The Trials of Lila Dalton
Written by L. J. Shepherd
Published by Poisoned Pen Press
Release Date August 27, 2024

I honestly wanted to love this book. I would have even settled for liked this book. Yet for some reason neither could be said. The premise sounded great in that a barrister, Lisa Dalton was defending a man on trial for mass murder but the catch was she had amnesia. I love a great murder mystery and this sounded as though it was spot on at first. As I started reading though there were many parts of the story that fell flat and was somewhat confusing. Yeah, there were twists but you could tell the author was really trying too hard to make them believable. The characters were well developed and I did enjoy the banter that went on in the courtroom. Overall though I cannot say I was very impressed.

3 stars

Thank you to the author, publisher, and to Netgalley for giving me a copy to read in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I love a great mystery, but this one didn't hit the mark for me. I never truly believed one of the plot points that formed a key twist in the novel, and overall the whole story felt overly complex and confusing. There are a lot of twists and turns in this tale, so I don't want to give anything away, but while I generally enjoy stories with an element of memory loss, this one was tough to engage with. Some of Lila's recovered memories seemed to translate to nothing, and others never fully made sense. I did enjoy the aspect of her still retaining her legal knowledge, even if she couldn't remember the day before! I wouldn't call this one a beach red, but I could see it being a hit for someone who enjoys conspiracy theories and delving into more complicated mysteries.

I recently read “The Trials of Lila Dalton” by L.J. Shepherd, but it wasn’t to my liking. The premise, involving a barrister with amnesia defending a mass murderer on a remote island, seemed promising but fell flat for me. The constant twists felt overdone, making the plot convoluted rather than thrilling. Additionally, the characters lacked depth, and I struggled to connect with Lila or feel invested in her plight. The atmospheric setting and psychological elements couldn’t compensate for the confusing narrative and the implausible scenarios that detracted from the overall story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
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I am such a sucker for a thriller/mystery book that's set entirely in one location and this book is no exception. This honestly was such a mind-altering book to get through. There were times when it was hard to follow along with what was happening with our main character, but on the other hand, it was so fun reading along and understanding the same time as Lila. While there were some parts where I could predict what might be going on, the ending still threw me for a loop, and I did not see it coming. This book does a fantastic job of making you question what's real and what's not.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book is a standard legal courtroom drama, but the book was a tad overambitious borderline unhinged in how many things it tries to be.

The crime became a side story as I tried to figure out the real mystery, who is and what happened to Lila Dalton. The story fell apart a bit towards the end coz I wasn't able to be convinced to suspend my belief, but still kept my interest.

Looking forward to see what other storyline the author could come up with.

When it was all said and done and the big plot twist came, I found myself disappointed. The writing was very engaging, but ultimately the ending just wasn’t for me. The writer did a great job of intertwining small details to bring the story together and I do appreciate the subtle nuance throughout that you will likely miss if you’re a speed reader.

I really enjoyed 90% of this book! Lila “wakes up” midday, mid-trial, with zero memories of who she is, or how she got there. Great pacing, with plenty of twists and turns along the way! The last few chapters kind of took a left turn that was not really needed or necessary to the rest of the story.

this was a confusing read. the beginning was very interesting. and just as i was really getting into it, the author overwhelms the story with A LOT of goings on. it felt like they wanted to keep the story interesting by adding on a series of subplots. and that's where they lost me. i just felt like there were too many loose ends here. again, most of the first half made this very promising. it just completely missed the mark after that. if their intention was to have the reader just as lost and confused as the main character, then i guess mission accomplished.

thank you to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me to read this book. i received this book as an ARC and leave this review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review

A thought provoking book. Full of mystery and intrigue where nothing is what you think it is. Not a simple read and not for the feint hearted 3 stars

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this was a whole rollercoaster. i was actually so obsessed, despite its predictability and the fact that i think lila should have died in the explosion herself. someone in the reviews said this was like [famous book] x [famous movie adaptation of book], and i absolutely see it. x character being a nazi was obvious, and the island being the [redacted] brainchild of a nutcase billionaire was also predictable (this one was on purpose, so it didn't take away from the intrigue).

but with this many inspirations/themes, it felt like the plot was trying for something that it didn't quite achieve (at least with me). the execution and pacing was off. far too much happened in the last 20% and the first 60% is just going in circles, making the [book] inspiration as obvious as possible. granted, the similarities are why i was so invested in the first place—i love that brand of dystopia.

lower rating because the prose was meh, the characters were insufferable (i hate defense lawyers. your first client is a nazi cultist mass murderer, your second client is a serial rapist, and you're a woman?? oh camille vasquez, do you not have shame?), and it was just unoriginal in how it portrayed certain themes.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Seemed hard to hold on to at times but I’m glad I finished it. It is a good read and I would recommend it to a friend.

