After a bit of a slow start (admittedly, there’s blackmail), this quickly became a book that I didn’t want to put down. Right from the start we know Hannah is lying so that she can work at the Innocence Project at the University of Virginia. Her manipulations immediately cause trouble for the team & the case they are working on. I found Hannah to be an unlikeable character through the story, and this had me hooked - I had to know if she was going to win! Was she going to succeed in sinking this case so that the man she hates pays for what he did? This had me gripped right to the end - you do have to suspend belief in some places, but otherwise, this is a very bingeable read.

Irish crime writer Dervla McTiernan burst onto the scene with 2018's claustrophobic, clever The Ruin, and she has kept to an annual release schedule since. "The Murder Rule" is a diabolically clever combination of courtroom drama, procedural mystery, and revenge thriller, and it hangs on a humdinger of a hook: what if someone joins the Innocence Project, dedicated to freeing longstanding wrongly convicted murderers, with the aim of vengeance not freedom (I'm not offering a spoiler here, the novel's blurb says just that). Law student Hannah blackmails herself onto the University of Virginia's classic team of crusaders and the author gradually reveals the hidden story of her motives. McTiernan is superb at unraveling the plot, which explores two old crimes in forensic detail, and the evidence-gathering plotlines are plotted well. Hannah is an engaging protagonist and all the other characters mesh in well. Toward the end, courtroom scenes introduce an almost Perry-Mason-ish atmosphere, I suspect most readers will not be able to put the book down. My only final quibble was a denouement, after clever twists, that felt emotionally untrue, but I do very much recommend The Murder Rule.

The Murder Rule draws you in immediately. You know who will be doing it but you don’t know how or why – it’s an excellent start. Hannah, a law student is the main character and I’m not sure whether I like her or not at the start but by the end I was 100% on her team.

The story is told from Hannah’s perspective interspersed with diary excerpts from her mother which form the reason for Hannah being involved in trying to sabotage an effort to free an innocent man.

The characters are engaging and the story rattles along at good pace, twisting and turning everything on its head. It’s Hannah’s journey, finding out she has been manipulated and lied to while doing the same to everyone else.

Law students researching miscarriages of justice make a good vehicle for explaining the law without it turning into a lecture. It’s not all law, there are some amazing action scenes to keep you on the edge of your seat and Ms McTiernan keeps on upping the stakes at every opportunity.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it.

With thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsAustralia for the eARC of #TheMurderRule.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for an eARC for an honest review.

Law student Hannah Rokeby travels to Virginia to study for a semester at UVA where she gets a position with the Innocence Project. The team are working to retry the case of a convicted murderer (Michael Dandridge), whom we learn has a connection to Hannah's mother.

The story jumps between Hannah and her mother's (Laura's) journals from 1994, during the time she was working as a maid in a Seal Harbor Hotel, describing her summer love with a rich young man, which ends in tragedy.

Like with all mystery books, not everything is as it seems.

This mystery was full of twists and the ending was not what I expected. I really enjoyed reading this, and I highly recommend it.

For me this was an okay book but definitely not up to this author's previously proven standard. I wondered why she had decided to set a legal thriller in America and whether she had researched their legal system fully because some of the events in the book seemed rather unlikely.

Nevertheless there is a good story in there as long as you suspend belief and do not analyse what is happening too closely. Events unfold through a series of old diaries which tell Hannah how her mother, Laura, suffered at the hands of Michael Dantridge. He is currently in prison but there appears to be a chance that the Innocence Project may be about to get his release. Hannah lies her way into a job on the Project in order to undermine this possibility and keep him locked up.

There follows lots of lying and deceitfulness, a major twist which turns everything you have believed so far upside down and a reasonably satisfying ending. I was left with a feeling of not being quite sure about a number of points but I do not want to go into spoiler land, so I will accept that I liked the book but did not love it.

