A True Verdict

In the gripping narrative, Ellison Ricard, a diligent research analyst, stumbles upon alarming data indicating that Sophrosyne, a touted miracle cure for opiate addiction, poses lethal risks to Black individuals. His ethical confrontation with the CEO leads to his unjust termination, prompting Ricard to embark on a legal battle for civil rights infringement. While the story's execution is commendable, it lacks the quintessential elements that resonate with the Young Adult genre, which somewhat diminished my personal enjoyment.

Let me put it simply: I loved Robert Rotstein's courtroom thriller, A True Verdict. MediMiracle Corp is a pharmaceutical company headed by a charismatic CEO. It sells only one product -- a blockbuster drug that offers a cure for opiate addiction. But a former employee has sued the company for hiding evidence that the drug's side effect disproportionately affects Black users. The book takes us through the lead up to the trial of MediMiracle, the trial itself, the subsequent jury deliberations and the final verdict. But it is not a simple narrative. Rather, interspersed with excerpts from the trial transcript, the story is told from multiple vantage points - those of the jurors, the judge, the judge's clerk and the lead attorneys for the defendant and the plaintiff.

I'm giving nothing away by noting that the author has skillfully described the dynamics of the jury process and how jurors with dramatically different perspectives and backgrounds struggle with each other and with their own biases. The trial is filled with bombshell revelations made plausible through Rotstein's skillful writing and the insights the jurors draw from the record lead to a satisfying surprise ending. Highly recommend this suspenseful read!