#BlogTour ‘The Murder Rule’ by Dervla Tiernan

About the book…

For fans of the compulsive psychological suspense of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a mother daughter story—one running from a horrible truth, and the other fighting to reveal it—that twists and turns in shocking ways, from the internationally bestselling author of The Scholar and The Ruin.

First Rule: Make them like you.

Second Rule: Make them need you.

Third Rule: Make them pay.

They think I’m a young, idealistic law student, that I’m passionate about reforming a corrupt and brutal system.

They think I’m working hard to impress them.

They think I’m here to save an innocent man on death row.

They’re wrong. I’m going to bury him.

‘The Murder Rule’ by Dervla McTiernan was published by Harper Collins in hardback and e-book on May 12th, and I am so excited to be a part of the Random Things blog tour celebrating it’s release!

The Innocence Project has a name which evokes a world wide recognition of attempts to overturn erroneous convictions-but what if the gaze was turned the other way, onto those involved in the cases?

The presumption of innocence is a difficult concept-so many mitigating factors can create a distorted view of what is, essentially, the death of at least one human being-so when these ingenious novel flips it to look at the individuals who might want to work with this legal team, means , motive and intent take on an insidious glow.

Here, we have young law student Hannah, leveraging her way into first, the Project itself, and then onto a Death Row case.

What the link between her and the accused is, slowly unfurls in the evidence provided by Hannah’s mother’s teenage diaries. The breaking of the mother and daughter bond by Hannah’s wilful plundering of teen Laura’s experiences as a house maid in Maine, is carefully patched over by the intricately planned scheme for a meaningful, and permanent swinging of the scales of justice back to these two women.

The reality of living with an alcoholic mother is painfully detailed, and as you read the excerpts of Laura’s diaries you realise the gap between where Laura existed as an aspirational person, and the reality of her life as a perceived failure, is where the mother Hannah was deprived of lives.

The notion of justice as a restorative feature of a society which values every member, is noble but not realistic. Add in certain factors-age, race, social class, life experiences and sex-and suddenly there is a two tier system of worthy and unworthy punishment.

As a point in fact, the recent proposals for banning access to abortion in the US ,would create a harsher punishment than rape, incest, or sexual assault would. It makes you seriously consider the way that punishment is meted out, who the decision makers are and the way women’s voices are considered in a legal context. Hannah uses her wiles to firstly get a place in the Project and then to carry out her plan, a Trojan horse of a character who subverts the expectation of a bright young woman championing justice for all.

But is she really all that she seems?

And is she prepared to fight for the life of another if a compelling piece of evidence pointing to a man’s guilt comes to life?

Or will she use her position to bury it?

So without revealing what has happened to Laura, -because spoilers, sweetie!-you are immediately invested in firstly, what actually spurred Hannah to take this path of action, and secondly, it challenges your perceptions of what is right, and what is wrong. And when a death penalty is the irrevocable conclusion of ‘failing’ to prove an accusation is illegal, it really makes you think about what we are doing in a so-called civilized world, still having so many places around the planet where this is an option.

Thought provoking, deeply intriguing and satisfying, this is my first novel by Dervla and I already have ‘The Ruin’ on my teetering book mountain range to look forward to!

About the author…

Award-winning, number one bestseller Dervla McTiernan has established herself as one of the biggest names in crime fiction. Her books have garnered critical acclaim around the world and sold over 400,000 copies in Australia and New Zealand alone.

In 2022, McTiernan returns with her first ever standalone thriller, The Murder Rule. Inspired by the true story of a young law student who worked at the Innocence Project and eventually uncovered evidence which exonerated a man who had been in prison for 26 years, McTiernan has created an unforgettable, twisty thriller – the must-read novel of the year.

Links-https://dervlamctiernan.com/newsletter/

Twitter @RandomTTours @DervlaMcTiernan @fictionpubteam