Lila Dalton’s situation—a lawyer with no memory of her case, trapped on an island where high-stakes trials are held—creates a strong sense of disorientation that immediately pulls the reader in. The story’s amnesiac twist keeps the tension high as Lila fights to unravel the truth, not just about her client’s case but about her own circumstances. The claustrophobic setting on an isolated island adds to the suspense, amplifying the sense of urgency.

While the plot offers plenty of twists and turns, there are moments where it veers into overly convoluted territory. The revelations come fast, but some feel a bit forced or predictable. However, Lila’s character is compelling enough to carry the story through its weaker spots. Her struggle to separate reality from deception keeps the reader invested, even when the pacing becomes uneven.

The courtroom drama mixed with psychological elements makes for a gripping read, though not all the twists land with the intended impact. It’s a solid, page-turning mystery with just enough surprises to keep you engaged.

The Trials of Lila Dalton, by L.J. Shepherd, is a dark, dystopian tale of a barrister who suddenly finds herself in the middle of a criminal trial with no memories of who she is or why she is where she is. Immediately, I was pulled in and determined to discover the origin of her dilemma. Unfortunately, I was doomed to failure. The atmospherics were deliciously evil. Although the story intensified for a bit, the plot eventually circled around the same territory again and again. The protagonist was mildly sympathetic, but the supporting characters were flat and almost interchangeable. Finally, the conclusion offered no resolution at all. Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Books for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC. Although I did not enjoy this novel and will not recommend it, I think this author shows promise once she conquers plotting and character development.

When our amnesiac heroine comes to, she realizes that she’s standing in a British courtroom. She quickly learns that her name is Lila Dalton and that she’s the barrister in charge of defending the man sitting in the dock. Unfortunately, she has no idea what her client is accused of, who he is or how they got to where they are now.

After successfully stalling for time, Lila uses her not inconsiderable intelligence to gather information about her circumstances. The details, however, only make her feel even more anxious about her situation. Her client is a Nazi wannabe who’s been accused of bombing Abbott House, a Home Office building in Birmingham. The prosecution has plenty of incriminating video evidence of him doing the deed, as well as reams of information found at his home on his hateful motivations. Lila would have her work cut out for her even if her memories of everything before this first day of trial were intact. Handicapped by her amnesia, she’s forced to learn as she goes, all while scrambling to hide her sudden disability. She knows enough, after all, to want to avoid accidentally torpedoing her career should her memories return as abruptly as they left her.

It’s that same ambition that drives her to do her best for her client, odious as he is. But that isn’t enough for a mysterious stranger, who’s started leaving weird messages for her both in court and at the hotel where she’s staying for the duration of the trial. Get her client off of all charges, the messages say, or face potentially dire consequences. She realizes that her tormentor isn’t joking when she’s suddenly detained on suspicion of murder and must turn to her own solicitor for help. He comes to her aid, but with no great enthusiasm. Stung, she admonishes him:

QUOTE
“I thought you were on my side,” I say.

He chuckles darkly. “That’s what all clients think, isn’t it? That we defend them because we’re on their side, because we believe them. We both know it’s not our job to believe them; it’s our job to represent them.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“How many of the fuckers we represent do you actually think are innocent?”
END QUOTE

Though she’s eventually let go for lack of evidence, Lila soon finds herself spiraling into a strange world of conspiracies and psyops. It doesn’t help that the island that she’s found herself on is deeply weird. The remote location and its insular community have little time for the officers of the court who come through in order to carry out the Crown’s business, and treat her with a barely concealed disdain. Her amnesia makes it so that she doesn’t even understand why this trial is being held here instead of on the mainland, especially given the location of the crime. An unlikely ally spells it out for her when she asks:

QUOTE
“Humor me. Why would a government want to offshore foreign criminals, and–what was it?”

“Domestic terrorists.”

“Yes. Why? Isn’t it more expensive to do it over here?”

“It is, but it’s worth it for the optics. The public hates the idea of people from abroad coming to Britain, benefiting from our NHS, our welfare system, and then betraying that trust by committing crimes, no matter how petty, no matter the mitigating circumstances. Prison, in those circumstances, isn’t enough for some people. So, the government decided to offshore them as an extra punishment.”

The UK has an island dedicated to imprisoning foreign nationals? Something about this strikes me as odd. My experience of the world is of an unsympathetic place where differences are rooted out and punished, but for the UK to treat foreign criminals as the same as terrorists seems particularly warped.
END QUOTE

As Lila works to regain her memories and defend her client, she’ll be pitted against the strange goings on of her temporary home, as alliances shift and buried secrets work their way back to the surface. Someone is determined to make Lila look like a murderer, even as she’s forced to defend a man she can’t stand. Will Lila be able to figure out what’s going on and bring a shadowy killer to justice, or will she become yet another victim lost to this uncaring island?

