👊🏼👊🏼.5/5 Thank you to @netgalley for our digital ARC of “The Trials of Lila Dalton.” Release date; August 27, 2024.

This novel finds Lila, erased of her memory standing in front of a court room as a defense attorney. Her job is to defend a man accused of perpetrating a mass bombing as part a Neo Nazi group. The court resides on an island, used for the persecution of people charged as terrorists or with treason.

This story was complicated, so much happening that I honestly couldn’t keep track of what was going on most of the time. There was just too much. Too many threads to follow and I wasn’t invested in the characters enough to pay attention. I ended up skimming at the end just o get through it.

I did appreciate the knowledge of legal proceedings and the conspiracy angles, but it just didn’t bring me in enough.

I would like to thank Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for allowing me to read the ARC of this title.

The intrigue of this story line is what saved this story and what continued to draw me to pick it up. Coming to with no memory while being in a court room and realizing you are the defense attorney is fascinating. How did Lila get there? Why does she recall law process? What is real and what is conspiracy theory? The idea of this story is why I continued to read-

However, I think this story was a little too much of everything + the kitchen sink- it had too much and I had a hard time keeping the story straight despite not having very many characters and only one main setting. It also made everything feel VERY far fetched. Additionally, I did not feel personally invested in any of the main characters stories, I just kept reading to see what happened and how Lila lost her memory more than me wanting to make sure Lila was going to end up triumphant in the end.

Full transparency, which could have played a role in my confusion, is I am from the US and do not understand much about the legal system abroad. The terms, wardrobe, roles etc were all new to me while reading the book. If someone asked me if they should read this book I would tell them to 'read at their own risk'.

I'm sorry, I really tried reading this book but I just can't get into it. I'm really sorry. Its just not for me.

A very speculative fiction about Lila who finds herself in a courtroom and she has no idea how she got there. She is defending a mass murdered but has no recollection of the case. There are also threats and conspiracies abound.

The plot here was intriguing enough but the writing was just hard. Especially the first chapter I was so confused about what was going on.

I thought this was a really good story, written really well but i was sadly disappointed by the ending.. i mean what was all that about?!?!weird!

Thank you net galley and poison press for the free digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
*disclaimer* I am not a big thriller/mystery reader, but I do read them on occasion.

I found The Trials of Lila Dalton to be an interesting premise and was intrigued when I first started reading… however, I found that the book did not pick up pace as it went on, which is a huge part of why I read thrillers. Also I thought that there was simply too much going on with the plot and I found it was hard to really understand the characters and make assumptions about them (another huge part of thriller reading).

Personally this book was not for me, but I’m sure it’s for someone.

The Trials of Lila Dalton had a decent story line but had a kind of odd twist. Honestly it felt like one of those underlying message books about the judicial system being corrupt. Far Right and Far Left B.S. . I found this book hard to get through and lost interest more than a few times. It was a struggle for sure.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and L.J. Shepherd for this arc for free in exchange for an honest review. I dnf’d this book. It was slow to me and I didn’t like the writing.

I dnf this book. I just didn't like the writing and it just seemed slow to me. Thanks to the publisher and net gallery for the e-arc in enhance for an honest review.

“The Trials of Lila Dalton” by L.J. Shepherd is a speculative legal thriller that starts with a gripping premise: Lila Dalton awakens in a courtroom with no memory of who she is, tasked with defending a man accused of mass murder. This initial intrigue hooks readers, as they join Lila in piecing together the fragmented reality around her. Stranded on an island where serious crimes are tried, Lila must navigate the courtroom and uncover the truth about her circumstances to survive.

The novel excels in its early stages, drawing readers in with its intricate legal details and courtroom drama, reflecting Shepherd’s background as a barrister. The tension builds as Lila grapples with her amnesia and the high stakes of her case. However, as the plot progresses, the narrative becomes increasingly convoluted. The story’s complexity and the constant introduction of new twists and turns can feel overwhelming, leaving some readers struggling to keep up with the evolving storyline.

While the book’s latter half may lose momentum for some due to its dense plot layers and occasional reliance on clichés, it still offers a unique and engaging reading experience. “The Trials of Lila Dalton” is a thought-provoking and imaginative debut that explores themes of justice, memory, and trust. It will likely polarize readers, with some appreciating its ambition and others finding it overly complex. Nonetheless, it stands out for its originality and the compelling mystery at its core.

BOOK REVIEW: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Emojis: 👩🏻‍💼🧑‍⚖️💣🤔🥸

First and foremost, thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review of #TheTrialsofLilaDalton

Lila Dalton wakes up in the middle of a trial in which she knows nothing about, and has zero clue who she is or where she’s at.

