Conviction

A Novel

By: Richard North Patterson

Narrated by: Patricia Kalember

When the body of nine-year old Thuy Sen is found in the San Francisco Bay, the police quickly charge Rennell and Payton Price with her grisly murder. A 12-person jury, abetted by an incompetent defense lawyer, is nearly as quick to find the brothers guilty, and to sentence them both to die for their crimes.

Fifteen years later, overworked pro bono laywer Teresa Peralta Paget, her husband Chris, and stepson Carlo, a recent Harvard law graduate, become convinced not only that Rennell didn't receive a fair trial but that he may well be innocent. Racing against the clock and facing enormous legal obstacles, Teresa, Chris, and Carlo desperately try to stay Rennell's execution, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court, and to an enormously moving and powerful conclusion.

©2005 Richard North Patterson (P)2005 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"As with his previous novels, Patterson examines a complex issue through the lens of a compelling, gripping story. Readers familiar with his characters and those looking for a powerful courtroom drama will not be disappointed." (Booklist)

A Tour de Force

This is a complete tapestry of the anatomy of our criminal justice system, its complexities and especially its flaws. But the narrative is richly woven through a whole cross section of lives of real fully realized human beings living the story. It approached the level of War and Peace — for me anyway. Maybe you need to be a lawyer to fully appreciate it.

I had a hard time making it through this book.

There is so much sadness for the retorted people. They are domed from birth. This person should have not died. For the rape he did not do. I think some times the justness doe not no what to do with them so that is why they use death for the as she last resort in life.

The Nature of

Richard North Patterson, who has transcended the legal-thriller genre a few books ago has created a novel which explains how the appeals process in death penalty cases has become a stylized dance of arbitrary rules where political expediency trumps justice, fairness and truth. In telling the story of a last minute appeal of a retarded, and probably innocent man facing execution we are taken step by step through a grinding, mindnumbing and depressing process which exposes, in explicit terms, some very troubling truths about the death penalty today.

Patterson, in using a fictional case, has made a baroque and irrational system accessible to those open to be challenged on their assumptions about "activist courts" "coddled criminals" and other cleverly framed phrases which cloud the truth about a justice system which metes out the ultimate punishment without much concern for guilt or innocence.

This is not a fun book. However, it is an important book for those who truly want to understand an important issue, and how it defines us as a people. And Patterson does provide an excellent road map, for those with the courage and character, to proceed down that road.

Wish I'd bought the abridged version....

This title isn't one of Patterson's best, but still worth a listen. A well written but predictable story line. My only gripe is that it just seems to go on and on. I almost always choose unabridged versions, some much longer than this title, but this one seemed to drag and at times plod toward the inevitable conclusion.

Opps. You let the cat outa the bag

I am currently listening to Degree of Guilt which is highly recommended. I was wondering what happens to Terri as the book progresses and now I know. Great author with a great sense of human interaction.

Worth Getting Through It

Although at times I found this a bit tedious, the topic is of such importance to all Americans, particularly in light of the current political atmosphere, that I consider this a Must Read. The character development/story is also good.

A good primer on the legal system and SCOTUS.

Spoiler Alert. I am not as gratified as I should be that an innocent retarded man named Randall Price got so much attention in the state of California and the Supreme Court of the United States. It seems significant but almost not relevant the amount of money this cost taxpayers. What was disappointing about this listen was that a liberal Supreme Court Justice, and a moderate president could do nothing to change the flaws in the system that they oversee. The journey of the main character was suspenseful, thorough, interesting, and ultimately disappointing. as always, Patterson makes you feel deeply for all the main characters and that’s high praise for any author.

Very, very good!

RN Patterson is a wonderful author who researches the heck out of his novels. I love his writing style and his character development. This is a great insight into so many aspects of death penalty law!

Time for a new format...

This book, as a commentary on an important social issue, is informative just as his previous efforts but for me this format has become predictable. For that reason I found Conviction to be more like nonfiction than fiction. I don't mean to sound "cynical" or "sarcastic" but I wish the author would find his thesaurus and come up with a few synonyms for "sardonic." I didn't count them all but I swear he uses that word fifty times in each of his novels.

A polemic against the death penalty

One would think a book with good character development and a timely topic would translate into a great read. And so it might be with Conviction, were it not for the fact that I was expecting a mystery novel and instead got a thinly veiled polemic against the death penalty.

This book plods along for far too long exploring each vagary of the lengthy appeals process in death penalty cases. It would have been better if it were shorter by half and, more importantly, if it had some exciting action (although some might suggest that the ending IS exciting--I just happen not to be among them). Clearly this is NOT one of Patterson's best books.