I learned so much about British jurisprudence while reading this legal thriller with a speculative bent. Lila is a terrific barrister whose poise despite being thrust into unthinkable circumstances is exemplary. I loved following along as she fought against an unfair prosecution and grappled with her own conscience about defending an avowed terrorist.

The speculative nature of the thriller didn’t impress me quite as much, though it was at least presented in a more convincing manner than I’ve read in other, more famous books of its type. The narrative is disjointed, of necessity, but sticking with it will provide readers with a fulfilling tale of legal maneuvers and philosophical ponderings. I still don’t understand the significance of the Eighth, but found the circular nature of the story quite satisfying overall, even as I did feel a sneaking sympathy for those people, fictional or otherwise, who are caught in the eternal hamster wheel of ensuring that justice is served as best as humanly possible.

I had to DNF this novel at 40% due to the pacing - would love to try again at a later point. I did enjoy the characters and the plot seemed intriguing at first, but the storyline pacing made me fall out of reading multiple times.

This. lol follows a woman named Lila as she has lost her memory and has to defend a serial killer. How does one defend a serial killer if one doesn’t even remember themselves or that they are a lawyer. This book comes across as a courtroom potential to be excellent. However in my opinion it fell flat. It would have been nice to have kot about Lila and her background how she lost her memory etc. I mean after all the book is named after her. This book was rather slow and daunting.

Trial Of Lila Dalton by L. J Shephard

This book was so interesting! It’s a courtroom drama with a twist! Lila can’t remember what happened to her but she comes to at the court house and her silk… is in a coma and she’s been thrown in. She can’t remember a lick of anything… and someone wants her to win or she will lose in a big way!

Oohh gave me chills! Lila is great because she can’t remember anything and she gets pieces of memories as she goes. Someone wants her to win her case but something sinister is going on.

The pace is a bit slow for me but the story was interesting enough that I could overlook that! There are some plot holes but again, I can move past that.

The ending wasn’t brilliant but I did enjoy the book on the whole.

4 stars

**Initial Reaction**: 9

**Characters:** 9

**Setting:** 10

**Plot:** 9

**Pace:** 7

**Style:** 6

**Ending:** 8

**Enjoyment:** 9

67 / 16 = 4.1895

Rounded Rating - 4.25

DNF at 33%, I've been reading this book for over a month and am finally giving in and calling it. The premise is intriguing and I was supposed to be buddy reading this, and my buddy finished and said it did get better around 65%, but i just can't push through right now. There is so much dry description and so little dialogue that I've just had a very hard time getting immersed in this. Hopefully it's a me thing and not the book, because it is a cool concept!

I love a courtroom drama so was excited to read this debut by a real life barrister. The premise was intriguing and the first few chapters caught my attention… this was going to be good! And it was… just not as much as my high expectations were anticipating. I found it confusing and actually read the last 20% twice to try and make sense of it all in my head. The fact that I was only able to read it sporadically as I was away on holiday definitely played a part in my confusion - it’s a book that demands concentration and I finished thinking it was far too clever for me. In retrospect - because it’s certainly a book that plays on your mind after finishing - I think it took me by surprise because I had no idea what to expect and the direction it took certainly wasn’t anywhere where I thought it was going. My thoughts now are that I didn’t do the book justice! I would definitely read the author’s next offering.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the digital ARC.

L.J. Shepherd crafts a gripping and mind-bending mystery in "The Trials of Lila Dalton". The novel plunges readers into the disorienting world of Lila Dalton, a lawyer with no memory of how she ended up defending a mass murderer in a courtroom on a remote island. The stakes are high, with Lila's own freedom tied to the case's outcome. Shepherd excels at creating a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere where every character is suspicious and nothing is as it seems.

The plot twists keep you on your toes, and the amnesia element adds a layer of psychological suspense that heightens the tension. Lila's struggle to piece together her memories while navigating the trial's complexities makes for a compelling read. I can promise that you will not see the plot twist coming.

Thank you L.J.Shepherd, Poisoned Pen Press, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you to NetGalley, L.J. Shepard, and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC of this book.

Firstly, this was so beyond loony I can't even articulate how unrealistic this book was. It started off strong; Woman with little to know memory finds out she's a lawyer and has to defend a mass murderer. Sounds absolutely epic, and it was until it spiraled out of control.

The mind control, white supremacist, religion, politics, and satanic cult like plot lines were just way too much. This book had HUGE potential with it being a courtroom drama with amnesia. If it was left as such this would have easily been 4 stars. This author decided to go on flight of ridiculous ideas and it totally ruined it.

I skimmed so much of this book just to get it done and over with. The first 50% was decent, the last 50% I couldn't wait to finish. It dragged on endlessly with way too many clichés and unfinished plot lines. There was just way too much going on and so much of this book felt incomplete.

