First I just want to thank NetGalley for the arc of this book! My review is my honest opinion!

Right off the bat I was hooked with this book and the court room drama (sucker for that) but some things about the plot were a miss for me. I found myself getting disinterested as each twist happened I felt like things were left unsaid (not enough answers). Towards the last few chapters I found myself just saying “when is this book going to end”. This was an interesting concept, and I enjoyed the book just not as much as I hoped to!

I loved the premise of this book and the complexities and intricacies of the legal world. There has been a clear and successful research to make this element seem so real and detailed. Alas even with this element this one was not for me, the Neo- Nazis and religious and political viewpoints felt a little too forced on the reader for my tastes and the ending was just too much disbelief to suspend.
I enjoyed the writing and will be looking for something different from this author in the future. Thank you for my copy to read and review.

3.5 ☆ first of all! thank you to netgalley and poisoned pen press for giving me an e-arc to review!! honoured everyday that i literally get to do this like wow. now onto the book. firstly, unique premise and that was what truly initially drew me in. a woman comes to and she realises shes defending an alleged domestic terrorist. the cover is also very appealing so straight of the bat, a great first impression.

i started reading the book and was initially quite skeptical of the first person pov used, and still, i think third person may have been a better choice for a more polished novel (personal preference rather than anything), but it didnt annoy me as much as i thought it would which was a plus. now the book gets literally crazy and shit starts hitting the fan. despite that, i guessed the plot twist very early on and the second plot twist not soon after, so the predictability was a bit disappointing. also it was so unbelievably confused towards the end and i felt like maybe the story was a bit overly ambitious

overall though, it was a gripping read. i think the main character was quite compelling, and i truly felt for her when she was struggling with literally losing her memory. once again, the plot was interesting and i think it was well-paced, so overall? a win!!

so basically, if a good fast paced mystery is your thing, give this a go!

Definitely an interesting premise with a lot of potential , in the end I felt left wanting more and there were some plot holes! An author to look out for in the future

I’m going to keep this brief because I honestly have no idea what I just read. I ended up giving it 3 stars because I genuinely have no idea what happened in the last few chapters and I got to the point that I wasn’t even sure I wanted to understand.
The Trials of Lila Dalton had so much potential!!!! But it really went off the deep end for me. Lila comes to in the courtroom about to defend a mass murder. We know nothing about Lila, where she is or who the defendant is going in to the story. The story delves pretty deeply into nazism, white supremacy, race wars. Really heavy, ugly topics that filled me with rage basically the entire time. It was so random to me because the book does not address that at all in the description but it ended up being a massive plot in the book.
Before I knew which way the story was going to go, it gave creepy Truman Show vibes, where someone had the feeling of being watched by everyone, everywhere and nowhere was safe.
Honestly, I don’t even think I can describe this book, specifically the ending, if someone asked.
Read with caution but maybe it’ll be your thing! It’s heavy in court procedure so that’s something.
Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this unique book before its intended publication date.

The Trials of Lila Dalton has a fascinating premise, Lila Dalton is a barrister in a courtroom with no memory of how she got there and truly no memories at all. She soon comes to realize that she is defending someone accused of a mass bombing, and she may be seeing people who aren't really there. Not only that, Lila Dalton is on an isolated island that she is completely unfamiliar with. Confused and worried, things get worse when Lila begins receiving threats.

I went into this book nearly blind, in part because the synopsis is cryptic and doesn't not give much away- a refreshing change of pace. This wasn't my typical style of mystery novel, but I enjoyed it enough to finish it somewhat quickly. I found the ending a bit confusing, and I often wondered if I would have understood more if I was British or had more background knowledge about their politics and subcultures.

Overall, this is a twisty, mysterious story with legal elements and commentary on extremist groups. Slightly nontraditional in its approach, I think it might be a good fit for fans of Sci-fi and political suspense.

