Rating: 1.4/5

I was very taken with the premise for this novel. Jane Bell is responsible for killing a man who was planning to blow up a primary school, which could have caused the deaths of hundreds of children. Now the legal system must decide whether she was right to take this course of action. Should she be lauded or convicted? It is just the kind of classic moral dilemma that should set the scene for a gripping and enthralling read! Well, it should - but sadly, it doesn't.

The potential for "The Choice" to be something very good was wasted. Instead it was far more often reminiscent of the screenplay for a cheesy American drama. (Not helped by the fact that a good number of Americanisms drop into the narrative along the way too.) There are too many sections that are over the top and feature contrived and unconvincing emotional self-analysis. The narrative is presented from the viewpoints of several key characters. The author employs seven different points of view during the course of the novel, which I felt was overdoing it. I never felt particularly emotionally invested in any of them. I often found myself questioning the authenticity of the text being attributed to the various protagonists. Too often it felt like they were simply the mouthpiece for the writer's own beliefs and it tended to come across as preachy and sanctimonious.

Nor was I particularly enamoured with the style of writing. While there are, admittedly, some creditworthy sections, I became both bored and irritated by descriptive language and metaphors that were repeatedly overplayed. I got the sense that the author felt obliged to incorporate every single learning from a recently attended creative writing course at each available opportunity. There are times when less is more. It felt like the writer was trying too hard. The resulting prose appeared forced and unnatural and, instead of helping to paint a mental picture, it grated and made me want to roll my eyes and scream, "Please, no, not again!".

By the time I reached the end I had long since lost any feeling of being gripped. I felt no sense of jeopardy - I was past caring. The basis of this story has the potential to be something captivating and thought-provoking, but it would need some rigorous editing and rewriting.

As ever, I would still like to convey my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for supplying an ARC in return for an honest review. It is a pity I was not in a position to pass more favourable comment on this occasion.

Told from multiple perspectives, including the clever means of a letter from the perpetrator, this is a fascinating exploration of what is legal versus what is morally right. To the very last page, this is a question the reader must contemplate - what is right and what would you be prepared to do in the name of that rightness? Well written, moving without being effusive, this is a thought provoking and entertaining book.