The characters were obnoxious and unlikeable except Dev in the first 60%. His character was entertaining. Lila we hardly learn anything about which is odd for it being all about her and her missing memories. The suspense was absent, the thrill non-existent. I wanted to DNF this. This was many hours long.

Sadly, this was just not for me. If you're into weird, unrealistic plot lines this might be for you. But if you're more cerebral, I'd pass on this one.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my gifted copy.

I am always on the lookout for the next big legal thriller. Ugh, it pains me to say this, but this one was not the one. This one way way over me head and I was confused m, and I just couldn't enjoy it.

She’s defending a man accused of a heinous crime….

….yet she has no idea who or where she is, or what the crime was. In what can only be described as the worst possible take on that dream we’ve all had where we arrive to take a final exam for a class we never attended, Lila Dalton comes to consciousness in a British courtroom with a judge and jury awaiting her opening statement. She is understandably panicked and overwhelmed, but does not admit to her state. With glimmers of courtroom knowledge kicking in, she asks for a brief recess and so begins her arduous journey to reclaim her memories and perform her role in the trial. The more she learns about the circumstances surrounding the case and her current level of involvement in it, the more dire the situation becomes. The person who should have been leading the defense just died in a suspicious automobile crash, hence Lila’s elevation to that role. Lila begins receiving mysterious messages reminding her that she has to secure an acquittal for her client or else suffer an unthinkable consequence. The trial is taking place on Assumption Island, a British Overseas Territory, and the island and people on it are to put it mildly strange. She senses that her every action is being monitored, that her ability to communicate freely is hampered, and is even arrested briefly for her predecessor’s death. With no real memories and able only to occasionally access bits of legal knowledge, Lila joins forces with a fringe journalist and a police officer who seems to share some of Lila’s suspicions about what is happening on Assumption Island, all while combatting a condescending prosecutor, a handsy judge and a Special Branch DC whose motivations are highly suspect. Will justice prevail amidst such an inauspicious environment?
In this novel, the reader as well as the protagonist enter into the story with little information. Who is Lila, and why is she in the state she is in? What is this trial about? Who is threatening her? As the plot unfolds, answers to these questions slowly begin to appear, although character development is given how the story is set up is limited. I would have preferred for the plot to have moved along more quickly and for the construct of the story to have been made clear sooner, but it is an interesting lens through which to view a legal case. Readers of authors like Paula Hawkins, William Landay and Harry Dolan might be interested in picking up a copy of The Trials of Lila Dalton. My thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me early access to a copy of this intriguing thriller.

The plot really intrigued me. A defense lawyer who lost her memory in the middle of a case involving a terrorist attack on a strange island in the UK. It kept me interested about 40-50% of the book because of all the mystery, but the execution and the reveals were getting confusing. There was so much packed in the book that it left a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions. It was a fun and entertaining read, but it left me a little confused with the sci-fi twist at the end. 3.5 stars!

This was almost a DNF for me. I just didn’t love the vibe. I wanted way more out of the characters. They all fell flat for me, and it was hard to get through it.

This book drew me in at the beginning and kept me thinking that it would end up being a 3.5-4 star read, but towards the end the story began to develop to a 3-3.5 star. I enjoyed the beginning court room drama and the premise of the story, but my adoration changed by tge end. The ending seemed to be a little too convenient to wrap up the end of the story and a little strange in what was happening. A little more structure to the story and an easier to follow plot would have benefitted this book.

L.J. Shepherd will be on my radar for their next release because I can see all the potential in this writer for trial and courtroom procedural drama. I adore procedurals, and can't wait to see what they bring to the table next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was really excited about the premise of the story. The beginning was really good...I mean a lawyer that wakes up with amnesia. I don't know what happened but after awhile the main character was annoying and drove me crazy. I couldn't wait for it to end.

ummmm maybe genre bending but not sure how to execute it ??? It was just all very weird. Super action packed and intriguing in the very beginning but it was just weird, odd, I'm not even sure.

Unfortunately I had to dnf.

Ok so a little confusing at first, not a lot of suspense or action right away but I was interested. About 50-60% through and I was fully invested. Intriguing concept and storyline. Loved the ending/epilogue. Would recommend!

The Trials of Lila Dalton ☾𖤓
by L.J. Shepard
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5 stars!!

This book starts with a fascinating twist: Lila wakes up with no memory, suddenly defending someone in a high-stakes trial. The story takes you on a wild, speculative ride as she uncovers secrets and tries to piece together her past. The slow, deliberate pacing builds suspense and keeps you guessing. If you’re a fan of speculative fiction and enjoy a good mystery with unexpected turns, this book is definitely worth a read. It’s an intriguing debut with a lot of twists and turns that make it a unique experience.