The Verdict

The Hook - The publicity for this fast paced British legal thriller grabbed my attention.The Line – ”You can’t cheat karma. Can you?”The Sinker – With a title like The Verdict expectations to get to that ruling are high. Sorry, you’ll have to wait until quite a good portion of its 499 pages are read to get a ruling. I’m certain many readers will think this book was long, way too wordy, perhaps a bit tedious even and could have done with a tighter editing. Somehow this didn’t both [...]

What an incredibly entertaining story! The Verdict tells the story of a murder trial told from the perspective of the defense team's clark. The catch.he was childhood friends with the defendant, and they both keep their past a secret from the rest of the team. The clark, Terry, has grown a deep hatred for his old friend and enjoys the chance to have a front row seat to his murder trial. Trying to juggle his job, wife, kids, and a nagging pull for alcohol, this legal thriller has something for ev [...]

The Verdictis a British Legal Thriller. I think it may be a US sleeper hit of those Grishamesque type books that soon everyone will be reading. It may be a bit long for US audiences at close to 500 pages, but it is a terrific read and will keep you engaged till the very last page. The narrator is a struggling law clerk-Terry. When his firm accepts a high profile case of a hedge fund multi-millionaire accused of murdering a woman, Terry realizes that this millionaire is his former best friend and [...]

This was enjoyable legal thriller though I did think it was a bit too long and some of the plot points too convoluted. The best part was the trial section and I really liked most of the supporting characters.

Coming February 2014 from Sphere.Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy.Terry Flynt is a struggling legal clerk, desperately trying to get promoted. And then he is given the biggest opportunity of his career: to help defend a millionaire accused of murdering a woman in his hotel suite.The only problem is that the accused man, Vernon James, turns out to be Terry’s sworn enemy – a man who betrayed him and turned all his friends against him at university. This case could pote [...]

My favorite book of 2017 thus far!The Verdict is a bit long, but it's a fascinating story with believable characters.Best of all, the writing is divine.Chock full of fabulous similes & metaphors, great one-liners and magnificent imagery, such as:- you can't cheat karma- alcoholics come in 2 flavors - sweet or sour- he had the personality of an irate viper caged in barbed wire- the first fistfuls of dirt landed on his reputation- he read my thoughts as clearly as if they were ticker taping ac [...]

This was a real page turner for me (It was a hectic two weeks, so every spare second I had was spend on this book!!). The Verdict is a fast pace, action packed court room drama. I used to love court room dramas, I have no idea why I stopped reading them!! The setting is in the British juridical system and if you are not familiar with this court terminology (if I can call it that), it takes a few pages to get used to it. As a South African, there were a few very interesting twists that kept me gl [...]

It’s 2011. Maggie Thatcher lives at 10 Downing Street, the recession is still in full swing, and London is simultaneously preparing for the 2012 Summer Olympics and the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. This all takes place in the background of Nick Stone’s excellent English courtroom drama, The Verdict. The book has been compared to the work of John Grisham, and in many ways the comparison is apt.Deadly secretsIn the midst of all the angst and confusion of that troubled ye [...]

3.5 stars: This is a wonderful courtroom fiction, fast-paced-page-turner of a novel. It’s a bit long, 499 pages, but it doesn’t seem that long once you get into it. It’s also a British novel, with British legal/court proceedings that differ from the USA legal mode. Author Nick Stone does a fabulous job providing the reader with enough info to understand the legal nuisances. Vernon James, aka VJ, is a millionaire businessman who is accused of brutally murdering a woman. The reader gets VJ� [...]

I've fallen in love with Nick Stone's legal thrillers. He takes them to a new level. The first book I read, Mr. Clarinet, went so far as to make Haiti, the island and culture, a character in the story.The followup book in that series was equally good. Both on their own right as police thrillers but with the added interest of Haitian culture.This book doesn't belong in that series but is a solid thriller. This time of the legal persuasion.I feel comfortable in comparing him to John Grisham. His p [...]

This is the trifecta in my latest reading slump. This one should have worked for me. What’s with me and novels lately? I’m having all the luck with non-fiction. Somehow the fiction isn’t holding up by comparison. My complaints about this one make little sense even to me. I want to say it’s a man’s book and not for me. That’s not remotely justifiable since my taste leans more toward “men’s” books than “women’s” to start with. Yet I couldn’t stop being the woman rolling h [...]

