetGalley and Harper Audio for the opportunity to listen to this fascinating tale.

I enjoyed the audiobook for the excellent narrations. Overall, an engaging story, though I did find some of the elements a bit too implausible. Would recommend to those who like legal thrillers, as opposed to more traditional mysteries.

The cover of this book states: No one is innocent in this story. This had me wondering constantly who was telling me the truth! I loved this book. I enjoyed trying to figure out who truly was being honest, right up til the last few minutes. Definitely recommend this book! Thanks to netgalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this audiobook! The narrator was excellent and the story kept me gripped through the end. Typically, I don't like audiobooks with multiple narrators, but this one worked so well. I liked it so much, I sought out another by the author and I'm listening to it now (and really enjoying it).

3.5 Hannah needed to do three things. She needed to get hired by the Innocence project, then assigned to a particular case and next to derail a verdict. The reasons why lie in her mother's diary, entries which are shown between chapters. But....well there's always a but and let's just say there are often detours to the truth.

I !over this authors Cormac series, set in Ireland. This one is set in Virginia, a little disappointing, but knowing how well this author can put together a story, made this for me a must read. It was suspenseful and though I didn't exactly take to Hannah right away, by books end that had changed. Good insight into how the innocence project in various locations run and how they determine the cases they take. Many fakes and fades, red herrings made this a quick moving read. There was one question mark presented in the legal case that I found perplexing. Not a legal scholar, but not sure if this was a misstep to benefit the story, or if this presentation of evidence is legally allowed.

Still, I enjoyed it, but hope her next is set back in Ireland with Cormac.

Listened to the audio which had three different narrators and thought they all preformed well.

ARC by netgalley.

The book begins with an interesting twist. Hannah, a talented transfer law student from the University of Maine, wrangles her way into the University of Virginia law school's prestigious Innocence Project for a semester, not to prove the innocence of Michael Dandridge, one of its clients in a high-profile murder case, but to prove his guilt.
There are more than a few additional twists in this page-turning novel. The author does a fine job of exploring the complex relationship between mother and daughter. And there is plenty of law spelled out in layman's terms to make it accessible to the reader. But the author also conveys the moral ambiguities that can complicate law enforcement and criminal defense and weaves these themes into an entertaining story.
I listened to the book and thought the narrator did a fine job. There was an interesting switch of narrators that added to its suspense. Well done!

I love McTiernan's Irish series so I was intrigued to see she'd written a standalone thriller set in the US. I'm not usually a fan of unreliable narrator stories but, while I started the story hesitantly, I mostly read it in one sitting. And I was glad to see the changes the main character goes through, which allowed me to stay connected throughout the unfolding of the truth--that is not often the case with this type of story. McTiernan has a great sense of plotting--how much to reveal and when--and she crafts believable characters.

'The Murder Rule' by Dervla McTiernan, narrated by Kate Orsini, Sophie Amoss and Michael Crouch.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for an audio-ARC for my honest review.

I listened to an audio version and the narrators were wonderful!

The story is told in two timelines, Hannah in present day 2019 and in 1994, as told by her mother Laura's diary. Hannah, a third year Law student has her own agenda when she haggles her way onto The Innocence Project. As more is revealed, we learn about why she is trying to sabotage the case to free the prisoner. But the truth isn't everything she believed it to be.

Just when you think you know everything that's happening, there are some unexpected twists to keep you in suspense. I definitely look forward to reading more books by this author.
My review has been posted to my Goodreads account.

#NetGalley #TheMurderRule

I really enjoyed this book. The diary entries from the mother were an extra touch that I liked. The one chapter in a male character's point of view was a little odd as it was the only one, but it had to be that way.

I listened to the audio version of this book. The story was a little slow to get into, but about a 1./3 of the way into it, I was hooked. It is about a young law student Hannah that finds her mother's diary.
The story alternates between mother and daughter. You will want to find out what happens as Hannah tries to stop the man who killed her father from getting out of prison.
I loved the narration. Each character had her own voice, alternating between two different narrators.

This book caught my attention in the very first chapter. The audible narrator for the different characters kept me completely engaged. I loved true crime aspect mixed with life stories from the Laura. It was a wonderful ride. I listened to the book doing everything. Dishes, driving, etc. This is a wonderful book to listen to. You will love it. The plot switches between in experience actions and also actions of someone reporting on a crime.