A slow burn to a solid finish. I did find this hard to get into, partly because I didn't like any of the characters.
Hannah doesn't let anything get in the way of what she wants. By the end of the book I still didn't really like her but could understand her motives.
The diary entries initially made me feel sorry for Laura, despite her not being a nice person as an alcoholic mother. I liked her less as we saw how manipulative she was.
Even without any legal knowledge, some of the legal aspects of the book were a little over the top and hard to believe.
This is the first book I have read from this author. I would like to try another as other reviewers suggest this is quite different to her usual books.

Questions in the reader's mind start in the first chapter – why is Hannah creeping out of home in the early hours of the morning?

Hannah is a university student studying law. The story starts with her sneaking out of the house she shares with her alcoholic mother for unclear reasons. She transfers to another university and, by deceitful means, manages to get herself onto the Innocence Program run by Professor Rob Parekh and supported by a team of students. The program is dedicated to revisiting cases involving convicted prisoners.

Hannah particularly wants to be on the team of a specific case, that of Michael Danridge. Michael has been in prison for 11 years for the rape and murder of a young mother. He swears he is innocent and was only found guilty on flimsy evidence. Hannah uses devious ways to secure her place. Unlike the rest of the team, she intends to work to keep Michael in gaol. Her reason gradually comes to light through her mother’s diaries from 1994, in alternating chapters of the book.

Time is short for both the team to prove his innocence and for Hannah to succeed in her goal.

But doubt starts to enter Hannah’s thinking. It began when she went to the prison with Sean to interview Michael. Her investigations bring to light a crooked cop and cover ups. She begins to realise everything is not as it seems or as it has been portrayed but who is lying and who is telling the truth?

The characters are well developed. Hannah is not particularly likeable but interesting. She is smart, and conniving and will do whatever she needs to achieve her aim. The other two students are great characters although we see more of Sean who is very likeable.

I have purposely not said too much about the story, so I don’t spoil the mystery and suspense.

The story is slow at the beginning but still interesting. Stick with it. The gradual build-up with its many twists and turns makes for a gripping story filled with tension, corruption, and secrets.

As the mystery unravels, we read of intrigue, violence, and deception all making for a suspenseful and exciting read.

Warning: story contains sexual assault and violence but does not dominate the story.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Australia, and the author McTiernan for an ARC in return for an honest review. Due publication date May 2022

I first discovered Dervla McTiernan with the Cormac Reilly books which I was absolutely captivated by. So imagine my excitement when The Murder Rule was released - a new stand alone book!!

I was absolutely enthralled from the beginning! So many twists and turns I could not put this one down.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this beauty of a book!

Dervla McTiernan leapt to prominence in the Australian crime writing scene with her multi-award winning debut The Rúin, set in McTiernan’s native Ireland. That book, and the two that followed, centred around detective Cormac Reilly. In The Murder Rule, McTiernan tries something different. This is an American legal thriller and courtroom drama that uses as its focus the very real Innocence Project, a group dedicated to overturning wrongful convictions.
When The Murder Rule opens, protagonist Hannah is blackmailing her way onto the Innocence Project run out of the University of Virginia. And while the reasons are not quite as she believes, Hannah manages to get a place with the Project, a group comprised mainly of volunteer university students. But what she really wants is to get onto the much smaller team helping run a high profile appeal against the conviction of Michael Dandridge. And it soon becomes clear that this is so she can sabotage the work and ensure Dandridge stays in prison. And she will pretty much do anything to get her way. Hannah’s connection with Dandridge and this particular case is unclear but slowly becomes explained in carefully doled out entries from her mother’s diary.
Most people reading legal thrillers know that the criminal law system does not run in quite the way it is described on the page. But McTiernan takes such huge liberties with the system and how it should work that even not knowing the actual detail it is hard to suspend disbelief. All of which builds up to the completely fantastical final act courtroom scene. And all of the plot driven by a series of twists that, again, readers of this genre are likely to see coming from a long way off.
Plenty of Australian crime authors are moving into territory well populated already by American crime writers. The danger is that there is already a huge body of great courtroom thrillers from some of the biggest names in the publishing – Turow, Grisham, Connelly – so it’s a tough genre to break into. So while The Murder Rule may scratch an itch for lovers of this type of narrative, it does not reach those heights. But The Innocence Project does important work and as the centre of a crime series is potentially a great engine for interesting stories. So while this book does not use it as effectively as it could there is scope for some interesting sequels.

