This was a fun debut! I was hooked immediately, even though I’m not usually a fan of courtroom thrillers. The premise: A lawyer loses her memory while defending a mass murderer – count me in! The first quarter of the book was fast paced and suspenseful, but the court room scenes slowed the action. Those scenes, although slow, felt the most authentic. I liked the twists, but there were so many it was difficult to keep up and the details got confusing. I would have enjoyed learning more about Lila’s character, because by the end everything was turned on its head and I had no real sense of who she was.

3/5⭐️⭐️⭐️
For readers who enjoy suspense, mystery, and courtroom dramas.

The Trials of Lila Dalton was almost a complete miss for me. The premise sounded very promising - awake with memory loss in front of a jury, and try to figure out who you are, who you’re defending, and how to win the trial in order to get back home. Plus, its basically a locked room mystery, because its an island in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean with no means of escape. But it was so convoluted, and too many details that seemed to mean nothing, and the whole Neo-Nazi terrorism angle was a bit of a turn-off for me. Even the resolution as the end was just much too far-fetched for my taste. Whatever good moments the book had, and there were a few, was just not enough to fully redeem it in my opinion.

Thank you to LJ Shepherd and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.

Imagine opening your eyes and finding out you are representing an individual accused of a domestic bombing, and you have no idea who you are, who your client is, or what is even going on. This is exactly how “The Trials of Lila Dalton” starts, and what follows is a twisty, speculative fiction plot.

It is hard for me to talk about this book without spoiling any part. I will say this: You will either love this one or hate it. I personally love speculative fiction, and while the ending was a bit out there, I still enjoyed the entire plot.

I also very much enjoyed the FMC, Lila Dalton. As a reader, I felt just as lost as she was, and some of the reveals took me a minute to process, similar to our titular character. This entire plot device increased the suspense and tension of the overall novel and created a unique reading experience.

“The Trials of Lila Dalton” is a slow read. The pace is more like a trickle, where reveals are perfectly timed yet are quiet in delivery. There is no A HA! moment. Instead, Shepherd gracefully drops clues and solutions into the reader’s lap and allows the conclusions to come naturally.

I began this book thinking it was about one thing and that thought changed about 20 times while reading. “The Trials of Lila Dalton” is about a trial, but also not. It is about conspiracy theories, but also not. It’s hard to place this one in a category, which may lead some readers to think this book has an identity crisis. It’s an incredible concept if you enjoy speculative fiction. If this is not your type of genre, then I would skip this one. Overall, I enjoyed this debut novel from LJ Shepherd and am excited to see what she writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book started well and seemed interesting but then I found myself very bored with it. It just was not for me unfortunately.

This was one of the most unique and, frankly, strange book I’ve ever read. I didn’t understand what was happening much of the time. It all came together in the end, but it definitely isn’t what I would call a pleasure read. I mainly just needed to see how it ended.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and Netgalley for this ARC!

Admittedly, this was a miss for me. The writing is good. However, I felt the plot was lack luster. IT didn't live up to what the synopsis portrayed to me. I'll admit I didn't quite get all the chapters. The one about Coyote and him sharpening that guy's teeth? I don't get why that was included and what that really brought to the story. It felt unnecessary. This book also includes a fair amount of legal terminology which is fine. I just wish this book included a key/index for the legal terms. My brain is wired for health care terminology because that's what I do for a living. But the legal jargon was going over my head most of the time. But like I said this is well written, especially for a debut. I just wish the plot was a bit more fleshed out and explained more.

I enjoyed the idea of this and most of the story kept me reading. The ending wasn't great, I wanted more of a wrap up and explanation.

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

This courtroom drama was... very different and left me feeling "WTH did I just read". Could be the dystopian setting, the constant twists and implausible subplots (throwing spaghetti at the wall, anyone?) or the cardboard cut-outs of characters, but I did not enjoy this read. I pushed through, thinking it was bound to get better at some point. It did not.

Lila has no idea what she is doing in the courtroom. It appears she is someone's lawyer but she has no recollection of who, how or why. What follows is Lila's delving into the case, what she discovers and what she remembers. But can she trust what she thinks is true? The premise is exciting right? The book starts off well but unfortunately it lost its way for me around the half way mark. I started to get confused with a lot that was going on and found myself stunned at the direction the story took towards the end. It's not a bad debut for LJ Shepherd though and I look forward to reading more.

I enjoyed this one. I did not see it playing out like it did. A nice surprise at the end. Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Trials of Lila Dalton by L. J. Shepherd is an indescribable mashup of genres and storylines. In ways it works swimmingly, in others it's over the top. But it's clever, imaginative and unforgettable. The thought the author put into it is unreal!

Lila Dalton realizes with a start she is in a room with several people expectantly waiting for her to speak. She realizes it's a courtroom and that she has something to do with a case. But who is she, where is she and why is she there? She is surprised to discover the legal jargon coming out of her mouth and during a quick recess pieces a bit of the puzzle together. She is a barrister defending a man accused of killing multiple people and injuring many others. She is on isolated Assumption Island far from home and locals are wary of her. But there is much, much more to it than the criminal case.

The first third had me on tenterhooks, practically chewing my fingernails in suspense. I just loved the intricate originality, twists and turns and unusual courtroom drama. The premise reeled me in immediately and I couldn't put my Kindle down for more than two seconds. However, as time went on things grew more and more implausible and it became a stretch to take in and follow the plethora of details and conspiracies. Yes to quirkiness! But yes also to a measure of believability, even with speculative fiction. None of the characters were particularly likeable but they were interesting.

