Book Review: Defending Jacob

This book was on our book club suggestion list for this year, but didn't make it into our final 11 selections.  I can see where it would make a good book club choice because there is much to discuss about how well we know our children and how we maneuver this job called parenting.  Plus, it was definitely a page-turner ... over 400 pages and yet they just flew by.  The author did a fantastic job of setting the scene and pulling you directly into the drama, although the characters were somewhat unbelievable and hard to get behind.

When assistant district attorney Andy Barber is called in to investigate and prosecute for a case involving the death of a 14 year old boy from his son's middle school, he doesn't hesitate to put himself on the case.  Then, his own son's fingerprint is discovered on the jacket of the murdered boy.  Ruling it a "conflict of interest," he is removed from his job and begins the lengthy process of dealing with allegations against his own son.  He firmly stands behind his son as more evidence surfaces.  Just how well does the man really know his son?  Is the son wrongly accused or did he really murder a boy who was bullying him?  Given the history of several generations, do the father and son carry a "murder gene?"  Throughout the riveting ride, the reader is left wondering how the pieces will eventually come together to explain the final outcome.

My main complaint revolves around the author's decision to label the son with reactive attachment disorder (otherwise known as R.A.D.).  Although I've never had first-hand experience with this diagnosis, I have a friend whose journey with an adoptive son, displaying RAD, imploded their family.  The boy threatened and attempted to kill their biological son on a number of occasions.  Plus, I have a blogging friend who is presently experiencing the difficulties that RAD introduces to family life.  From everything I've heard about RAD, I believe it would be near-impossible for a father to have a son with RAD and not realize that anything was amiss.  These are children who make their challenges known in an earth-shattering way.  I think if he had settled for giving the boy labels of narcissistic personality disorder or borderline personality disorder, it might have felt more believable.

Still, setting that quibble aside, this was a very engrossing book.  Although I was expecting a twist of some sort at the end, which the author delivered, I was still waiting intently to find out what that twist would be and how it would implicate or clear the boy.  As far as literary crime novels go, this was a pretty good example and worth the read.  Not amazing, but still entertaining and riveting.