The Trials of Lila Dalton is an incredibly hard book to write a review for without spoiling everything, so I'll just say this: If you like cerebral thrillers that leave breadcrumbs interwoven throughout the story and make you question your sanity, this is for you. Lila Dalton awakes in court with no recollection of who she is and why she is supposedly defending a murderer. Nothing and no one is what they seem in this book and it will leave you shocked through the very last sentence.

It is one of these books where you are thinking "damn, the idea is good", when you read the plot and somehow, it goes somewhere you had not planned to go.

When Lila gets back to her senses, she quickly understands that she is the barrister in the middle of a trial and that her career is at stake, maybe even more than that. Problem is, she has no recollection of the case or even of who she is. As she is desperately trying to find her way out of it, she discovers that they are all trapped on an island.

I was here for the mystery, the strange isolated setting and her uncovering whatever happened to her and in the case. But the general vibe is way different, moving in the direction of conspiracy theories. The suspension of disbelief needed here is high and to some extent, not even doable, as there are parts of the book, that do not make sense with the provided explanation at the end of it.

All in all, it was still a surprising read, that went out of the usual standard story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an early copy of the book.

This book hooked me right from the start and I was so excited to see how things were going to go and then well, what happened? Things were so chaotic and all over the place, it was very frustrating. It felt as the book continued it lost focus and just never got to its destination. At times in the middle I wasn’t really sure what was happening. Overall, I expected more from this one.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc. All thoughts are my own.

This book will not be for everyone. The summary on the back drew me in immediately to read this book, but it got very weird and ended slow. I really wanted to love this book, but it did not live up to my expectations. I would still read, but would warn it can be bizarre.

What did I just read… a book that started out very strong.. Thought this is going to be good… but it seems the writer got stuck… the book stopped moving forward and jumped from one track to another without giving any depth to the story… it seemed the writer was all over the place… and then the end of the book the author threw every twist in … disappointing but it was interesting enough that I finished it…

The Trials of Lila Dalton starts in media res of a high profile court case where the narrator and criminal defense barrister, Lila Dalton, is unable to recollect any memories. The case twists and spirals from there, for both Lila's professional career and personal life. I would recommend this to fans of mysteries with mostly difficult to guess endings. Most of the loose ends spread throughout the book get wrapped up well. - albeit the twists do get frustrating at times1 I do recommend doing a quick brush up on basic British legal terms (such as lord, barrister, etc.) as it was not the US system (which I should have expected!). 3 stars as at times it was a little bit of a frustrating story, but an overall entertaining and quick read.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This started out strong and definitely keeps you guessing, however it gets a little too crazy. Some parts were very difficult to follow.

This is definitely a very different take on a crime thriller.

The cover and the title drew me in. And I was hooked by the premise. However, I soon found out that I was in for a letdown.
If you, like me, thought this would be a thriller with a lawyer with amnesia with touches of Shutter Island, let me correct you. Had I known this would revolve around neo-Nazis and conspiracy theories I would've skipped this one for sure. And when I'm telling you it "revolves" around those topics, it DOES. Constantly.
Not only is the plot confusing half the time, but we're also stumbling around trying to follow our uninspired main character.
And, as you could probably guess, I was not a fan of the ending and the final "explanation".
I'm sorry to give this debut novel such a harsh review; I wish I had known what I was getting into before. Plus, I would've also appreciated if the author took some time to explain some of the legal jargon or what was going on in court.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest review.

This book had me going HUH a lot! Starts off super interesting with Lila waking up in the courtroom and not knowing who she is or where she is. The story then veers into parts that were hard to follow for me when it came to conspiracy theories and far right extremist group. The ending though was really good which is why I'm giving it 4 stars. A little muddled in the middle of the book but the ending was pretty cool. Good read and kept my attention for the most part! This would be a good book for a book club because there could be a lot of discussions!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I was so excited to read this based on the description but it fell flat. The story started out strong but got very confusing. The book felt like a bunch of stories in one and it was frustrating to follow.