Although different to Dervla McTiernan’s earlier series, The Murder Rule does not disappoint. Set in America, the story follows Hannah as she begins to volunteer at The Innocence Project. The split narrative takes the reader through the story of Hannah and her mother cleverly take the reader through the dual timeline that has led to her present circumstances. A good thriller read for fans of this genre.

This was a unique story set in America. I liked the narratives based on Hannah's perspective but didn't like the diary entries as much. Whilst I understood their inclusion and the reason for the irritating voice, it was explained too late and so I was just annoyed by them!
Some elements were predictable, but there were certainly other moments that were not. Some good character development present as well.

I went in blind with this book, I just seen it was by Dervla McTiernan and knew I had to read it and it most definitely did not disappoint.

Hannah Rokeby manages to wrangle her way into The Innocence Program at the University of Virginia, a group of law students who work with death row prisoners who are believed to be innocent. Her intent is to get onto the case of Michael Dandridge and stop him from getting free before it's too late.

I loved the way the story was written, with diary entries from Hannah's mum when she was a teenager included along the way. Laura knew Michael back then and her diary entries paint him as a monster. In the present day he is on death row for the brutal rape and murder of a single mum but the people of the Innocence Program are sure he was set up.

Small town secrets, revenge, betrayal, untrustworthy characters... Dervla McTiernan delivers one compelling story with The Murder Rule and I found it hard to put it down. It is full of suspense and twists to keep you guessing and the ending was nothing like I thought it was going to be when I first started.

Thanks to NetGalley/Harper Collins AU for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Definitely recommend checking this book out May 4th if you are a thriller fan.

I have read and enjoyed another book by Dervla McTiernan so I was keen to read the Murder Rule; it certainly lived up to my expectations. The story begins with Hannah Rokeby, a law student from Maine emailing Robert Parekh to get a position as a volunteer on the Innocence Project that he manages at the University of Virginia. The Project involves Parekh and his team of carefully selected law students defending innocent death row prisoners who have been imprisoned due to a miscarriage of justice. Hannah has read about Parekh and his work in a Vanity Fair magazine article. It is difficult to get on the team and Hannah is prepared to use devious tactics to be accepted. The team is working to free a man called Michael Dandridge who had been imprisoned for the murder of a women eleven years earlier. Hannah lives with her needy, alcoholic Mother, Laura and has to leave home secretly while her Mother sleeps to move to Virginia so that she can work on the Project. The story is told alternating between Laura’s diary which she had written twenty five years earlier and Hannah’s present day story.
The Murder Rule is hard to put down as the connection between Laura’s diary and the Michael Dandridge case is uncovered. The story contains deception, corruption and violence with great plot twists. I highly recommend this book.

What is this about?
Hannah is determined to avenge her mother’s rape by macking sure that Michael Dandridge remains in prison for the murder of a woman years ago. She’s going to do it from the inside, by joining the Innocence Project working on his case and bring it crumbling down. But nothing is ever that easy, and instead she finds secrets and lies, upon secrets and lies.

What else is this about?
This is a twisty mystery that rips Hannah and Dandrige’s case apart and puts it all back together into something different.

Blurb
For fans of the compulsive psychological suspense of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a mother daughter story—one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it—that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.

First Rule: Make them like you.

Second Rule: Make them need you.

Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.

They think I’m working hard to impress them.

They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.

They’re wrong. I’m going to bury him.
Dervla Mctiernan’s The Murder Rule is nothing like her Cormac Reilly series. I have to admit, it took me a few chapters to get into this book, but then Mctiernan hits her stride.