Hannah Rokeby will do whatever it takes to score a spot with the Innocence Project at the University of Virginia. Anything. Her efforts are not motivated by a passion for justice. She was motivated by revenge and she was running out of time to exact it. Hannah had to make sure one of their clients remained behind bars. Having secured a position on the team, she beings to plot her revenge against the man who broke her mother back in 1994. Thanks to a diary kept by the then 19-year-old Laura, Hannah knows all about Michael Dandridge and the death of his friend and Laura's new boyfriend, Tom Spencer. The Innocence Project is working to prove Michael didn't rape and murder a local woman, but Hannah is there to ensure he pays for his earlier crimes.
Told in dual timelines-Laura in 1994 and Hannah in 2019, the stories slowing unfold. Despite the slow reveal of information, this is a quick, engaging read. Despite, or perhaps because of their extremely dysfunctional relationship, Hannah is fiercely loyal. Until she learns something that shakes her to her core and makes her question everything she thinks she knows.
It's unfortunate that the author chose a rich white man to be the recipient of the Innocence Project's services, but it only bothered me after finishing the book-in the moment I was caught up in the story. Suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride.

Part legal thriller, part family drama, and a splash of courtroom drama at the end that hearkens to early John Grisham. This one does ask the reader to not question major points of plot (legal aid group not doing a background check?) and to roll with the fast-paced drama.

The story is told from two points of view- present day Hannah who is avenging her mother, and Laura, Hannah's mother, as read through her dairy. Its this mother/daughter relationship that the whole plot hinges on, and I never got the feeling that they were in a healthy, close relationship that would initiate this level of illegal actions.

All in all a fun, two timeline drama for fans of early John Grisham, Ruth Ware, and readers looking for an unreliable narrator/thriller.

Audiobook was well narrated with three narrators, but the inclusion of a male voice for one chapter (?) was jarring.

I loved how the mystery pulled me in leaving me wanting more and how the psychological/thriller side of the story made me uncomfortable. The story had me disliking everyone except one character, Sean, a law student in the Innocence Project. The story focuses on Hannah, another law student at a different university, who uses subterfuge to get on a specific case in the Innocence Project. The author does an excellent job in creating such morally twisted characters. Hannah's extreme course of actions in revealing the truth towards the end, though, seemed too unrealistic for a court room. I would have given the story 5 stars if the ending wouldn't have been so contrive.

A suspenseful legal thriller, filled with twists and turns. I liked the way the author gave the reader glimpses into the past using Laura's diary. However, the character development was a little off. I found myself repeatedly asking why Hannah was going to so much trouble to get vengeance for her mother, because I didn't see how they could have a close relationship after the way her mother behaved. I guess that's codependency showing it's ugly head, but I didn't buy it. The narrator of the audio version was excellent.

A law student inserts herself into a case taken on by the Innocence Project at a university other than the one she attends for reasons that only become clear through carefully timed revelations. Over and above the compelling story, readers will care about what happens to the fully fleshed out characters in this suspenseful tale perfect for readers who enjoy unreliable narrators.

Nostalgic for the first 5 or 6 Grisham Books?

Thank me later.

Well I mean thank me for the rec
Thank Dervla McTiernan for the book.

And the narration? Spot. On.

Thanks to NetGalley & Blackstone for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Dervla McTiernan book, although I've seen her name here and there. I was surprised that the story was set in the US and the narrators had American accents! The premise was promising: a young woman, Hannah, blags her way into the Innocence Project, not because she believes in the innocence of a particular incarcerated person, but the total opposite: she thinks he should stay in jail, due to her mother's story of having been assaulted by him and her boyfriend murdered by him 25 years prior (a crime that was written off as an accident).

I gather that this story is a bit of a departure for McTiernan - it looks like her other books are police procedurals - and maybe that's why there's a hefty suspension of disbelief necessary to take on this book. The main character gets into the Innocence Project essentially by threatening blackmail to the lawyer who heads up the organization, and quickly assures a spot working directly on the case she's interested in; meanwhile, no one has even bothered to check if she's actually enrolled in the university that houses the project. Mmmmm, OK. ;)

The story jumps back and forth between present day Hannah and 25 years previous (her mom); the flashback is told in diary format, and we learn that Hannah found the diary in a box of things of her mother's some years before. Since then, she has been on a mission to keep Mike Dandridge, the boogeyman of the diary, in prison for a crime he was convicted of 11 years prior to now.

McTiernan creates a compelling story overall, even with the massive hoops you have to jump through to find the details credible. However, it didn't take much to guess the ending (and I'm usually pretty bad at that, plus I take pains not to try to figure it out so I can feel the full force of the denouement).

The voice actors did a fine job, but the inclusion of a single chapter acted by a man was a curious choice, and a bit jarring. I'm interested to read McTiernan's previous books, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Murder! Lies! Miscarriage of justice! Definitely all the makings of a riveting story, so why did it fall so flat for me? The last quarter of the book felt so far-fetched that it kind of made me forget how much I enjoyed the first three-quarters. I loved Hannah and her motivation along with the other characters on the Innocence Project. Certain characters just felt completely unrealistic, which left me more annoyed than anything at the end.