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Sunday 8 January 2023

The Innocent One by Lisa Ballantyne


💥💥💥 due out 12-Jan-2023 💥💥💥

Description from Goodreads:

"Innocent

Ten years have passed, but everyone remembers the Angel Killer. Sebastian Croll was just eleven years old when accused of murdering his playmate.

Criminal solicitor Daniel Hunter helped prove Sebastian's innocence in a trial that gripped the nation, and now the past is being unearthed when he gets a call from his old client.

Or guilty?

Sebastian's university professor has been brutally murdered and everyone who knew her is in the frame. As Daniel steps in to represent Sebastian for a second time, news about the boy's past spreads like wildfire, instantly branding Sebastian as guilty.

With tensions around the country rising, can Daniel prove once again that Sebastian is the innocent one? Especially when he realises it's not just Sebastian in danger, but himself . . ."

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I didn't realise this was a follow on from a previous book (The Guilty One) but I don't think it detracted too much from my reading enjoyment of this, the first book by Lisa Ballantyne I have read.

Eleven year old Sebastian was acquitted of murdering his friend and Daniel Hunter was his solicitor.  Fast forward 10 years and Sebastian is studying at Cambridge when one of his tutors is brutally murdered.  Sebastian is in the frame and he appoints Daniel as his solicitor once again.

The story focuses on Daniel, the difficulties he is experiencing with his marriage, reconciling a difficult childhood and the fallout from representing Sebastian previously as well as having to deal with the uncertainty surrounding Sebastian's innocence/guilt now.

This was a bit of a slow burn but I thought this worked quite well with this particular story especially as I hadn't read the previous one.  There was definitely a growing sense of tension and unease from the start with me wondering where it was going and how it was going to play out and I wasn't disappointed.

Recommended to mystery thriller lovers and thanks to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Innocent One and for introducing me to another author to look out for in the future.

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