This is a book about unwrapping secrets and lies upon more secrets and lies, and while I wasn’t immediately a fan of the pacing, I did begin to understand better as I got deeper into the book.

Hannah is a law student and determined to do her bit in The Innocence Project by all appearances. Instead, she’s there to make sure that Michael Dandridge remains in prison for the murder of Sarah Fitzhugh and pays for raping Hannah’s mother, Laura.

Getting on the project and Dandridge’s case isn’t easy, and Mctiernan dives into the lengths Hannah will go to do so, and who she will ruin to make sure she does. It’s illuminating, and given more depth because Hannah’s chapters as she worms her way onto the case and into the team’s work are interspersed with her mother’s diary entries from years before, detailing her experiences with Tom, the man she fell in love with and Hannah’s father and Michael, the man who raped her. Laura has never recovered from the experiences years ago, and there’s a sense of escape around Hannah when she leaves home to join the project, leaving her mother and her issues behind. It gives insight into their relationship that I didn’t expect for Hannah is devoting herself to her mother’s cause, but their relationship isn’t what you’d expect.

Once she is on the Innocence Project’s team, Hannah begins to work on the case with the other, delving into things that might prove Dandridge’s innocence. She is contemptous of the team, of their devotion to his innonce to the exclusion of anything that might show he may be guilty.

The team itself is mostly made of young, idealistic interns and law students who do genuinely believe in what they are doing. They are the ones that Hannah accompanies, while the team leaders (the lawyers) in this book are somewhat remote for me.

Secrets and lies are par for the course in books of this nature, and I desperately want to go further, but to do so would be to ruin what turned out to be a wonderfully complex mystery with characterisation that was entertaining and which kept me hooked to the end essentially.

Given how I felt about the beginning I was surprised when I ended the book and in my head, I was going: ‘Already??’ McTiernan’s writing is efficient, and I felt like in this one she stripped characters bare, moved to the heart of them and their issues and what that meant to the case quickly. Perhaps because this is a standalone? I don’t know, either way I loved it!

I’ve read several of McTiernan’s books and enjoyed them all but I think this one is the best so far. The basic story is that Hannah reads her alcoholic mother’s diary from when she was a young woman which tells of a love affair and abuse. Hannah is a law student and the man who abused her mother is currently in jail for another crime. Hannah reads that The Innocence Project, a group of law students who work on cases where they believe someone has been wrongly convicted, is trying to free the man who abused her mother. So Hannah manages to join them and convince them to let her work on the case with the intention of making sure he stays convicted.
This story is as much about character as it is about plot and so was a pleasure to read. The intrigue will keep you reading well into the early hours so be warned!

Law student Hannah Rokeby travels to Virginia to study for a semester at UVA where she has managed to get herself a position with The Innocence Project. The team are working to retry the case of a convicted murderer whom we discover Hannah‘s family has a connection to.

This is the fourth novel by Dervla and a break away from her previous three novel series.

This mystery was full of twists and kept me on the edge of my seat I very much recommend it.

The Murder Rule is the fourth novel by award-winning, best-selling Australian author, Dervla McTiernan. Law student Hannah Rokeby leaves her mother Laura in Orono, Maine and travels to Charlottesville, Virginia to study for a semester at UVA. She has a convincing cover story and manages to get herself a trial position with The Innocence Project. Professor Robert Parekh takes her on despite her fairly blatant attempt to blackmail him into it, but she will have to prove her dedication to the cause.

Parekh’s intimate team of three students is faced with an urgent case preparation: their latest client, Michael Dandridge, having served eleven years for the rape and murder of Sarah Fitzhugh in Yorktown is, due to certain technicalities, about to face trial once again. Within days, Hannah has manipulated the situation to her advantage, becoming one of Rob’s team.

What isn’t apparent to anyone on the team is that Hannah is not there to help prove Michael ’s innocence; rather, she wants to see him incarcerated for as long as possible, and to this end, sets about surreptitiously sabotaging their efforts; she knows something about Michael Dandridge that they don’t.

