Reviewer: Kate
I received a copy of In Doubt by Drusilla Campbell in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis:
Defense Attorney Sophie Giraudo is about to open a new legal practice in her hometown of San Sebastian, California, when the beloved governor is shot and seriously wounded during a celebration in the town park. The only thing more shocking than the crime itself is the identity of the would-be assassin: a seemingly gentle teenager named Donny. Driven by her desire to understand what could make a person with no history of violence suddenly commit such a terrible act, Sophie reluctantly agrees to take him on as a client, knowing that, at least, it will bring her some income. But soon she realizes that she also has personal motivations for taking the case: a desire to prove to her overbearing mother that she is not the reckless and self-destructive teenager she used to be, to prove to her ex-husband, who happens to be the prosecuting attorney, that she can win her case, and to prove to herself that the traumatic events of her adolescence no longer define her.
As she digs deeper into Donny’s past, Sophie begins to suspect that he might not be the cold-blooded killer everyone thinks he is. Does Donny’s narcissistic mother really have her son’s best interest in mind? Is Donny’s mentor who runs Boys Into Men, a program for disadvantaged youths, the altruistic man he claims to be? Is Donny a deranged murderer, or a victim of his circumstances acting out of desperation? As Sophie races to uncover the truth, she is forced to come to terms with her past and to fight for what she knows is right…even if it means risking her reputation and possibly her life.
Review:
In Doubt is undoubtedly a thought provoking novel that will make you question the meaning of justice. Campbell has successfully packed this moderate size book with many of the most concerning questions of our day. Adolescent violence and gun violence play center stage in this drama. But equally important, Campbell provides description of the changing landscape of American communities; rural spaces becoming towns, small towns becoming small cities and so on. As the population swells, so too it would seem our psychoses. In Doubt shines a bright light on a sickness that lurks beneath the perfect veneer. The suffering of one child in this book becomes the suffering of an entire town; but the town takes its vengeance not on those who perpetrate the horror but on the child who is forced to endure and eventually cracks. Who is to blame when sickness sets in? There is great doubt here. Not a psychological thriller that will have your heart racing, but a study of the human condition that may have you doubting your own beliefs. Great read!
Rating: 4 ½ Stars