This book has really good bones and for the first 55% it really kept me intrigued. I needed to know why she was in this room, and what was happening. Somewhere around 55-60% I felt like the layers got to be excessive and we started losing the real plot. I was also frustrated, like the judge, for the repetition: breaking to chat with jury, clients, gather witnesses etc. I felt like while it was necessary to the plot, it was redundant.

However, the ending reeled it back in and tied things together nicely. Without giving away too much, I’ll say that you do indeed learn who Lila is and what’s happening and I liked the concept of how the trial was run. It was very dystopian in a sense.

This thriller was a good read overall and I enjoyed the suspense of it. #boldsbooks #bookreview #bookrecommendation

This is a debut novel and I think the writer is promising. It was a good debut. My enjoyment shifted from 3-3.5 stars throughout. This premise definitely caught my eye.

"Trials aren't about the truth. They're about what you can and can't prove."

Essentially what this one is all about. I don't want to give too much away as I enjoyed just reading it and finding out things along the way. It definitely went in a different direction than I thought it would. This is a book that some may like and others won't. It will rub some people the wrong way. I thought it was a clever and unique take that played with your mind.

Lila Dalton is in a courtroom. She cannot remember anything about her past or this trial she is apparently involved in. All she can figure out is that he's a mass murderer. She doesn't even remember that she's a lawyer but she seems to know and understand the court proceedings.

The writing kept me engaged but it is a complicated plot with lots of legal jargon. It does challenge you to think about the justice system. If you can suspend your disbelief in parts I think you will enjoy the story (and ending!) Also just love the cover!

This is a legal thriller but also a very different kind of thriller at the same time. This book wasn’t for me and that’s okay. There was some political and other hard topics discussed. Just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean this was a bad book!

A very different courtroom drama. So much going on, it was difficult to know what was real and what was imagined. I felt like maybe I wasn’t smart enough for this novel, it just seemed like too much work to read. I am sure it will resonate with some readers who enjoy complicated plots and dystopian settings, just not my cup of tea.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories. However, this book kept me engaged and I really needed to find out what was going on.

I received an advance review copy for free (thank you NetGalley), and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, The Trials of Lila Dalton was not the book for me. While the writing was engaging and immersive, the subject matter was odd and the legal jargon was overbearing at times. Honestly, I was just waiting for this book to end. I still can't decide if I like Lila Dalton as a character or not. She had crazy circumstances happen to her, but her behavior was also very strange. Overall, I felt like this book tried to do too much - there was too much neo-Nazi content as well as religious, political, and psychological issues going on. Everything was way too far fetched for me... and if I didn't care about the character, what is my motivation to be engaged with this book? I'd consider reading the author again but perhaps with a different sort of plot. I think for the right reader this book will be a hit but that is not me. I was expecting more of a realistic thriller and this was not that.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book!

This story skillfully weaves together themes of love, loss, and self-discovery, creating a tapestry of emotions that resonated with me personally. Lila's journey is both heart-wrenching and uplifting, as she confronts her past and navigates the turbulent waters of her present.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲: 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝?! 𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒊𝒍𝒂 𝑫𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐬, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 (𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟) 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬!

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐿.𝒥. 𝒮𝒽𝑒𝓅𝒽𝑒𝓇𝒹, 𝒫𝑜𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒫𝑒𝓃 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Quantum physics and alternative universes really seem to be carving a big section into the literary world. The Trials of Lila Dalton is a piece of work that would fall into this category.

Imagine yourself transported to a time and place with no sense of who you are or why you are there. Unnerving, right? That’s exactly the situation Lila Dalton finds herself in. She is in a courtroom on a small island, representing a client accused of a horrific act, supposedly with the qualifications to be there. All while asking, who am I? To make her confusion greater, she is receiving threats that leave her on edge. Determined to figure out who she is and who she can trust, Lila takes the reader on a journey that will keep you guessing.
While I found the story entertaining, I felt the cult-like group representation woven throughout the story wasn’t necessary and a little too much, almost making the book a bit of a fantasy. For me, the political discontent factor would have been enough to deliver a hair-raising mystery.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. It was a captivating read that makes me thankful for my boring, everyday routines!

This book’s description sounded so intriguing, twisted, and appealing! I didn’t, however, venture very far into the novel before concluding that I was not the right reader for this story. Yes, it had a tantalizing premise and suspenseful moments, but I just couldn’t get very invested in The Trials of Lila Dalton.