Laura Rokeby’s journal from 1994, the year she worked as a maid in a Seal Harbor Hotel, describes her summer love affair with a rich young man, an affair that ends with a shocking tragedy.

McTiernan’s first stand-alone novel has a plot that twists and turns and keeps the reader guessing right up to those jaw-dropping reveals. The felony murder laws and the inner workings of the Innocence Project add interest, and very little suspension of disbelief is required with this intriguing page-turner.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harper Collins

This thriller/mystery novel revolves around a dodgy murder conviction that is up for review and a young law student who becomes involved in a project to prove the accused’s innocence. Hannah is ready to take time away from her difficult relationship with her alcoholic mother Laura and manages to gain a place on “ The Innocent Project” where a well meaning team are working desperately to repeal the case against Michael Dandridge, a convicted murderer who has spent eleven years in prison. Problem is, after finding and reading her mother’s diary as a teen, Hannah has another agenda…. undermine her new colleagues and confirm his guilt.
The diary entries from 1994 are interspersed with Hannah’s shenanigans on the case. And as we readers start to question Hannah’s preconceived biases, she also starts to have doubts…..not only about the case, but about her past and who she even is.
Unfortunately I found both Laura and Hannah very unlikeable and highly unethical. The story though does draw you in. As the facts unravel, uncovering the truth brings danger and fractures relationships. Can Hannah pick up the pieces and redeem herself?
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb for this book drew me in as it didn't give away too much but made me feel I needed to know more. It started slowly (but not too slowly) building the story and the suspense. It kept me reading with the twists and turns, the tension and the characters which really helped make the story real.

I love the aspect the diary brings and the way you get to know Laura and I love how Hannah gets involved in the project and works her magic. This is a book that keeps you on your toes and on the edge of your seat as you never can quite see what is coming.

A great book and I highly recommend it.

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan is a standalone - a departure from the Irish-born Australia-dwelling's Cormac Reilly series that I've enjoyed over the past four-ish years. I've read many good things about [The Murder Rule] over recent months and I can only agree as McTiernan manages to offer readers a likeable (though agenda-laden) lead, intriguing plot and several twists and turns to keep us guessing.

Hannah's very likeable though we're introduced to her as she's blackmailing her way onto the University of Virginia's Innocence Project program. She's also moving to Charlottesville without telling her mother and most definitely has an agenda. Because she doesn't just want to volunteer for the Innocence Project, but she wants to work on a specific case. And she has to do some nefarious things to get there. 

So it'd be easy to find her conniving and untrustworthy. Though interestingly she isn't. We learn some of her backstory pretty quickly, including her complicated relationship with her mother Laura. The latter we're told has never recovered from some events that took place when she was a similar age to Hannah. 

Most of what Hannah knows about this time in her mother's life comes from a diary she discovered when younger. And McTiernan takes us back to 1994 via diary entries and we're introduced to an earnest young Laura trying to save for college by working as a hotel cleaner. 

We learn Hannah's seemingly dedicated herself to avenging what happened to her mother, and the impact it's had on her own life. 

Between the present and past we're introduced to drug dealers, corrupt cops and blackmailers. It doesn't take long before we discover the link between her mother's past and the case she's managed to wangle herself onto. 

Hannah and her Innocence Project colleagues revisit evidence from two decades earlier while their supervisors are preparing new legal arguments. McTiernan was a lawyer herself so seems comfortable with the courtroom scenes and legal proceedings. 

McTiernan offers up quite a few twists as the novel progresses so manages to sustain the climax for some time. I did wonder if some of the final courtroom scenes (and some of Hannah's prior actions) were realistic but assume McTiernan knows more about their legitimacy or feasibility. Perhaps it's more the ethics of some of the actions that will be worthy of bookclub discussion: the ends justifying means... or something.

I very much enjoyed this novel by McTiernan. She seems comfortable in this slightly crime-adjacent genre and I'd love to see more standalones mixed in with her usual series. (A la Michael Robotham, for example.)