This story started out promisingly, I was hooked from the first page as Lila Dalton defends a man accused of mass murder while suffering from amnesia. However, as the book went on it seemed to become quite convoluted and confusing, it seemed to be following a few different plot points at the same time. I also guessed quite early on what the premise was and so almost felt like I was finishing just to finish rather than enjoying what I'm reading.

An attorney who wakes up with no memory of who she is and what she is doing, sounds intriguing. It starts off strong then seems to lose steam, narrative can be confusing at times, seemed long, confusing and ended up being ok. Not a book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for this ARC

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, L.J. Shepherd, and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Exploring this debut novel by L.J. Shepherd, I sought to better understand the author and her writing style. Shepherd offers up a great story that pulls on the reader’s sensibilities as they try to piece it all together. Lila Dalton has no memory how she made it into a courtroom, but she is now faced with defending a man whose actions have been deemed terrorist in nature by the UK Government. While trying to pit the pieces together for the case, Lila must also learn what happened to her and how she will get out of this mess. Confusion drowns out all, but there is surely something more to the story, as Lila Dalton will have to come to terms with before the case is lost. L.J. Shepherd weaves quite the tale with this piece, a strong debut thriller for all to enjoy.

When Lila Dalton clues in to where she is, it is not what she expects. She’s standing in a courtroom, preparing to defend a man who is on trial for terrorist activities. While she has no idea what happened, she has little time to wonder, as the case is set to proceed and she will have to put her best effort in to ensure he is acquitted.

All the while, living on a small British island for the trial, Lila is contacted by some mysterious people who demand she acquit her client or lose her daughter forever. Lila still has no idea what’s going on and it is only when she begins digging into her client’s background that things begin to make a slight bit of sense. Still, she is not sure what will come of it all or how to ensure she does not lose her daughter forever.

Unable to trust anyone around her in this isolated locale, Lila Dalton will have to fight off the confusion to get answers before the end of the trial. She’s capable, but there are some additional hurdles that could stymie her progress and land a man in jail for the rest of his life. Shepherd dazzles in this debut novel and leaves me wanting more.

I enjoy discovering new authors and seeing how they will make the most of their writing. L.J. Shepherd does well with this debut piece, mixing the law with a number of thriller aspects to create a strong novel. A key aspect of the narrative is the building momentum, which is seconded only by the quick approach of the narrative flow. With some interesting characters, Shepherd weaves a story of intrigue, mystery, and legal conundrums that is sure to capture the reader’s attention. I was impressed with this debut.

Plot twists abound in this piece, where no one is quite sure of which way is up or how it will all come together. Shepherd offers up strong views and surprises the reader with their placement throughout the story. Lila Dalton is a keen legal figure but her personal life is in a shambles, forcing her to choose between the sure-fire way towards success and one that might reveal too much about those who are trying to pull her strings. I am eager to see if others shared my excitement about this novel and new author on the scene.

Kudos Madam Shepherd, for a captivating debut!

I think readers who are fans of unreliable protagonists, psychological reads, and conspiracy theories should pick this one up!

The premise of this sounds so intriguing! And as you first get into the read, it still is. I had so many questions that kept me reading for the first third / half of the book. As some of the reveals started coming, though, I found my interest started to drag. The pacing through the middle of the book really suffers, and it's not always as engaging as I wanted it to be. The prose itself is really solid and enjoyable to read. It's not pedestrian but it's still accessible.

Some of the grander themes of the book were ones I found intriguing but I didn't always enjoy the way these were addressed. I thought there could have been alternate and better ways to bring in the themes that might not have seemed so abrupt and out of place.

Ultimately the ending left me unsatisfied. There were several threads I felt were left loose or tied in a way which didn't make sense to me. This may have been due to the treatment of the main character, who I never felt we knew beyond a surface level and whose flat character arc didn't really pull me in very well.