Unfortunately I have decided to DNF this book, i’m not sure if i just went into it with an idea of something it isn’t or I just didn’t vibe with it, I read to about 35% and I just cannot connect to the characters at all. I apologize.

Wow - Gripping!

Right from the start, we're drawn into a situation where Lila Dalton is standing in a courtroom and has no idea how she got there, or why she's there! Stuck on an island (reminds me of Alcatraz) off the English coast, the primary industry is supposedly fishing. But really, everything seems to revolve around the detention center and prison for terrorists.

Having no recollection of any details, she pieces together that the primary lawyer was involved in an accident and it's now up to her to represent this man accused of mass murder. As she starts to uncover small truths, odd things happen: her room is broken into, her phone calls are cut short or have terrible static, she's accused of crimes she didn't commit, and the list goes on. Feeling as though she isn't sure what's true or real, and not sure who she can trust, she's overwhelmed and incredibly stressed.

The multiple POVs are a bit hard to follow at first, but do eventually come together. I did not see the ending to this coming very far in advance.

Thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and L.J. Shepherd for the eARC.

A head scratching, thought provoking book. Lila has no memory when suddenly she is the barrister at an important terrorist trail, representing the alleged terrorist. What ensues is a whirlwind of facts and false news, who to trust, nothing is what it seems, nazism, occultism and much more. There are shades of our political environment right now and what the future may bring. All in all a good enough read for me to finish but not really my cup of tea.
Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for giving me the chance to read and give feedback.

The Trials of Lila Dalton is a courtroom thriller with a twist. In that Lila Dalton is a Defence Lawyer but she can’t remember how she got to the courtroom. In fact, she doesn’t even know where she is, who she is, or who she is defending.

This is part of the premise of the novel the fact that Lila ha no real grip on the reality around her. She is defending a terrorist and stranded on an Island where no one seems to arrive and the only ones to leave are dead.

The plot went all over the place though. I couldn’t keep track of the characters, many who ended up dead anyways. The plot was also so twisty that I finished the novel and thought I really had non idea what was going on there.

It was a bit like Twin Peaks meets the BBC serial drama Ashes to Ashes if that makes sense. Unfortunately for me there were just to many plot twists.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy, unfortunately this time the book was just not for me.

Begins incredibly well, who is Lila ad how is she suddenly in a court room charged with defending a man she has no recollection of, let alone how she got there.

i admit I began to struggle with the plot about half way through, I started to lose track of who certain characters were and some plot lines confused me.

Having said that the premise is incredible and it was a unique set up.

Unfortunately on this occasion this book just wasn't for me.

Best of luck to the Author. though, a lot of work went into creating the world in which the plot is set.

The storyline reeled me in - Lila has to clear her name from murder. However, the execution was really poor. The ending and twist was really confusing. There was a lot of repetition without any suspense. It got quite boring after a while! The character development was really poor which made this a really difficult read. I was going to give up a few times but stuck through it (which was not a good idea!) I think the author tried to do too much at once, which lead to the story being confusing and unbelievable.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The trials of Lila dalton

2.5 stars

How do I begin to describe this book? The most simplest way would be to say that the author had her finger in too many pies. There was way too many subplots and themes that the book just got lost.

I was so excited to be able to read this that I started it straight away. However, reading this soon began to feel like a chore.

You started with memory loss, then kidnapping, then terrorism, bombing, then hit big on mind control, experiments, religion, portrayal, psy ops, undercover police. It just didn’t work.

The takeaway? Stick to one idea and run with it.

This had a really good premise and a great start to the book. But somewhere in the middle it just kind of fell apart. I still enjoyed the story but I just didn’t feel that connected to Lila the main character I wasn’t rooting for her.
Overall an ok read. Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an interesting read… I was initially hooked and really liked the idea of the storyline, however the further into the book, the more confusing it became.
I didn’t understand the ending and I found a few chapters unrelatable, and upon finishing the book, still am confused as to how they relate to the main story.

I really enjoyed the first 50% but did not like the way the last 50% went.