If you crave something haphazardly unique, tense and flummoxing, this has your name on it. If it didn't get a bit messed up later on, this would be a solid thrilling read for me. But it may be an "it's not you, it's me" situation. I'd happily read more by L. J. Shepherd in future.

My sincere thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this weirdly captivating novel.

It wasn’t for me. I gave it a valiant effort, but I just couldn’t engage with the characters or the storyline. I felt like there were so many random story elements just thrown together in the hopes that something would shake out in the end.

The Trials Of Lila Dalton by LJ Shepherd,, Imagine you become aware of the fact you’re in a quart room and everyone is hanging on your every word and yet you have no idea who you are let alone why you’re there. That was the premise for this book and OMG what a book it is. If this is her debut novel, then make way because I do think we will be hearing from Miss Shepherd more in the future. This book not only has a super overall arc but the subplots are just as intriguing there is so much happening in this book I do think if you’re not familiar with British courtroom vernacular you may not like it I am only kind of knowledgeable in that subject and I absolutely loved it I thought it was great I thought she was awesome and did I mention she’s stuck on an island in the middle of the Atlantic there’s just so many great aspects to this book that make it more intriguing because conspiracy theories are only that if they’re not true right? It’s OK if you don’t believe in conspiracy theories but be warned by the time this book is over you may just believe people are living in the Hollow Earth and that the earth is flat. This book was so good I cannot wait to see what she has to author for her next book I really am jamming with this author and totally can’t wait to read more in the future.#NetGalley, #PushkinPress, #LJShepard, #TheTrialsOfLilaDalton,

An interesting, twisty ride. Lila Dalton is trying a murder case, but she can't remember anything about her life before then. This book really gripped me for the first half and I was there for the ride. So many suspicious people, clues and conspiracies. Then after that I felt as confused and upset as Lila herself. I couldn't figure out what was going on or who to trust and there was a lot of legal jargon and the organization and the way it worked was very hard to understand.

I kept reading though because I was hoping for a satisfying ending to explain it all. I did get that, sort of...the ending was satisfying, but it didn't really clear up all of the confusion. As a debut novel though, I thought it was a lot to take on and the book was certainly unique. I would be interested in reading another to see how the author is improving.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.

This book is an odd mix of courtroom drama, speculative fiction, and psychological suspense.

Lila Dalton awakes in a courtroom with no memory of who she is or her life. She quickly surmises that she’s a lawyer whose job it is to defend a man who planted bombs that killed 27 people. The trial is being held on an isolated island in the north Atlantic where the most series crimes are tried. She starts receiving threatening messages, knows she is being monitored, and is even accused of a crime, so she doesn’t know whom she can trust even as it becomes apparent that it is imperative that she succeed in having her client acquitted.

The chaotic plot requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief. Its a muddled mishmash that goes madly off in in all directions, touching on conspiracy theories, far-right extremists, white supremacists, satanism, government cover-ups, the nature of time, mind-control, and memory tampering. The convoluted plot with its implausible scenarios is confusing and difficult to follow.

Then there’s the ending! The last scene is a coming-full-circle scene which is a nice touch but there are so many unanswered questions. The ending that is supposed to explain everything doesn’t, so it’s definitely not a satisfactory closing.

Another problem is that it is difficult to connect with Lila. We get to learn very little about her and she acts in a scatter-brained manner. For example, she knows she should be focusing on the case but she goes off and wastes time, later admitting, “How could I have dropped the ball so badly?” We do see glimmers of intelligence during her cross-examinations of witnesses, but otherwise there’s no depth to her. There’s a similar problem with the secondary characters who are also flat. So many of the men are stereotypical misogynists?

The only time I found myself agreeing with the novel was during the discussion of the dangers of the internet: “’This is going to be an information war. And the casualties will be logic and truth. The bombs will be lies and rhetoric. . . . People will be controlled by the internet. Even weirder, they’ll think they’re in control.’”

This book was definitely not for me. Much of the time I felt like Lila: lost and disoriented. Was this the author’s intention? The labyrinthine ideologies espoused by various characters and the illogical sequence of events make this a bizarre read. For me, it was a real trial.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I really enjoy a good legal thriller and this one captured me right away. This is my first book by this author and won't be my last. Thank you for my gifted copy. I'll be recommending this title to customers.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a free review. I feel very neutral about this book, not bad but also not great. Would still highly recommend!

I hate writing a bad review but honestly I don’t even know what I just read?! This story started off so great but went downhill soooo quickly! This story was all over the place, going around and around in circles, and just straight up confusing!! I could not wait for this story to end because I was just so over it! Lila had no idea what was going on and her memories were gone and she didn’t even know who she was, it was starting to make my brain hurt! Even in the end it just felt like a waste of time and honestly wish I never read this story at all. This was NOT for me.

If you like court room stories, with politics, court jargon, laws, and governments and their involvement then this is for you. I was sooo bored and I felt like I was learning something in a classroom that I could care less about. I’m so sorry again for an awful review/rating but I will not be reading anything else by this author in the future.

Not my typical type of read. This book was really interesting and a little bit chilling. I enjoyed it. This would be a good fall book club pick!

3.5 stars. Lila Dalton, a very skilled barrister, comes to in a court room with a judge and 12 jurors looking at her, only to discover that she is the defense attorney in a terrorist case where 27 people died in a bombing. She has no memory of anything up to that very moment. She has to question everything and put on a face that she knows everything. Assumption Island, a fictional North Atlantic location where Lila must get her client off scot-free or end up losing her daughter and never escaping the island.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this e-arc.*