The Choice - S.J. Ford

Genre: Mystery | Thriller | Crime Fiction

Release Date: 3rd March 2022

Publisher: Head of Zeus | Aries

The Husband.
The Lawyer.
The Detective.
The Journalist.
The Murderer.
You are the jury.

Jane Bell has killed a man. Mowed him down with her car. She's a criminal, a murderer. So does that make her a villain?

Maybe, but what if we discover that the man she murdered was a neighbour who was planning to kill an entire school full of children and nobody would help her stop him, so she stopped him herself. She saved the lives of countless children. So does that make her the hero of the story?

Now, we follow the stories of all the lives tangled up in the aftermath as Jane is tried for everyone to watch on … and you, dear reader, are the judge and jury.

The Choice is a uniquely interesting experience. With unpredictable, unreliable storytelling that jumps from person to person, this story moved quickly and didn't relent. We get to know family members, police officers, court officials - and how their unique experiences might shape their opinions. Ironically, the person I felt least connected to in the story was Jane herself.

Jane was a perfect antihero. She wasn't perfect, she did something bad but for a good reason and now she is aware there's consequences. Raising ethical dilemmas about the difference between what is lawful and what is right, and if doing bad things makes someone a bad person, this is a brilliant moral thought experience that could be all to real with the dangers the world has faced recently.

At times, however, this felt very much like a primetime police procedural, clever and astute, but overly descriptive in places to the point the story got lost in the details of the clothes someone is wearing.

A wickedly clever crime drama that delves into the blurry grey that is the human condition.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.

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