Terry Flynt is a clerk in a large London legal firm. He once was a student at Cambridge Law School but was thrown out when his best friend, Vernon James, unjustly accused him of stealing a notebook. Since then, he's hovered with shame over his head and has worked in a menial job with co-workers he dislikes. Then, out of the blue, his life changes.Vernon James is a very wealthy man and has just been awarded 'The Ethical Man of the Year' prize. That same night, however, his life takes a drastic tu [...]

A real page turner with intricate detail and a "start to finish" look at a high profile murder case with multiple twists and turns and a highly entertaining set of action and characters. More than a courtroom drama we are investigating the case and experiencing British law. The narration by David Thorpe was stellar, fabulous voices.

A great court room murder trial and the investigation leading up to it. We know for most of the book the truth but there are twists and turns and interesting garbage about many of the characters leading up to the trial. An interesting study of witness and attorney behavior on the stand in the courtroom.

Very good, fast paced British legal thriller from a new author for me. Had to learn the difference between a Barrister and a Solicitor but otherwise she a very enjoyable read. Child chums, Vernon James (VJ) and Terry Flynn diverge on very different paths upon Terry's expulsion from Cambridge. They meet in again when VJ is accused of murder. Some good back stories unfold and enough suspense to keep the story rolling.

Nick Stone is an awesome writer! I loved his books from the first. Mr Clarinet. This is his first legal thriller and , well, what can I say! I hope he writes another one.My only gripe is he doesn't write fast enough, but at least he's not "doing a Patterson" where quantity seriously outweighs quality.The hook at the front of this book is a quote from Mark Billingham. 'London has now its own John Grisham'. I disagree.If only Grisham was THIS good!Grab this book!

Worth reading better yet - listening to. David Thorpe does an excellent narration!

Excerpt from Books of the Times (New York Times), 12/09/2015, review by Janet Maslin:"Readers who enjoy having curveballs pitched at them are sure to appreciate Nick Stone’s hyperactive throwing arm. Mr. Stone, an award-winning mystery writer who is much better known in his native Britain than he is here, has come up with a legal thriller called “The Verdict.” It may well find an American audience without a helping hand, but comparisons to John Grisham will ease its way. They’re valid, a [...]

I got about 25% in and it was just too slow for me. I loved the beginning but then I just felt it sort of dragged.

Fast-paced legal thriller. Top notch!

A bit long, but suspenseful and interesting. The main characters are complicated and unique.

This was a surprisingly character-driven legal thriller that revolves around a rich dickbag being tried for a murder he (probably) didn’t commit, his childhood best friend who hates his guts but winds up digging into the complicated conspiracy to “fit him up,” as the Brits say, and lots of broken, damaged people (including the protagonist) trying to atone for past sins on seemingly quixotic quests for justice in the grimy, unjust modern world.Vernon James is a rich financier who was once s [...]

Got this one during an Audible sale. At over 21 HOURS, I was hesitant. I enjoy a decent who-done-it but I don't want the gory details. I almost gave up about an hour in when we got the murder details which included a couple I would rather not have heard, but this is a crime novel and most crimes aren't pretty. This one had some seedy aspects that made it a headliner case including some S&M which might knock this one off your list. However, the S&M was not presented in great detail and it [...]

Was on sale on the audible site. Bought with limited expectations and boy was this a page turner!!! Lots of fun with twists and turns. This story would make a great movie! If you enjoy crime/legal drama books such as those by David Baldacci and John Grisham you’ll likely also enjoy this!4.5 stars rounded up.

Unexpectedly enjoyableE VERDICT was not a novel I would normally have chosen, but I'm now glad I did. The twists and turns kept me interested even after the jury's verdict was read in court.

Solid 3.5 stars. Unexpected and good ending. I listened to this on audiobook; the narrator was superb.

So many different twist and turns but all comes together beautifully

I wanted to like it. I finished it. But it fell short. I'm not sure why. Perhaps I didn't connect with the characters.

Three stars is really the highest rating I give a "page-tuner", but there is not shame in that. This is not a piece of "literature" but MAN - what a fun, exhilarating read. I enjoyed the message of the novel as well.One thing I loved which I find so true in life is that what is powerful to one person may be simply incidental to another. You take a comment as profound, and to the friend, it was a throw-away sentence. Conversely, you want a moment to be impactful and someone else doesn't even reme [...]

It could have been a good book, but the protagonist's roleand accomplishments went so far beyond any possibility of credibility that giving it a 3* rating was generous.