[Review] This Jury Is Guilty - Laurie Blake

Summary: Everyone is Watching meets Twelve Angry Men in a tense and twisty locked-room thriller where, sequestered together until the Hollywood trial is closed, a jury must decide the fate of an actor accused of attempted murder, but this jury has explosive secrets, and one of them is about to get away with murder.

No one here is innocent.

Hollywood's biggest movie star, Danny Scott, stands accused of trying to murder his wife, starlet Hope Harrison, in a case that has taken the world by storm. Everyone is asking: What led to the events of that night, and what darker truths simmer beneath the surface of Danny and Hope's marriage? As the world watches, twelve sequestered jurors must decide Danny's fate – and the world is gripped by their every deliberation. But even a jury has its secrets…

Juror 6 is risking everything for this trial. Even her life. 

Juror 2 is playing games. But can he keep one step ahead of his own lies? 

Juror 13, the alternate, will do anything to be on that jury. Anything. 

And Juror 7 is hardly noticed by anyone. Just as she planned. 

As each juror vies for the verdict they want, secrets, obsessions, and plots for revenge will come to light in the stands. Because everyone is lying. Everyone is guilty. And one of them might be planning a murder of their own.

With shocking twists and propulsive pacing, This Jury Is Guilty is a thought-provoking, locked-room thriller exploring our obsessions with true crime, the blurry lines between fact and fiction, and the lengths we're willing to go to seek justice. For fans of Amy Tintera, Steve Cavanagh, and Ellery Lloyd. (Pub Date: Nov 3 2026)

 

This isn't a solid 4 and it gets close to a 3 at times, but it's the type of book that gets better once you get used to the style. So I finished this read feeling it deserves getting rounded up to 4 stars.

 

We're following four jurors in the most awaited trial of the century, on one side is the Oscar-winner actress, Hope, and on the other, being trialed for paying to have his wife murdered, is yet another famous actor, Danny. And watching them closely is the media, the fans, the haters, and the jury. But something is off with this specific jury because some of them clearly have a hidden agenda either to get a guilty or a not guilty verdict. 

 

My first question for this book is how these people got chosen to be there, much more than why, did everyone have such a close involvement with Danny or Hope that the chances of a biases juror were that high? But for some of the characters, the question went beyond: why do all this? And maybe this was one that followed me all the way, as the book does cover the first one. This second one, however, was a feeling that was still there when the book ended. It was too much, too convoluted. Unfortunately, I'd be spoiling the story if I tried to explain it, and keep in mind the book does try to explain this too. However, I still think there was no need for all the jury plot for most of these characters.

 

My other issue were the characters. Out of the main ones, I only really liked Franny, who is now an old lady living on borrowed time and sees this jury as her big chance to right a wrong from her past before dying. Not that I don't ask of her the same question of why the need of this jury to get her revenge. But when you get a great backstory together with a charismatic character, the questioning takes the backseat. 

 

Though Franny was my favorite character, I also enjoyed Dee's parts. She was definitely the point of view I looked forward to the most. And I wish I had liked Michelle's too, because in the end I think they weren't such different characters, but I guess Dee's secrets were much more enticing, while Michelle's felt predictable (not all of them turned out to be so predictable, though).

 

But reading the notes I did understand why the jury felt extra, despite even the title of the book. The writer tells us there that she first had he Hollywood couple story and built the rest from there. But the truth is that the rest grew so large, I'd have separated the stories. 

 

This is for sure a quick, gripping read though. The characters give away so little, you can't predict where the writer wants to take us and much less how far we can go. 

 

 

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.